Description
Authentic Birria is a traditional Mexican stew made with tender, slow-simmered beef cooked in a rich, flavorful chili and spice sauce. This recipe uses a blend of dried chiles, aromatic spices, and beef broth to create a deeply savory consomé, perfect for serving as a hearty stew or delicious tacos.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat
- 4 to 5 pounds chuck roast, cut into large 4-inch chunks
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
Chiles and Vegetables
- 12 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded (about 2.5 oz)
- 5 ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded (about 2 oz)
- 5 árbol chiles, rinsed and stemmed (about 0.1 oz)
- 2 large Roma tomatoes
- ½ medium yellow onion
Spices and Broth
- 1 4-inch Mexican cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- water, as needed
- 2 cups beef broth
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Season and Sear Meat: Generously season the chuck roast chunks on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, brown the meat on all sides for a flavorful crust. Remove the meat and set aside.
- Prepare Chiles and Vegetables: In a medium pot, add the guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles along with Roma tomatoes, yellow onion, Mexican cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Cover completely with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until softened.
- Blend the Sauce: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles, tomatoes, onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and peppercorns to a blender. Add 1 cup of the chile-soaked cooking water, beef broth, distilled white vinegar, garlic, ground cumin, dried oregano, and ground cloves. Blend on high until completely smooth. You may need to do this in batches if your blender is small.
- Strain Sauce and Combine: Strain the blended chile sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the pot with the seared meat. Discard any solids left in the strainer. Stir well to combine the meat with the rich chile sauce.
- Simmer to Tender: Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer gently for 3 to 3 ½ hours until the beef is tender and falling apart.
- Shred and Serve: Transfer the meat to a large bowl and shred it using two forks. Return the shredded meat to the consomé and stir to combine. Serve the birria as a hearty stew topped with diced onion and chopped cilantro, or use the meat to make birria tacos with corn tortillas, shredded Oaxaca cheese, cilantro, and diced onions.
Notes
- Authentic Mexican Birria can be enjoyed as a stew topped with onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
- It also makes delicious birria tacos, perfect for dipping into the consomé.
- Use dried Mexican cinnamon and oregano for the most authentic flavor.
- Ensure to seed and stem the chiles to avoid excessive bitterness and heat.
- Cooking times may vary slightly depending on the tenderness of the beef.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 640 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 803 mg
- Fat: 37 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 23 g
- Trans Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 59 g
- Cholesterol: 196 mg
