Make these mouth-watering Authentic Mexican Birria Tacos filled with tender shredded beef, white onions, Oaxaca cheese, and cilantro – the perfect meal for sharing!
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Tacos de birria are a delicacy from Mexico eaten during special occasions and sold as street food. Traditionally birria tacos are made using goat meat. However, most people now use beef instead because it is more affordable and is not as lean as goat meat. According to Eater birria tacos became extremely popular in LA due to a photo of the dish going viral on Instagram, and eventually, birria tacos gained popularity beyond LA. For more information about the history of tacos de birria click here.
This birria recipe has always been a hit with my family and friends. And it does a great job of making you feel like you're in Mexico! This recipe was also featured on the Tamron Hall Show and is one of my most popular recipes.
Serve these tacos with Oven Baked Skin on Fries, Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges or Healthy Mango Salad Recipe.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- These authentic Mexican Birria Tacos are rich in flavor thanks to the spices and chilies.
- The beef has a soft and tender texture, which makes it hearty.
- You can make the beef filling ahead of time.
- This dish is excellent for sharing.
Authentic Mexican Birria Tacos Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Filling
- Beef Chuck: Fill corn tortillas with beef chuck. This primal cut is from the shoulder, neck, ribs, and upper arm of a cow. It is flavourful and tastes best when cooked over time.
- Corn tortillas: In this recipe, we will dip them in consomé, fry them, and add the shredded beef! These tortillas are made from maize.
Dried Chilies
- Ancho chili: Ripened, and dried poblano peppers. They have a mild smoky flavor. These chilies are wide in shape, hence the name (ancho means wide in Spanish) and they are the most used chilies in Mexico.
- Guajillo chili: This dry form of mirasol chili is the second most used chili in Mexico after ancho chilies. Guajillo chiles have a sweet, fruity, tangy, and smoky flavor.
- Chipotle chili: Smoked, dried, and ripened jalapeno peppers. Used a lot in Mexican and Tex Mex recipes. Chipotles have a spicy, smoky flavour and a slight sweetness.
Spices
- Cloves: These are aromatic flower buds from the clove tree, and they are native to Indonesia. Use cloves to flavor meat, meat sauce, and rice dishes.
- Black pepper: is a flowering vine cultivated for its peppercorn fruit.
- Thyme: Is a herb. Thyme will add an earthy, herby flavor to this dish.
- Marjoram: This is a dried herb that is sweet and mild, with a pine and citrus flavor. It is also part of the mint family.
- Oregano: Is also an herb from the mint family. It has a slightly bitter and pungent flavor with earthy, musty, and minty notes.
- Cumin: Made from the dried seed Cuminum cyminum. It has a rich, hearty, earthy, and warm flavor.
- Ginger: This is a slightly peppery, sweet, and spicy plant.
- Garlic cloves: This plant has a nutty, spicy, and pungent flavor.
- Onion: A vegetable with an aromatic, acidic, salty, spicy, sweet, and sour flavor.
- Cinnamon stick: This is made by cutting the stems of cinnamon trees. It has a sweet, spicy, and woody flavor.
- Bay leaf: An aromatic leaf used to cook stews. Bay leaves have a minty, subtly bitter flavor.
Liquids
- Apple cider vinegar: Has a sour taste and is usually brown in color.
- ½ a can of tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes: The tomatoes help to thicken the sauce and pair perfectly with the dried chilies.
- Water: use water to loosen the consomé.
- Beef or chicken broth: adds a rich, meaty flavor to the consomé.
- Vegetable oil: will be used to pan-fry the beef and corn tortillas.
Tips and Substitutions
- Methods: There are many different ways to make birria tacos. Ultimately, it depends on your time and equipment. If you do not have a Dutch oven, cook the beef and consomé on a stove for 2 hours or until tender. Birria can also be made in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours instead of a Dutch oven.
- Consomé: Consomé is a soup or stew made from dried chilies, beef or chicken stock, tomatoes, and spices. Once the beef has been slow-cooked for 2-3 hours in the consomé, it is then used as a dip for the tacos! If you want a richer consomé, you can fry the onions, garlic, and spices in a pan before adding them to the blender.
