We bet you’ve seen red-stained birria tacos popping up all over your social media feed and at your local Mexican hot spots, but did you know—the word “birria” actually refers to the meat inside them? This gloriously rich stew has been consumed at big celebrations and cookouts throughout Mexico, particularly in Jalisco, for generations. Though traditionally made with goat meat, many recipes for the tacos you know and love (including this one!) use beef instead, following the same method of braising for hours with dried chiles, garlic, and various spices to produce a flavorful consomé (or broth) and tender meat.
When developing our at-home recipe, we turned to José Moreno, head chef and co owner of New York premier birria truck, Birria-Landia. While making birria at home is no simple weeknight dinner, Moreno gave us all his top tips and tricks to making the best birria tacos at home to wow all your friends and family. Read on to discover how to make them yourself, and what makes them oh so good:
It’s all about the beef:
As with many broth-focused dishes (like pho, tonkotsu ramen, or beef demi-glace), José’s famous birria derives a lot of its flavor from beef bones and marrow. His preferred bone-in cut is beef shank that he buys from a specialty wholesale butcher, but when he was starting out with smaller batches, he used beef short ribs. Short ribs are one of the best things to braise and are, luckily, easy to come by. To supplement these boney cuts and add some more meat to the dish, José recommends cuts like top round or brisket, which are well-suited for hours of braising and will result in a shreddable, juicy topping for your tacos.
How to make the best birria:
— The key ingredient to birria. José uses a mix of dried chiles to provide the flavor backbone of the dish, while also achieving the dark red color that birria is known for; however, despite being packed with chiles, José says a classic birria shouldn’t be spicy. You can see that through his choice of the central chile in his birria: “The base of my birria is guajillos. You cannot make birria without guajillos.” Guajillos are one of the most popular and commonly used chile in Mexican cuisine and provide an earthy, sweet flavor that does well to supplement other tastes and types of chiles. José supplements the mild flavor of guajillos with some moritas—jalapeños that have been smoked and dried. They add a bit of smokiness and heat that really add to the birria’s complexity.
— Low and slow is the way to go. José braises his birria for hours. This long cook time is absolutely necessary to break down and tenderize the brisket while also leaching the beef bones of all their flavor. I know it may seem laborious, but the reality is once you’ve gotten everything in the pot and have put it in your oven, you have 4 to 5 hours to do whatever you like!
Serving ideas for birria:
While birria can be served in countless ways, from tacos to mulitas (to even ramen!), we love making quesatacos stained red with the fat of the birria and seared until almost crispy. The queso oaxaca melts and creates what is essentially a mini quesadilla, ready to be dunked into bowls of consomé. Half the joy of eating birria is absolutely drowning whatever you’ve stuffed with your brisket and short rib into the flavorful broth, so no matter your serving method, do not forget the generous side of consomé.
Tried making birria at home? Let us know how it came out in the comments below!
We bet you’ve seen red-stained birria tacos popping up all over your social media feed and at your local Mexican hot spots, but did you know—the word “birria” actually refers to the meat inside them? This gloriously rich stew has been consumed at big celebrations and cookouts throughout Mexico, particularly in Jalisco, for generations. Though traditionally made with goat meat, many recipes for the tacos you know and love (including this one!) use beef instead, following the same method of braising for hours with dried chiles, garlic, and various spices to produce a flavorful consomé (or broth) and tender meat.
When developing our at-home recipe, we turned to José Moreno, head chef and co owner of New York premier birria truck, Birria-Landia. While making birria at home is no simple weeknight dinner, Moreno gave us all his top tips and tricks to making the best birria tacos at home to wow all your friends and family. Read on to discover how to make them yourself, and what makes them oh so good:
It’s all about the beef:
As with many broth-focused dishes (like pho, tonkotsu ramen, or beef demi-glace), José’s famous birria derives a lot of its flavor from beef bones and marrow. His preferred bone-in cut is beef shank that he buys from a specialty wholesale butcher, but when he was starting out with smaller batches, he used beef short ribs. Short ribs are one of the best things to braise and are, luckily, easy to come by. To supplement these boney cuts and add some more meat to the dish, José recommends cuts like top round or brisket, which are well-suited for hours of braising and will result in a shreddable, juicy topping for your tacos.
