Birria is a classic dish from the State of Jalisco, and as a matter of fact, two of the most popular dishes on the blog are also from Jalisco: Pozole and Menudo. Birria is usually made with goat’s meat or even with lamb or a combination of several types of meat. The use of 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 everywhere.
This is a partnership with RUMBA MEATS, Recipe and opinions are 100% mine.
Beef Birria
I like to make this with a combination of oxtail and beef shank from RUMBA MEATS; the bone-in meat renders a very flavorful Birria broth. You can also use Beef cheek and oxtail (the cheek has a lot of meat). You can make your own combination, too, just make sure you add a cut of meat with some bone in it.
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. The way this dish is usually served is in a bowl (similar to a soup) and garnished with chopped onion and cilantro or oregano. The meat is also served with tacos.
Whichever way you make it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
How to make Beef Birria Recipe
Notes:
- Some cooks also like to add a ¼ of and an inch of ginger root.
- You can also cook this dish in a slow cooker if you do not want to make the oven version.
- You can even make it in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker (cooking times will vary depending on the cooking method).
DIRECTIONS:
- Season the meat with salt and pepper, then place in a large baking dish.
- Clean and devein the peppers. Slightly toast them over a medium heat. Soak peppers in a cup of hot water. Roast the onion and garlic and place in your blender.
- Toast the whole cloves, cumin seeds, and black peppercorns. Place them in your blender along with the roasted tomatoes, herbs, onion, cinnamon and the vinegar.
- Once peppers are soft, drain, add to the blender and puree until you have a smooth sauce. Season the sauce with salt.
- Pour the sauce over the meat, making sure it is covered all over with the salsa. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake the meat for about 4 hours.
Serve the warm meat with its broth in bowls and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro.
Beef Birria Recipe
Birria is usually made with goat’s meat or even with lamb or a combination of several types of meat. Cooking time using the Instant Pot or Pressure cooker. The use of 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 everywhere.
Print Pin Rate Add to CollectionPrep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Calories: 474kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Beef Oxtail from RUMBA MEATS
- 2 lbs. Beef Cheek*
- 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
- 2/3 Cup chopped Cilantro or 1/4 Cup of dried oregano
- 2/3 Cup chopped white onion
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Season the meat with salt and pepper, then place in a large baking dish.
- Clean and devein the peppers. Slightly toast them over a medium heat, making sure you do not burn them (burned peppers make the dish taste bitter). Soak peppers in a cup of hot water for 20 minutes. Roast the onion and garlic and place in your blender.
- 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.
- Once peppers are soft, drain, add to the blender and puree until you have a smooth sauce. Add a few tablespoons of water only if your blender is having a hard time processing it. Season the sauce with salt.
- Pour the sauce over the meat, making sure it is covered all over with the salsa. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours to allow all the meat to absorb the flavors.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake the meat in the baking dish covered with the aluminum foil for about 4 hours or until it is fork-tender.
Serve the warm meat with its broth in bowls and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve with warm tortillas and a hot salsa.
Notes
• Some cooks also like to add a ¼ of an inch of ginger root. • You can also cook this dish in a slow cooker if you do not want to make the oven version. It will take 6-8 hours in the slow cooker. • 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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 474kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 57g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 265mg | Sodium: 930mg | Potassium: 715mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4520IU | Vitamin C: 12.8mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 10.7mg
Have you made this recipe? Let me know on InstagramTag @mexicoinmykitchen and hashtag me #mexicoinmykitchen!
Recipe in spanish https://www.mexicoenmicocina.com/birria-de-res/
I hope you make this dish and take advantage of the coupon RUMBA MEATS is offering to buy your meats, so you can enjoy a nice warm bowl of Beef Birria. Get your coupon HERE to go buy your meat at Kroger. I’m very selective with whom I partner up with as I don’t want to overwhelm my readers with products & sponsorships. Therefore, if you see a company or product I’m working with, it’s because they rock! They help this little blog of mine keep producing delish recipes and showing you the things I love.
I hope you prepare this delicious dish and come back to let me know your experience with it.
Buen Provecho!
Mely Martinez,
Recipe in spanish Birria de Res.
This recipe worked out great for me in the Instant Pot (DUO60). I used a combination of beef shank steaks and thick-cut shortrib. 45 minutes, high pressure, on the “stew” setting, plus 15 minutes NR (natural release). The thickness of the marinade might’ve caused my Instant Pot to take a bit longer to come to pressure and seal. It already started counting down from 45 mins and eventually sealed at 31 minutes, so I compensated by tacking on another 10 minutes after it was done. The meat came out fork-tender! Perfect for putting in tacos. I was concerned that the liquid in the marinade was mostly vinegar but the end product didn’t taste vinegary at all! Just lightly tangy. I’ll season with salt more aggressively next time (to suit my own personal taste) but this is a great recipe! I’ve posted a photo of the result here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BriSMg3B3Gg/
We made this for Nochebuena in the instant pot with goat at my brother-in-law’s request. Some of us at as stew, others as tacos with a few special salsas. All thought it was delicious! Will make again.
