Birria
59 Comments
Updated May 08, 2024
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Mexican birria de res from the heart of Jalisco is a hearty slow-cooked stew with the utmost flavor and juicy, fall-apart tender beef. You can serve it in a bowl with fresh toppings like onion, cilantro, and lime juice, or go the extra step to make cheesy birria tacos.
Why You’ll Love This Birria Recipe
Let me start by saying there’s no one exact way to make birria. It was originally made with goat meat (birria de chivo), but now, different regions of Mexico have put their own spin on this classic dish with beef as the preferred meat. This Crockpot birria recipe I’m sharing today stems from all the delicious experiences I’ve had with it — from local taco stands in Mexico to authentic, home-cooked versions. Here’s why you’ll love it too:
- It’s similar to barbacoa, but more brothy and spicy. Many of you love my slow cooker barbacoa and carnitas. But if you want a beefy meal that’s juicier and layered with warming, spicy flavors, this slow cooker birria recipe is for you.
- It’s foolproof and easy to make. The only hard part is gathering the right Mexican chiles and then deseeding them. But once that’s done, the rest is easy because the slow cooker does all the work.
- There are multiple ways to enjoy it. Traditionally, you serve it as a deliciously spicy Mexican beef stew you can eat on its own. But you can also use the shredded beef for nachos, quesadillas, and especially tacos. Not just any tacos though, but “quesabirria” dipped in the tastiest consommé. It’s one of the best ways to enjoy this recipe (and possibly my favorite taco ever now).
Beef Birria Ingredients
- Beef Chuck Roast: This cut of meat is what is commonly used to make birria, and will become extremely tender once it undergoes a slow cooking process.
- Dried Chiles: For the birria sauce, I’m using three types of dried chiles — guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, and arbol chiles. Guajillo chilies add richness and vibrant color, ancho chilies adds a sweet and smoky flavor, and chiles de arbol (aka arbol chilies) kick up the heat (see infographic below). Head to your local Mexican market to find these or order online with the links below!
- Spices and Aromatics: To accompany the chiles, the spices you’ll need are Mexican oregano, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Plus onion, tomatoes and garlic for the best tasting sauce.
- Broth and Vinegar: Low-sodium beef broth and apple cider vinegar complete the sauce base to keep the meat tender as it cooks.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Birria De Res
- First, deseed and simmer the chilies. Slice the stems off the chilies and shake out the seeds. Then, give them a quick rinse to remove any dust or dirt from the outside. In a medium pot, add the guajillo chilies, ancho chilies, arbol chilies. Cover them completely with water, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, until they’re nice and soft.
- Roast the veggies. While the chilies are simmering, add the tomatoes, onion, and garlic cloves to a small sheet pan. Broil them for 4 to 6 minutes, until lightly charred.
- Make the sauce. Transfer the chilies and 1 cup of the remaining water to a high-powered blender. Remove the garlic from it’s peel and add it to the blender along with the tomatoes, onion, broth, vinegar, cumin, oregano, cloves, and cinnamon. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth.
- Slow cook the birria. Place the beef chunks in the slow cooker. Pour the birria sauce on top, and add the bay leaves. Use tongs to gently mix it all together, and cover. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. The beef should be super tender and fall apart easily when shredded with a fork. If it doesn’t shred easily, cook it a bit longer.
- Shred the meat and combine it with the sauce. Discard the bay leaves. Remove the beef to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it. Then, place the shredded beef back in the slow cooker, stir it, and let it absorb the liquid. This incredibly delicious liquid is known as the consommé.
- Serve. Serve the birria straight from the slow cooker for a variety of meals (see ideas below) or transfer it to bowls with the consommé for a traditional birria stew. Garnish with chopped onion, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Helpful Tips
- If you’re making this in a Dutch oven, here’s what to do: Sear the chuck roast on all sides in the pot until browned, then set aside. Make the sauce as is, pour it into the pot with the meat, and toss it all together. Bring this to a boil over high heat, reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 3 to 3 ½ hours.
- Add extra smoky flavor by searing the beef first. This is optional, but tastes so good if you have the time! Once the chuck roast is sliced into pieces, sear each piece on all sides before adding it to the slow cooker to cook.
- Make the sauce the night before. If you’re on a time crunch, you can make the sauce the night before and store it in the fridge. Then, let it come to room temperature before adding it to the slow cooker.