- Alternative fillings: The meaty filling can also be made with lamb or chicken; however, the cooking times may differ depending on the type of protein. It can also be filled with The Best Simple Guacamole Recipe.
How to Make Authentic Mexican Birria Tacos
- Preheat oven at 175C/350F/Gas 4. Start by de-seeding the ancho, guajillo, and chipotle chilies. Then, soak the chilies in 2 cups of boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, chop the beef chuck into medium-sized pieces. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. Then, grab a Dutch oven, add a splash of oil, and sear beef pieces on each side for 5-7 minutes or until brown. Option 1: pour 2 cups of water into the beef, salt to taste, bring to a boil and cook beef on a medium heat for 30 minutes. This will create the stock for the consomé. Option 2: Pour 1 cup of pre-made chicken or beef stock into the dutch oven after searing the beef.
3. Now, the chilies should be soft. Add the chilies and pour the water it soaked in into a blender. Next, add apple cider vinegar, tomatoes (or canned tomatoes), onion, garlic cloves, cloves, marjoram, thyme, oregano, cumin, ginger, and black pepper to the blender and blend until smooth.
4. Pour the sauce into the Dutch oven with the beef.
5. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
6. Cook for 2 hours or until tender. Check the beef occasionally and add water if it becomes too dry. Once you remove the beef from the oven, use a fork to shred each piece.
Assemble Birria Tacos
7. Add a few drops of oil to a pan. Then, dip corn tortilla in the consomé, add the tortilla to the pan, and add shredded beef to half of the tortilla.
8. Fold the tortilla, pour a bit more consomé over it, flip the taco, and cook the other side for a few minutes.
9. Finally, remove the taco from the pan and top the taco with diced onions, Oaxaca cheese, and cilantro. Serve and enjoy these delicious authentic Mexican Birria tacos with the consome dipping sauce and this refreshing Easy Pineapple Mocktail.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Birria tacos are slightly spicy with a sweet and sour taste.
It is made with slow-cooked beef in a rich spicy sauce, corn tortillas, onions, and Oaxaca cheese.
Birria tacos are pronounced “Bi-ree-ah tah-cohs”.
Refrigerate consomé and shredded beef in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also freeze beef and consomé in an airtight container for up to one month. Store tortilla in a dry place.
More Tasty Mexican Recipes
Authentic Mexican Birria Tacos
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Blender
Ingredients
- 700 g beef chuck
- 2 dried ancho chilies
- 2 dried guajillo chilies
- 1 dried chipotle chilies
- 1 tablespoon of cloves ground
- 1 tablespoon of black pepper ground
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of majoram
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of ginger ground
- Salt to taste
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ an onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
- 2 fresh tomatoes or ½ a can of tomatoes
- Boiling water
- 2 cups of chicken or beef stock see notes
Tacos
- A splash of vegetable oil
- Corn tortillas
- Diced onions
- Oaxaca cheese
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 175C/350F/Gas 4. Start by de-seeding the ancho, guajillo, and chipotle chilies. Then, soak the chilies in 2 cups of boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop the beef chuck into medium-sized pieces. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. Then, grab a dutch oven, add a splash of oil, and sear beef pieces on each side for 5-7 minutes or until brown on each side. Option 1: Pour 2 cups of water into the beef, salt to taste, bring to a boil and cook beef on medium heat for 30 minutes. This will create the stock for the consomé. Option 2: Pour 1-2 cups of pre-made chicken or beef stock into the dutch oven after searing the beef.
- Once the chilies are soft, add them and the water soaked in to a blender. Next, add apple cider vinegar, tomatoes (or canned tomatoes), onion, garlic cloves, cloves, marjoram, thyme, oregano, cumin, ginger, salt to taste and black pepper to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce into the dutch oven with the beef. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, salt to taste if necessary and cook for 2 hours or until tender. Check the beef from time to time and add water if it becomes too dry.
- Once, you remove the beef from the oven use a fork to shred it.
Birria Tacos (Assemble)
- Add a few drops of oil to a pan. Then, dip corn tortilla in the consomé, add the tortilla to the pan, add shredded beef to half of the tortilla, fold tortilla, pour a bit more consomé over the tortilla, then flip the taco and cook on the other side for a few minutes.
