Description
Rich, savory, and bursting with traditional flavors, Traditional Mexican Birria is perfect as a stew or for making crispy birria tacos with its flavorful consomé.
Ingredients
Scale
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Generously season the chuck roast pieces with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the meat on all sides until browned. Remove and set aside.
- In a medium pot, add guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles, along with tomatoes, onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Transfer softened chiles, tomatoes, and aromatics to a blender. Add 1 cup of the chile-soaked cooking water, beef broth, vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, and ground cloves. Blend until smooth.
- Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the Dutch oven with the seared meat. Discard solids.
- Stir to combine, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 3 to 3.5 hours until the meat is tender and falls apart easily.
- Shred the meat with two forks and serve with consomé as a stew or in tacos.
Notes
- For mild spice, omit árbol chiles or reduce their quantity.
- Mexican oregano and cinnamon offer authentic flavors but can be substituted with regular oregano and cinnamon sticks.
- To make in a slow cooker, sear the meat first, then cook on low for 7–8 hours or high for 5 hours.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 3.5 hour
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 580mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 10g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 85mg