Description
This authentic Beef Birria recipe features tender, slow-cooked chuck roast simmered in a rich, smoky, and spicy chile tomato sauce. Toasted dried chiles, aromatic spices, and beef stock create a deeply flavorful sauce that infuses the meat as it braises in the oven. Perfect served with warm tortillas, fresh chopped onion, and cilantro, this dish makes for comforting birria tacos or a hearty stew.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chiles and Sauce
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 2 dried guajillo chiles
- 3 dried chiles de árbol
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
Beef and Seasoning
- 1 (3 pound) chuck roast, fat trimmed, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium white onion, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
For Serving
- Chopped white onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Corn or flour tortillas, warmed
Instructions
- Toast the Chiles: Cut open the dried ancho, guajillo, and chiles de árbol with kitchen scissors or a knife, discarding the seeds. Heat a large dry skillet over medium-high heat and toast the chiles, moving them occasionally, for about 4 minutes until fragrant.
- Soak the Chiles: Cover the toasted chiles with 2 inches of water in the skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn off the heat and let the chiles soak until softened, approximately 15 minutes.
- Prepare Oven and Beef: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the lower third position. Pat the beef pieces dry with paper towels and season them evenly with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Sear the Beef: Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Working in batches, add the beef and brown it on all sides, roughly 15-18 minutes in total. Transfer the browned beef to a plate and set aside.
- Sauté Aromatics and Spices: In the same Dutch oven, add the quartered onion and cook over medium heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Add smashed garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in cinnamon, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, and ground ginger, cooking another minute until the spices bloom.
- Add Liquids: Pour in the beef stock and white vinegar, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the pot. Remove the pot from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.
- Blend the Sauce: Drain the softened chiles, discarding the soaking water. Add the chiles and canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes into the pot. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until very smooth directly in the pot. Alternatively, transfer to a blender, blend until nearly smooth, then return the sauce to the pot.
- Braise the Beef: Nestle the browned beef pieces along with any accumulated juices back into the blended sauce in the Dutch oven. Cover the pot tightly with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for about 2½ hours until the beef is tender and easily shredded with forks.
- Shred the Beef: Remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat.
- Serve: Ladle the tender shredded beef and plenty of sauce into bowls. Garnish with chopped white onion and cilantro. Serve alongside warm corn or flour tortillas, or use the beef as a filling for quesadillas or birria tacos.
Notes
- For milder heat, reduce the number of chiles de árbol or remove completely.
- Use an immersion blender carefully as the sauce will be hot; allow slight cooling before blending fully.
- Leftover birria tastes even better the next day as flavors meld.
- Use corn tortillas for a traditional Mexican experience or flour tortillas if preferred.
- Beef chuck roast is preferred for its balance of fat and connective tissue that becomes tender when slow-cooked.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 1/8th of recipe)
- Calories: 410
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 670mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 42g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