- Remove the taco from the pan and top the taco with diced onions, Oaxaca cheese, and cilantro. Serve and Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Methods: Depending on your time and equipment, there are multiple ways to prepare birria tacos. If you don't have a Dutch oven, cook the beef and consomé on the stove for about 2 hours or until tender. You can also use a slow cooker, which takes around 4-6 hours.
- Consomé: Consomé is a flavorful soup or stew made from dried chilies, beef or chicken stock, tomatoes, and spices. After slow-cooking the beef in the consomé for 2-3 hours, use the rich liquid as a dip for the tacos. For an even richer flavor, fry the onions, garlic, and spices before blending them into the consomé.
- Alternative Fillings: The meaty filling can be made with lamb or chicken, but note that the cooking times will vary depending on the protein. You can also fill the tacos with The Best Simple Guacamole Recipe.
HEATHER PERINE
LOVE tacos...but this version is new to me so I can't wait to give it a go! My hubbie is going to nuts over these!
Jen Sim
You'll love them! They are filled with so much flavour 🙂
Breannah
They have the most amazing flavor and the meat is so tender. It’s a lot of different spices and stuff but so ver worth it. You won’t be disappointed that’s for sure.
Charina
This is the third time for me making this birria tacos recipe and it never fails! I use the small corn tortillas and it makes about 20 something tacos! We add chopped onions, cilantro and lime to our consumne. When we dip the tacos in there, it's yummy goodness that melts in your mouth. I cook it in my pressure cooker and it's ready and meat is tender in an hour. Love love this recipe! Thank you for sharing it!
Farrukh Aziz
The different spices and flavors that burst in your mouth, delicious! These tacos were an absolute hit in my Mexican recipe list! Making this again soon!
Jen Sim
I agree! This is my go-to taco recipe at the moment
Christina
This is one of our favorites!!!! We call them dippy tacos since birria is hard to say😂 My whole family loves them. We like to use flour tortillas and make quesadillas 😋 thank you for sharing this recipe!
Jen Sim
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it, Christina. 🙂
veenaazmanov
Surely delicious and a comfort meal. Love the filling to these Tacos. Yum
Jen Sim
I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Linda
Love this recipe and the meat is so juicy and flavorful!
Jen Sim
It's one of my favorites!
amycaseycooks
Wow!! I love delicious tacos and these look awesome. So many flavors ~ I know my family will love these. They are on the menu this week.
Jen Sim
Enjoy! 🙂
Eva
This sounds like a true feast for the senses! I like real tacos recipes that require some extra steps than just filling up a tortilla. The dedication needed to create this recipe - from preparing the meat and the consomé - really give the whole dish a fantastic complexity. Next level tacos!
Jen Sim
Thank you Eva! I am so happy to hear that you find this recipe informative 🙂
Beth
I just tried my first tacos de birria from a food truck near me, and I'm so happy to learn how to make them myself from this recipe! Besides, I love anything I can cook in my Dutch oven.
silvia
Tacos de birria are a real treat. The combination of spices is to die for. It's amazing to see how a dish I've known for years went viral big time!
Heidy
This recipe for tacos de birria was delicious, and the entire family was delighted to have something new instead of the same old same old. I will be making this again soon. Have a great week!
Heidy
Jen Sim
Thanks, Heidy! Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you have a great week too
Jenny
What a great tacos recipe! Really delicious. I made them yesterday, we had friends over, and they were such a hit! I am not experienced in making tacos and really appreciated your tips and recipe. I used the peppers you suggested; everything came out amazing. Thanks so much for this recipe; I will definitely make the tacos again!
Kimberly Martinez
These were absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to make them again! Perfection
Charina
Out of 2 other recipes that I've tried for birria tacos, this one is the best! My family enjoyed it! Thank you!
Jen Sim
Thanks, Charina. So glad you and your family enjoyed it!
Diane Reiner
Hi
When you say small corn tortillas, do you mean the normal size or the real small ones that haven't been out very long. Thanks
Jen Sim
Hi Diane, I mean small/regular not mini. I hope this helps.