- If you want to bring down the heat, reduce the amount of arbol chiles. Use just one or two. You could also omit them completely.
- If you don’t have access to any of the Mexican chiles, you can use chipotles in adobo sauce. The flavor will be more similar to my barbacoa recipe though.
- If the beef doesn’t shred easily, it hasn’t been cooked long enough for the connective fibers to break down. Just pop it back in the slow cooker for another 30 minutes, or until it shreds easily.
Ways To Serve Birria
- Birria tacos (quesa birria): Watch the video below to see how I make these! But essentially, you’ll first dip the tortilla in the birria consommé and cook one side on the grill until crispy. Then flip it and top with cheese across the whole tortilla. Add a portion of birria on half the tortilla, along with a sprinkle of onion and cilantro. Once the cheese has melted, fold the tacos in half, continuing to fry for 2 to 3 minutes each side, until crispy.
- Birria quesadilla: The way the tacos are made is very similar to a quesadilla but with a larger tortilla and more of each ingredient.
- Topped onto nachos: Switch up the meat on your ground beef nachos with shredded birria! You can follow the steps on my carnitas nachos for reference.
More Mexican Recipes
- Chicken Fajitas: A classic fajita dish everyone loves!
- Carne Asada: The carne asada marinade is what makes this SO good.
- Shrimp Tacos: The best way to make shrimp tacos with a savory slaw.
- Ceviche: The ultimate light and fresh party appetizer.
- Elote: This is Mexican grilled corn at its finest.
- Or check out my list of Mexican recipes for more ideas!
I can’t wait for you to try this birria recipe! If you make it, I’d love to know how yours turned out in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.
Birria (Slow Cooker)
Description
Mexican birria de res is a hearty slow-cooked stew with the utmost flavor and juicy, fall-apart tender beef. You can serve it in a bowl with fresh toppings like onion, cilantro, and lime juice, or go the extra step to make birria tacos. Watch how I make both in my kitchen in the video below!
Video
Equipment
- Slow Cooker My favorite slow cooker I use for all slow-cooked Mexican meats.
- Vitamix Blender The best blender to make sauces.
Ingredients
Beef Birria (Birria de Rez)
- 4 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 3-inch chunks
Birria Sauce
- 10 guajillo chiles
- 5 ancho chilies
- 3 arbol chilies
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 bay leaves
- Optional: chopped onion, cilantro, and lime wedges for serving.
Instructions
- Deseed the chilies. Slice the stems off the chilies and shake out the seeds. Then, give them a quick rinse to remove any dust or dirt from the outside.
- Simmer the chilies. In a medium pot, add the guajillo chilies, ancho chilies, arbol chilies. Cover completely with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the chilies have softened.
- Roast the veggies. While the chilies are simmering, add the tomatoes, onion, and garlic cloves to a quarter sheet pan. Broil them for 4 to 6 minutes, until lightly charred.
- Make the sauce. Transfer the chilies and 1 cup of the remaining water to a high-powered blender. Remove the garlic from it's peel and add it to the blender along with the tomatoes, onion, broth, vinegar, cumin, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth.
- Slow cook the birria. Place the beef chunks in the slow cooker. Pour the birria sauce on top, and add the bay leaves. Use tongs to gently mix it all together. then cover. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. The beef should be tender and fall apart easily when shredded with a fork. If it doesn't shred easily, cook it a bit longer.
- Shred the meat. Discard the bay leaves. Remove the beef to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it.
- Combine the meat and sauce. Place the shredded beef back in the slow cooker, give it a stir, and let it absorb the liquid (aka consommé).
- Serve. Serve the birria straight from the slow cooker for a variety of meals (see ideas above) or transfer to bowls with the consommé for a traditional birria stew. Garnish with chopped onion, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Lisa’s Tips
- If you’re making this in a Dutch oven, here’s what to do: Sear the chuck roast on all sides in the pot until browned, then set aside. Make the sauce as is, pour it into the pot with the meat, and toss it all together. Bring this to a boil over high heat, reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 3 to 3 ½ hours.
- If you can’t find Mexican oregano, substitute it with marjoram.
- For less heat, reduce or omit the arbol chilies. They’re the ones that pack in heat!