How to make the best birria:
— The key ingredient to birria. José uses a mix of dried chiles to provide the flavor backbone of the dish, while also achieving the dark red color that birria is known for; however, despite being packed with chiles, José says a classic birria shouldn’t be spicy. You can see that through his choice of the central chile in his birria: “The base of my birria is guajillos. You cannot make birria without guajillos.” Guajillos are one of the most popular and commonly used chile in Mexican cuisine and provide an earthy, sweet flavor that does well to supplement other tastes and types of chiles. José supplements the mild flavor of guajillos with some moritas—jalapeños that have been smoked and dried. They add a bit of smokiness and heat that really add to the birria’s complexity.
— Low and slow is the way to go. José braises his birria for hours. This long cook time is absolutely necessary to break down and tenderize the brisket while also leaching the beef bones of all their flavor. I know it may seem laborious, but the reality is once you’ve gotten everything in the pot and have put it in your oven, you have 4 to 5 hours to do whatever you like!
Serving ideas for birria:
While birria can be served in countless ways, from tacos to mulitas (to even ramen!), we love making quesatacos stained red with the fat of the birria and seared until almost crispy. The queso oaxaca melts and creates what is essentially a mini quesadilla, ready to be dunked into bowls of consomé. Half the joy of eating birria is absolutely drowning whatever you’ve stuffed with your brisket and short rib into the flavorful broth, so no matter your serving method, do not forget the generous side of consomé.
Tried making birria at home? Let us know how it came out in the comments below!
Directions
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Birria
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 350º. In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, toast guajillo, morita, and pasilla chiles, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 2Transfer chiles to a medium heatproof bowl, then cover with boiling water. Using a small plate or bowl, completely submerge chiles. Let soak until rehydrated and pliable, about 20 minutes.
- Step 3Meanwhile, generously season brisket and oxtails with salt and pepper. In same pot over medium-high heat, heat oil. Working in batches, cook beef, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 6 to 7 minutes per side for brisket/roast, 4 to 5 minutes for bone-in parts. Transfer to a plate or cutting board.
- Step 4In a blender, blend chiles, 1 1/2 cups chile liquid, tomatoes, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, vinegar, cumin, and oregano, adding more chile liquid if needed, until a pourable paste forms, about 1 minute.
- Step 5Return beef to pot and add onion, bay leaves, and chile paste. Pour in enough water to just cover beef; season with a heavy pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Step 6Remove from heat, cover, and bake until beef is fork-tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves and onion, transfer beef to a cutting board, and reserve broth (or consomé). Shred beef with 2 forks.
- Step 7Taste consomé; season with salt and pepper. Depending on your preference, to thin out consomé, add water or chicken or beef stock until desired consistency is reached.
- Step 8Make Ahead: Birria can be made 5 days ahead. Store beef and consomé in separate airtight containers and refrigerate.
- Step 1
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Assembly
- Step 1In same large pot over medium-low heat, bring consomé to a bare simmer (there should be a layer of dark red-looking fat/oil on top).
- Step 2Construct a taco station: Have the consomé simmering on one burner, a large cast-iron skillet or plancha heated over medium heat on another, a plate of shredded beef from the birria and another plate of tortillas to the side, as well as small bowls filled with Oaxaca cheese, onions, and cilantro.
- Step 3Working in batches, reheat 1/3 cup beef on one side of cast-iron skillet, leaving enough room for a tortilla, tossing occasionally, until seared and browned. Take a tortilla and dip into consomé, coating both sides with dark red fat. Place tortilla on cast-iron skillet next to beef and cover with cheese.
- Step 4Fry tortilla until cheese is mostly melted and underside has browned and started to crisp, about 3 minutes. Place seared meat on one half of tortilla and top with onion and cilantro. Fold tortilla into a taco and cook until crisp, about 30 seconds per side. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Step 5Serve tacos with lime wedges and small bowls of consomé for dipping alongside.
