If you have tried Birria and have been wanting to recreate it, here, I will show you how to do it at home! beef shank, beef chuck roast, guajillo, and ancho pepper beef are the main ingredients of this savory dish. The broth of this recipe is a perfect combination of roasted tomatoes and beef stew. It's delectable and not too hard to make. Your family will love it!
People often tell me that they love eating Birria when they are visiting Mexico and are sad when they can't find an authentic place that sells it when they go back home. And that is what inspired me to share this with you all today!
In particular, this beef birria recipe is very popular because of the savory flavors from the bone in cuts of beef and the bright pop of flavor from the guajillo and ancho peppers. Not to mention, the tomato and beef stock is rich and satisfying, making it a delicious dish!
History Behind Birria In Mexico
Birria de res is a classic beef dish that originates from the state of Jalisco, Mexico. As a matter of fact, two of the most popular Mexican dishes on the blog are also from Jalisco: Pozole and Menudo!
This tender and juicy meat take center stage on special occasions like weddings, baptisms, and on Sundays, usually, pair with:
- White rice
- Salsa verde (green sauce)
- Cilantro
- Onions
- Avocado slices
- Lime wedges
- Corn tortillas to make birria tacos.
- Flour tortillas with melted (mozzarella or Oaxaca)cheese to make quesabirria tacos.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Beef Birria Recipe
Before I share my recipe, here are a few questions I’ve been asked about homemade birria.
What kind of meat is usually used to make birria?
Birria is typically made with goat’s meat, lamb, sheep, or a combination of several types of meat and a blend of dried chiles, like guajillo chiles & ancho chiles to make the adobo sauce. Using a combination of meats is common in restaurants or local birria eateries known as “Birrierias.”
Beef birria is more like a homemade version since beef is more accessible and more popular everywhere, nowadays.
You can also use beef cheek and oxtail (the cheek has a lot of meat). Or, you can make your own combination, too! Like chuck roast, just make sure you add a cut of meat with some bone in it—for example, short ribs or bone-in beef shank.
What types of spices are traditionally used in birria recipes?
There are so many different recipes for birria, but all of them use a combination of dried peppers and herbs. Some cooks will add beer or Pulque instead of vinegar. Some also add a little piece of ginger.
How do you store leftover birria?
Store leftover beef birria in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Since this dish is like soup a spill-proof container with a locking lid is the best way to store your birria. You can also freeze the leftover birria for up to a month.
Savory Beef Birria
Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make this dish...
- Beef Shank or Beef Oxtail
- Beef Chuck Roast
- Salt and pepper
- Ancho Peppers
- Guajillo Peppers
- Roasted tomatoes
- Whole Cloves
- Cumin Seeds
- Black Peppercorns
- Garlic Cloves
- Mexican Oregano
- Marjoram
- White Onion
- Mexican Cinnamon
- White Vinegar
Please note: For exact measurements of the ingredients listed above, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post!
Cooking Tips:
- Some cooks also like to add a ¼ of an inch of ginger root and a couple of bay leaves.
- You can also cook this dish in a slow cooker or electric dutch oven if you do not want to make the oven version.
- Marinating the meat with the sauce overnight in the refrigerator or for at least 4 hours will allow the meat to absorb more flavors.
- If you don't find Arbol peppers, you can use piquin peppers.
- To make it with a brothy consommé, add 6 extra cups of water. If you only want it for tacos, it is not necessary. The meat and sauce you already have will suffice. First, you add 4 cups, and if it is too thick for your taste, add the other two.
How To Make Homemade Beef Birria: Step By Step Tutorial
To make things easier for you, I am going to break down the instructions for this recipe into sections.
Instructions:
Season: Rub the meat with salt and pepper, then place in a large baking dish to cook in the oven with the 6 cups of water, if making it soupy. SEE NOTES for other cooking methods.
Prepare the peppers: First clean and devein the peppers. Then, heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Slightly roast the peppers, ensuring you do not burn them; this step will take 1 - 2 minutes. (burned peppers make the dish taste bitter). Next, soak the peppers in a medium bowl with hot water for 20 minutes.
Roast and toast: Next, roast the onion and garlic and place them in your blender. Then toast the whole cloves, cumin seeds, and black peppercorns (this is a quick step that only takes a few seconds). Finally, place them in your blender with the roasted tomatoes, dried herbs, onion, cinnamon, and vinegar.
Make the sauce: Once the peppers are soft, drain, add to the blender, and process until you have a smooth sauce. Add only a few tablespoons of water if your blender has difficulty processing it. Lastly, season the sauce with salt.