- If you have a Mexican cinnamon stick, you can sub a 4-inch piece for the ground cinnamon.
- To store for the week: Let the meat come to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container. It’ll stay good for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.
- To freeze for later: Store any leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave for a few minutes, until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 514kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 902mg | Potassium: 1454mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 7174IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 7mg
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Thanks Lisa for the wonderful recipe!! I followed your instructions to a T and it was delicious 😋 and it made my house smell amazing !! I made tacos tonight and I’ve got enough left over for probably nachos tomorrow night 👏🏼Thanks for making me look like a rock star in the kitchen😉
You are more than welcome, Brenda! ;) So happy you loved this birria. And enjoy the nachos tomorrow night!
I made this dish down to the exact ingredients for my Mexican son-in-law’s birthday along with the guacamole, cilantro lime rice, lime crema, and pico de gallo as fun sides. Being somewhat of a Birria connoisseur, he absolutely raved about it. He used the leftover sauce and made two more dishes. My family said this was over the top, and it is a new favorite to add to the meal rotation. Thank you for all your vegetable and herb infused recipes of which I have made many!
Amazing! I’m so glad this birria recipe was perfect for his birthday party, Carol.
I made this recipe using my Instant Pot. It is delicious and the meat is so tender. 20 minutes/lb was perfect. We’ll be having family dinner on Sunday, my meal is prepped. Everyone is looking forward to Birria tacos! Thank you, Lisa, for another delicious, easy to prepare recipe!
Wonderful! I hope everyone loves their birria tacos, Carol.
I would like to make this the using chiles in powder form. Not sure what quantities would be the equivalent of fresh chilies.
Hi James – Unfortunately I haven’t tested this recipe with chiles in powder form.
Sounds good….but can I make it with chicken? It’s just what I have onhand at present.
I haven’t tested this with chicken, but I’m thinking it could maybe work. You can reference my slow cooker salsa verde chicken recipe for proper cooking instructions.
I really wanted to love this, but the cloves were overpowering and ended up being the prominent flavor. I think if I made it again, I would use 1/4 or 1/8 tsp instead. I love spice but this was more like an Indian curry than birria. It was still good, just not the birria flavors we were looking for.
Hi Nicole – you can definitely reduce the amount of cloves if you’d like. It’s very much personal preference. :)
I am making this while on vacation, but wanted to prep the sauce before hand so when it came to doing on vacation I just would have to add meat and sauce and cook. Do you have any suggestion on how much sooner before the trip I could make the sauce?
Hi Marisa – you can make the sauce months in advance and freeze it until you’re ready. Enjoy!
Made this tonight and loved it. Really good! However my broth wasn’t as thin as yours and my tortillas stuck to my pan with the consume on it. Any thoughts? Maybe I needed a fattier cut of meat? All that said – still a fantastic recipe. Thank you!
Hi Essie – glad you loved this birria recipe! You can use a seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan, to prevent that sticking. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious
Glad you enjoyed this birria recipe, Rhonda!
I made this with half the amount of cloves and yet all I can taste is cloves and bitter. Is that what it’s supposed to taste like?
Hi Molly – It shouldn’t taste all like cloves. But if you find that it does, you can reduce the amount used next time!
Holy crap this was sooo good! Amazon even had a 3 pack of the mexican oregano and 2 of the chilis I didn’t have to save me looking for the stuff I didn’t have. My husband has demanded it weekly from now on-lol!
Haha, I’m so thrilled you and your husband love the recipe, Laura! And awesome find on Amazon as well!
Very Tasty! Kids loved it in Tacos!
Recipe allows for personal seasoning… I prefer more salt.
Hi Jessica – Thrilled to hear the kiddos loved this birria recipe!
This is one of the BEST recipes I’ve ever made!! The blend of spices of immaculate, 10/10
Thanks so much, Laura! I’m so thrilled you loved it and the blend of spices. :)
The birria tacos are one of the most delicious meals that I have ever made!! I froze the extra meat and had two more meals of them. They are amazing!
I’m so happy you loved the tacos, Jaime! And enjoy the leftovers on that birria meat. I still have some in my freezer as well, and can’t wait to enjoy it again in the future!
I made this recipe and the meat Is delicious but for some reason the sauce (consumme) came out thick. How can I make it less thick?
