# 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.

**Mexican Cuisine · 250 min · 8 servings · 420 kcal per serving**

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.

## Ingredients

- 1.5 kg — beef (chuck or shin), cut into large pieces
- 6 — dried guajillo chillies (or sweet dried red chillies)
- 3 — dried ancho chillies
- 2 — chipotle chillies (optional, for smoke)
- 1 — large onion, halved
- 6 cloves — garlic
- 3 — large tomatoes
- 1 tsp — cumin
- 1 tsp — dried oregano
- 2 leaves — bay
- 1 stick — small cinnamon
- 3 tbsp — cider vinegar
- 16 — corn tortillas
- 200 g — mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese, grated
- 1 bunch — coriander and chopped onion, to serve

## 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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

---

Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/mexican-cuisine/mexican-beef-birria
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-23