Hello Christine,
So glad to know you all enjoy the Birria. Thank you for coming back and leave a comment.
I really love it ., I just add bay leaf. My first time cooking birria. My husband is from Guadalajara Jalisco and he love it . Thank you !
Hi! I’m here and using your recipe to fix what I’m missing in mine! (Thanks!)
You’re missing a word, I’m trying to figure out what. Its the first bullet point in the section titled Notes. “Some people add 1/4…”
That’s the word I’m missing.
😊
Thanks again. I did fix my Birria!
Hello Kerry,
Some people like to add a little piece of ginger root. About 1/4 inch of ginger.
Made this for he first time last week, made 4 pounds of it and it didn’t even last two days this time I’m making 5 pounds and hopefully have some leftovers for the rest of this hurricane season. Delicious and much appreciated
Hello Daniel,
I hope you make extra and freeze some. It takes great when reheating it.
I see that this recipes asks for roasted tomatoes.
Are these store bought or is there any specific way to follow to roast tomatoes?
Hello s3105,
You are right some cooks like to add roasted tomatoes. Usually, the tomatoes are roasted in a hot griddle. You place the tomatoes in the hot griddle and rotate them from time to time to make sure they have an even roasting.
When you put the dish in the oven, do you leave the aluminum on it? Or do you bake it uncovered?
Hello Alexandra,
Yes, you cover the baking pan with aluminum foil.
This is awesome! Just like my families recipe! Thank you!! 🙂
Hello Maria,
Thank you for visiting!
Happy cooking and provecho!
Hi, I am excited to try this recipe. I don’t have a proper Mexican butcher near me. What other beef cuts can you recommend? Thank you in advance! Don
Hello Don,
You can use cut a mix of beef cuts like beef shank, beef chuck, ribs, flank steak, and even brisket. Just make sure to add some cuts with bone in to add flavor.
Made this recipe today. I was expecting a broth at the end of the cooking time (did the oven version) but ended up with none. I followed the english version of the recipe and after seeing that my end result wasn’t what I expected, I reviewed the spanish version to see where I went wrong. In the spanish version, it states to add 6 cups of water separately. It would be helpful to have that note in the english version. Overall, the flavor was great and the meat was great for tacos. I will attempt again! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
Hello Diane,
Thank you for trying the recipe. I’ll make sure to add that note to this version too. Thank you for pointing that out.
Hello Mely, I just pre prepared the birria sauce to be ready for Nochebuena. It’s just like my mother used to make RIP.
She was from Jalisco.
Q: I saw the comment regarding adding water. When do you add the water please . I’ll be cooking this next week.
Gracias and Feliz Navidad!
– Carmen
Hello Carmen,
For a brothy birria, add the water in step # 5. Happy cooking!
Can this recipe be done on the stove top?
Thank you and happy holidays.
Hello Veronica,
Yes, you can make it in the stove top.
I used this recipe for my family’s Christmas Eve dinner, reminded me so much of my dad’s and everyone loved it! I had planned on using the leftovers for tacos Christmas Day but, there was non left! The aromas that filled my house we’re just as amazing.
Hi, this looks great. I can’t wait to try it. One question: if I use the InstaPot, do you marinate overnight? Or do you just cook the meat for 45 and then add the sauce for another 5 ? And or when does the 6 cups of water go in? Thank you!
Hello Christian,
You will have a better flavor if you marinate the meat. But if you are short in time, it will still come out if you do not marinate. After the meat is ready, add the sauce and the water to keep cooking and all the flavors are blended.
Thank you so much! And, just to check, the marinade and the sauce are the same thing, just depending on when you add it?
Hello Christian,
Yes, is the same thing.
Happy cooking!
I LOVE YOU ALL. FINALLY A PLACE WHERE I CAN LEARN AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE.
Made this in the instant pot with soup bones and stew meat. I did not have time to marinate, but browned the meat and added everything including water up to the max line and cooked on stew setting for 45 minutes. Can’t believe how delicious this turned out! Very authentic and the meat was falling apart.
Thank you for my new birria recipe!
Hello Lindsey,
Thank you for trying the recipe and for coming back to share about the process you used to cook it using the Instant Pot. I know this will be very useful for many other readers. Happy Cooking!
I want to make the tacos that you dip in sauce .i been seeing on Instagram..so just add 6 cups of water with the marinade then cook in oven with meat??
Hello Doree,
Yes, no need to add more water. Unless you want the brothy birria version
One more thing. Is it less traditional to strain the marinade ??????
That is up to you. Personal tasty really.
I’m glad I looked at the comments before making this. I read that you omitted water from the English version after I had marinated the meat (beef short ribs and shank) but before cooking. This is huge. In any event it was absolutely spectacular!! I can’t wait to make it again once I can get my hands on a goat.