Put all together: Pour the sauce over evenly over the meat, and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. and stir well. Make sure to cover all the pieces of meat with this sauce of dried peppers and spices. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours to allow the meat to absorb the flavors of the sauce.
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake for about 4 hours until the meat is fork-tender and reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF.
Before serving: Remove the pot from the heat when the meat becomes tender. Taste your Birria and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. Then, with the help of two forks, slightly shred the meat.
Serve: In medium-size bowls, serve the warm meat with its broth, garnish with chopped cilantro & onion, squeeze a lime wedge, and if you like spicy, sprinkle some crushed Arbol pepper. Warm corn tortillas to dip into the broth.
DIFFERENT COOKING METHODS:
Oven baked: Preheat the oven to 350º F Place the meat in a large baking dish. Cover the baking tray with aluminum foil. Bake the meat in the baking dish covered with aluminum foil for about 4 hours or until it is fork-tender.
Stove Top: Place the meat in a large pot or dutch oven. Cover well with the sauce, and turn the heat to medium-high, once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat, and place the lid on the pot. Let it cook on low heat while gently simmering for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender and easy to shred.
Slow Cooker: Place the meat and the dried pepper sauce in your slow cooker and cook at the low setting for 4 hours or until fork tender.
Instant Pot: For the Instant Pot, place the meat, water, and dried pepper sauce in your instant pot, and cook for 50 minutes. Check meat tenderness; if it is easy to shred, the birria is ready to serve. But, if the meat is still a little hard to shred, extend the cooking time to 10-15 minutes more.
What To Serve With Birria De Res
This is pretty much an entire meal by itself!
This dish is usually served in a bowl (similar to a soup) and garnished with chopped onion and cilantro or oregano. Another traditional way to serve your birria is with corn or flour tortillas. The red tacos are an excellent choice, especially if paired with the beef broth (consomme) as a dipping sauce!
As far as side dishes go, you can never go wrong with some classic white rice , and black beans from the pot, and homemade corn tortillas .
More Authentic Mexican Recipes To Enjoy
If you enjoyed this recipe for birria, take a look at some of these other authentic Mexican recipes:
Receta en Español birria de res.
I hope you make this beef birria recipe! If this recipe was of any help to you, come back to let me know your experience. Please leave us a comment below and tell us all about it!
¡Buen provecho!
Mely
Beef Birria
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. Beef Shanck or Short Ribs
- 2.5 lbs. Beef Chuck roast cut into large cubes
- 6 cups water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 Ancho Peppers
- 6 Guajillo Peppers
- 2 Large roasted tomatoes
- 4 Whole cloves
- ½ Teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ Teaspoon black peppercorns
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ½ Teaspoon Marjoram
- ½ Medium-size white onion sliced
- 1- in of stick of Mexican cinnamon
- ½ Cup white vinegar
- Salt to taste
GARNISH
- 1 Cup chopped Cilantro or ¼ Cup of dried oregano
- 1 Cup chopped white onion
- Lime wedges
- 6 piece Arbol peppers(optional)
Instructions
- Season: Rub the meat with salt and pepper, then place in a large baking dish to cook in the oven with the 6 cups of water, if making it soupy. SEE NOTES ABOVE for other cooking methods.
- Prepared the peppers: First clean and devein the peppers. Then, heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Slightly roast the peppers making sure you do not burn them, this step will take 1-2 minutes. (burned peppers make the dish taste bitter). Soak peppers in a medium bowl with hot water for 20 minutes.
- Roast and Toast: Next, roast the onion and garlic and place into your blender. Then, toast the whole cloves, cumin seeds, and black peppercorns (this is a quick step that only takes a few seconds). Place them in your blender along with the roasted tomatoes, herbs, onion, cinnamon and the vinegar.
- Make the Sauce: Once peppers are soft, drain, add to the blender and process until you have a smooth sauce. Add only a few tablespoons of water if your blender has difficulty processing it. Lastly, season the sauce with salt.
- Pout all together: Pour the sauce over evenly over the meat, and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. and stir well. Make sure to cover all the pieces of meat with this sauce of dried peppers and spices. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours to allow the meat to absorb the flavors of the sauce.Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake for about 4 hours until the meat is fork-tender and reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF.
- Before Serving: Remove the baking dish or pot from the heat when the meat becomes tender. Taste your birria and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. Then, with the help of two forks, slightly shred the meat.
Serve the warm meat with its broth in bowls and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve with warm tortillas and a a hot salsa. Any leftover Birria will be great the next day to make Birria Quesadilals.
Notes
- Some cooks also like to add a ¼ of an inch of ginger root and a couple of bay leaves.
- Marinating the meat with the sauce overnight in the refrigerator or for at least 4 hours will allow the meat to absorb more flavors.