Just made this for a get together and it was a crowd pleaser. I added one less cup of liquid and it was perfect. Used it for quesadillas. I added more salt as well since it brought out the flavors more. Definitely going to keep this one in rotation
Happy you loved it!
Lisa, This is an awesome recipe. I’ve been looking for an authentic recipe with the flavors that remind me of an old family friend’s Beef Birria.
I added a Roasted Red Bell Pepper and some Cayenne Pepper to the sauce.
You Nailed it. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much, Joseph! Thrilled to have that positive review from you. :) Enjoy!
Good recipe. Not sure it’s necessary to broil the vegetables in the oven. I also don’t think it’s necessary to buy Mexican oregano. The recipe only calls for 1 t. I would just substitute regular oregano. I omitted the chiles de arbol and the recipe was perfectly spicy for me. You can also use a cup less of broth. I used water as broth was not necessary given all the flavor already in the recipe. The amount called for in the blender was too much for the blender to handle, so be careful. I had several cups of leftover sauce, which I’m freezing and will use for another recipe.
Hi Hibber – Thanks for sharing your experience and tweaks! Glad your birria still turned out great in the end.
I serve it over pasta, with cojita cheese, lime crema and Pico de Gallo on the side. With the crema and pasta, you don’t have to worry about too much heat for your guests.
Hi William – Loving all the serving ideas!
I went out of my way to locate the correct chilies for this recipe and it was worth it! Everyone in my family LOVED the birra beef! I think it was the first time in the past few years that I made something everyone wowed. Thank you so much for this delightful recipe that will surly be made again.
Hi Christine – I’m so glad this birria recipe was a hit! Now you have a dish you can always wow your guests with.
Hi Lisa,
I made your birria recipe tonight for dinner with pork roast as that is what I had on hand in my freezer. It turned out really good and I also made your cassava flour tortillas to go along with it. I didn’t add the Chiles de árbol because I didn’t want to risk it in being too spicy because I have low tolerance for spicy food. The birria had just enough spice for me, thank you another great easy delicious recipe!
Hi Daril – Happy to hear this birria recipe turned out great with pork roasts instead!
I made this recipe on Sunday when the family planned on being here. Everyone loved it and we made it into tacos. There was only a small serving leftover for me to have for lunch this week. The recipe is easy to follow and I will be making it again.
Hi Jennifer – Thanks for leaving a review and so happy to hear this birria was such a hit!
Hi Lisa! I just wanted to say this recipe was an absolute hit at home with my husband. He said it was the best meal I have made, EVER! And I’m a pretty decent cook and he went to culinary school so it’s hard to impress him. The flavors are so vibrant. We have birria tacos for a few days and used the remainder as filling for pupusas. I will be making this again for sure!
Hi Jessica – Yay, I’m so thrilled to hear that you both loved the recipe! And using the leftovers in pupusas sounds like a fabulous idea. Enjoy!
This was SO GOOD and so easy to make! Another winner! Thanks Lisa.
Yay, so happy you loved it!
I just got the peppers and oregano delivered and had the thought…..Could this be made with chciken instead of beef? Same weight of chciken thighs? Ajust cooking time…..let me know and if I give it I go I will let you know how it turned out.
Hi Ann – I haven’t tried this with chicken, but I think it might turn out. You’ll just need the same amount of chicken. I would also reference my salsa verde chicken recipe.
Can a pork roast be used? I ask only because I have some in my freezer at the moment. Or should I just go out and buy beef?
Hi Daril – I haven’t tried this with pork, but I think it could work! You could also reference my carnitas recipe for proper cooking times and instructions.
Hi Lisa – Made this recipe for dinner tonight, absolutely loved it. Another successful dinner😊
Hi Penny – Happy to hear your birria turned out great!
What is diff btwn this and barbacoa pls? TY
Looks delish btw!
Hi Helene – Birria is cooked in a richer and spicer broth than barbacoa. You can also see how the birria sauce is pretty different compared to what’s added to the barbacoa recipe.
The chiles are dried not fresh?
Hi Kimberly – Yes, this recipe uses dried chiles.
Can you make this in an Instant Pot instead of a slow cooker?
Hi Mary – I’m sure you can, but you’ll need to look up an Instant Pot recipe to make sure you have the correct cooking time and temperature!