Mexican Beef Birria
Birria is a Mexican dish of tough beef braised for hours in a sauce of dried chillies and spices until it shreds with a fork. The resulting broth — the consomé — is served alongside for dipping, and it makes the famous birria tacos.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 210 min
- Total
- 250 min
- Calories
- 420
Birria comes from the state of Jalisco, where it was made with goat for weddings. It has gone global in recent years on the back of the birria taco, dipped and crisped on a griddle.
Method
-
1
Preparing the chillies
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chillies and toast them in a dry pan over medium heat for 30 seconds a side until they smell fragrant — do not burn them, a burnt chilli makes the whole dish bitter. Soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes until completely soft.
-
2
The birria sauce
Blend the soaked chillies with the onion, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, vinegar and a cup of the soaking water until completely smooth. Pass it through a fine sieve, pressing — this straining is not optional; it removes the skins that never break down and leaves the sauce silky.
-
3
Browning the beef
Salt the beef and brown it in a heavy pot over high heat in batches until it takes a brown crust on every side. Crowding prevents browning — and that browning is where the whole depth of flavour comes from. Lift it out and set it aside.
-
4
The long braise
Return the beef to the pot, pour over the strained sauce, add the bay and cinnamon, and top up with water until it barely covers. Bring to a boil, then drop to the lowest heat with a lid for 3 to 3.5 hours — the faintest bubbles only. A hard boil tightens the protein and toughens the meat.
-
5
Shredding and separating the consomé
The beef is ready when it shreds with a fork with no resistance. Lift it out and shred it with two forks. Strain the broth — this is the consomé, half the pleasure of the dish. Let it settle for a few minutes and skim off the layer of red fat on top and keep it — that is what you dip the tortillas in.
-
6
Birria tacos
Dip a tortilla in the red fat and lay it on a hot griddle. Put cheese and shredded beef on one half, fold it over, and press until both sides colour and crisp — 2-3 minutes a side. Serve with a cup of hot consomé for dipping, plus coriander, onion and lime.
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Tips that actually matter
- Toast the dried chillies for 30 seconds only — the second extra turns the whole dish bitter.
- Straining the sauce through a fine sieve is not optional — the skins never break down and stay gritty on the tongue.
- A long braise at the faintest bubble — a hard boil toughens the meat however long you give it.
- In a pressure cooker: 45 minutes instead of 3 hours, but brown the meat first, because pressure does not brown.
People also ask
What is consomé?
The broth produced by braising the birria, served in a cup alongside the tacos for dipping. The layer of red fat that rises on it is what the tortilla gets dipped in before crisping — the signature of a birria taco.
Which cut of beef for birria?
The tough, collagen-rich cuts: chuck, shin, neck and short rib. Those turn to gelatine over a long braise and give the broth its body. Fillet will dry out and contribute nothing.
What can replace the Mexican dried chillies?
Sweet dried red chillies, plus a spoonful of smoked paprika for the smoke and some chilli powder for the heat. The flavour shifts a little but the foundation works.
Why is my beef still tough?
Either it has not had long enough (it needs at least 3 hours to shred with a fork), or the heat was too high and it boiled — a hard boil tightens the protein and toughens the meat however long you give it.
Cook mode
Mexican Beef Birria
-
1
Preparing the chillies
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chillies and toast them in a dry pan over medium heat for 30 seconds a side until they smell fragrant — do not burn them, a burnt chilli makes the whole dish bitter. Soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes until completely soft.
-
2
The birria sauce
Blend the soaked chillies with the onion, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, vinegar and a cup of the soaking water until completely smooth. Pass it through a fine sieve, pressing — this straining is not optional; it removes the skins that never break down and leaves the sauce silky.
-
3
Browning the beef
Salt the beef and brown it in a heavy pot over high heat in batches until it takes a brown crust on every side. Crowding prevents browning — and that browning is where the whole depth of flavour comes from. Lift it out and set it aside.
-
4
The long braise
Return the beef to the pot, pour over the strained sauce, add the bay and cinnamon, and top up with water until it barely covers. Bring to a boil, then drop to the lowest heat with a lid for 3 to 3.5 hours — the faintest bubbles only. A hard boil tightens the protein and toughens the meat.
-
5
Shredding and separating the consomé
The beef is ready when it shreds with a fork with no resistance. Lift it out and shred it with two forks. Strain the broth — this is the consomé, half the pleasure of the dish. Let it settle for a few minutes and skim off the layer of red fat on top and keep it — that is what you dip the tortillas in.
-
6
Birria tacos
Dip a tortilla in the red fat and lay it on a hot griddle. Put cheese and shredded beef on one half, fold it over, and press until both sides colour and crisp — 2-3 minutes a side. Serve with a cup of hot consomé for dipping, plus coriander, onion and lime.
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