- If you don't find Arbol peppers, you can use piquin peppers.
- You can also cook this dish in a slow cooker or electric dutch oven if you do not want to make the oven version.
- To make it with a brothy consommé, add 6 extra cups of water. If you only want it for tacos, it is not necessary. The meat and sauce you already have will suffice. First, add 4 cups; if it is too thick for your taste, add the other two.
- COOKING TIMES: Baking time 4 hours. You can even make it in an Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker. For the Instant Pot, cook for 45 minutes, and add the sauce to the meat. Cook for 5 more minutes in the manual setting. Check meat tenderness, if it is easy to shred then you are set to go. But, if the meat is still a little hard to shred, extend the cooking time to 10-15 minutes more. If using a Slow Cooker, cook for 6 hours in the low setting. The one hour time given above is using the instant pot or pressure cooker
Sabri
Can I make this in a crockpot?
Mely Martínez
Hello Sabri,
Yes, cook it in the low setting for about 6 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
Joseph K.
I wasn't sure how this recipe would come out. But OMG! It is delicious!
Thank you!
Steve Dreith
Do the short ribs have the bones, or are they boneless? Thanks for putting me on your email list; I learn something every time you post the recipes.
Mely Martínez
Hello, they do have bones. You can see a photo HERE.
Steven Dreith
Thanks, I figured they did, since the bones have a lot of flavor. Thanks again, Steve
Marc C.
When Autumn arrives ~ we seem to make a lot of stews, chili and the likes.
This "Birria" is definitely going be added to the list !
Jasmin
Hello and greetings from the UK! Is it possible to make this dish vegetarian by replacing the meat with,say, squash or aubergines and adjusting the cooking time accordingly? It sounds delicious by the way. Cheers, Jasmin.
Mely Martínez
Hello Jasmin,
Yes, you can cook a dish with vegetables and sauce ingredients. It won be birria, but still a delicious meal.
Happy cooking!
Celia
Could you use pork butt instead?
Mely Martínez
Hello Celia,
Yes, you can. Not traditional, but you can.
Di
To make this in the instant pot how much liquid do you add to the beef in the initial cooking stage?
Mely Martínez
Hello,
6 cups.
nanci
Hi Mely,
Can I substitute vinegar or omit it in the recipe? My mom’s stomach is sensitive and she can’t have vinegar. Thanks.
Mely Martínez
Hello Nanci,
You can omit the vinegar.
Boris
I’m confused. Step 1 has us adding 6 cups of water to the meat. Does the sauce get added to that and get put into the fridge overnight?
Mely Martínez
Hello Boris,
The sauce goes before baking, in case you want it to be with broth.
Sophia
This is my second time making this recipe in my slow cooker & it came out so good! I used chuck roast. The only change I made was using just a pinch of cumin because the first time I made it, it tasted too strongly like cumin for me. I shredded the meat & used it for tacos & quesabirria. Even my 14-month old loved it!
Vanessa
Can I cook the meat with the broth in the instant pot instead of cooking the meet separately?
Mely Martínez
Hello Vanessa,
Yes, I explain that in the recipe notes.
John Brother
I’m so glad I used your recipe instead of the hundred of birria recipes online. We made it for our 5 de Mayo Party. Delicious!
ANGELICA DEL SOL
Omg I loved it I added the ginger and cinnamon ! 😋delish…..
thank you for sharing.
Melina
Hello. Can we use all the same steps to cook over stove in a regular pot ?
Mely Martínez
Hello Melina,
Yes, you can.
Mari
Hi! You have vinegar mentioned in your ingredients. Am I missing where you added that?
Mely Martínez
Hello Mari,
Check step number 3 of the recipe.
Nancy
Mely, a question: I am going to do the recipe x3 for this weekend. And would like the broth. Would that be 6 cups total or 18 cups total?
Thank you!
Mely Martínez
Hello Nancy,
18 cups, however, if you want it to have more of the broth you will need to adjust to the quantity you need.
Don
Can I use a Chuck Roast instead?
Mely Martínez
Hello Don,
Yes, you can use Chuck Roast.
Crystal Garcia
Hi! Love your recipe!! This will be my 3rd time making it. I do have a question, can I use this recipe to make in a large pot?
Mely Martínez
Hello Crystal,
Yes, of course, you can make it in a large pot.
Crystal
Do I have double the spices, tomatoes, and chiles?
Mely Martínez
Yes!
Brian
Hi Mely,
Can I substitute ground cinnamon instead of 1 inch of Mexican cinnamon stick?
If so...how much ground cinnamon?
Thx
Mely Martínez
Hello Brian,
Yes, you can!