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My authentic beef birria recipe features seared beef simmered in a rich chili broth until it’s melt-in-your-mouth tender. Enjoy it as a stew or serve it in tacos or as a bowl.
In my home, we enjoy our fair share of beef stews, but when I need a dish that stands out from the rest, I make my famous birria. It’s been a staple in my kitchen for years but since its gone viral on TikTok and social media, I thought its the best time to share it with you.
Not only is it delicious, but it’s also versatile and packed with wholesome ingredients. The meat turns out buttery tender, while the chili broth seeps into every nook and cranny, infusing every bite with an abundance of flavor.
What is birria?
Birria, also known as birria de res, is a traditional Mexican stew originating from the state of Jalisco. It’s composed of meat (either goat’s meat or beef) that’s seared and slow-cooked in an adobo sauce consisting of peppers, onions, and aromatics.
Once fork-tender, the meat is served with rice and beans or layered in tortillas with Oaxaca cheese to make quesabirria tacos.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Versatile. Enjoy this dish on corn tortillas with lime and cilantro, or use the meat and consomme in your favorite Mexican dishes.
- Foolproof. My recipe is so easy to make. The only extra step is making the chili broth, but even that’s a breeze.
- Inexpensive. The star ingredient is beef chuck roast, one of the more affordable cuts of beef available.
- Multiple cooking methods. I prefer using my Dutch oven, but I’ve also included instructions on how to use your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Once you’ve made my birria meat, use it in my birria pizza, birria quesadilla, or birria ramen.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Decided on Friday to make this for Father’s Day dinner. I doubled the recipe to have extra for the week. Super easy to make, the house smells fantastic, it’s delicious, and I have a thrilled husband! Thank you!” – Kirsten
Key Ingredients
- Beef chuck roast. Also known as beef stewing meat. It’s slightly fattier, which helps the beef turn out buttery soft and tender. Cut into 1- to 1 ½-inch cubes.
- Dried peppers. I like to use both dried ancho chiles and New Mexico chilies. These chilis add different heat and flavor elements to the broth. I find these at my local grocery store, but any specialty market or Latin market should have them.
- White onion and fresh garlic. Must have aromatics for any good birria broth.
- Tomato. For acidity and flavor.
- Beef broth. I used low-sodium beef broth since we’ll add salt to the meat.
- Vegetable oil. For searing the meat.
- Salt and pepper. To taste.
- Apple cider vinegar. For acidity and to help tenderize the meat.
- Spices. I used cumin, coriander, Mexican oregano, bay leaves, and a cinnamon stick.
How to make birria
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1- Make the birria broth. Combine chilies, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and beef broth. Heat on medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Step 2- Sear the beef. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then add it to the Dutch oven and cook until all sides are brown.
Step 3- Blend. Puree the broth mixture until smooth. Add the liquid to the Dutch oven along with apple cider vinegar, spices, and bay leaves.
Step 4- Simmer. Add the liquid to the Dutch oven along with apple cider vinegar, spices, and bay leaves. Bring everything to a simmer.
Step 5- Roast. Once simmering, transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and cook until the beef is fork-tender.
Step 6- Shred. Transfer the cooked beef to a large bowl and use two forks to shred.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Savor the broth. Trust me, the broth is 99% of the reason why I make birria. It’s so flavorful and deeply nourishing.
- Strain the puree. If you prefer a thinner sauce, pour the broth through a sieve.
- Use different meat. I’ve made this recipe with lamb, goat, and even pork shoulder. Honestly, any tough cuts of meat that require low and slow cooking will work.
- Tone down the spice. Not everyone is a spice fiend like me, so if you prefer less spice, use fewer chilies or add a few spoonfuls of honey to tone down the heat.
- Or increase the spice. If this doesn’t sound hot enough, use dried chile de arbol, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Storage instructions
To store: Allow the beef to cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To freeze: Store the cooled leftover beef in freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the beef thaw overnight before reheating.
To reheat: Reheat leftovers on the stovetop over medium-high heat or in the microwave in 30-second intervals until fully reheated.
Frequently asked questions
Birria does have some heat to it, although it’s not usually very spicy. If you’re very sensitive to spice, I would recommend making your birria with less spicy chilies.
More Mexican recipes to try
If you tried this Authentic Birria recipe or any other recipe on The Big Man’s World, please rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. It really helps others thinking of making the recipe.
Authentic Birria Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 4 ancho chilies stemmed and de-seeded
- 6 New Mexico chilies stemmed and de-seeded
- 1 large onion quartered
- 4 large tomatoes halved
- 8 cloves garlic
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140C/300F.
- Combine the chilies, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and beef broth into a large pot. Place it over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- While simmering, sear your beef. Add the oil to a large Dutch oven and place it over medium heat. Season the beef with the salt and pepper, then add it to the Dutch oven and cook for 5-6 minutes, until browned.
- Either use an immersion blender or blender to puree the chili and broth mixture until smooth.
- Add the liquid mixture into the Dutch oven, along with the apple cider vinegar, cumin, coriander, and bay leaves. Bring everything to a simmer, then transfer to the oven and cook until the beef is tender, around 3 hours.
- Transfer the beef into a bowl and use two forks to shred.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally updated January 2024, updated and republished April 2025
I’m a little confused…the broth the chuck is cooked in, we need 2 cups of that for the tacos or do we make separate broth? I don’t want to make the meat and not understand what it was cooked in is now what we soak the tortillas in. Thanks!
Using this recipe for my second time. Gave some to my neighbors, they think it’s food truck quality 😀😀
How much Mexican oregano did you use? You mention it in the intro but don’t list it in the ingredients list.
Thanks!!
1/2 teaspoon 🙂
I’m new to discovering Mexican foods, my son want’s this meal for his birthday supper. I would like to know if it’s very spicy and or how to make it mild?
Hi Nathaly! It’s mildly spiced, but that can also be a little much for some, so halve the amount of chilis used 🙂
This recipe is fantastic! It was easy and the meat came out so flavorful. This is now our go-to taco meat.
The only problem I had was with the consistency of the consume. It came out more like a thick gravy than a broth, which I’m used to when getting birria tacos at a restaurant. What did I do wrong?
Ahh thanks for letting me know, Amy. It could be the meat was smaller than needed, hence the thicker liquid from the pan juices. You could add a little beef broth to thin in out 🙂
Decided on Friday to make this for Father’s Day dinner. I doubled the recipe to have extra for the week. Super easy to make, the house smells amazing, it’s absolutely delicious, and I have an extremely happy husband! Thank you!
That means so much, Kirstin! I hope you all enjoyed it 🙂
D. E. L. I. S H. Period❗️
Easy to make and very flavorful
Thanks, Robert!
Easy to make and very flavorful
Are the chilis called for here fresh or dried?
Dried is best!
So delicious, quick, and easy! I used dried chiles and the flavor was deep and spicy, but not hot. Another great repeat recipe.
Love recipient. But I do get sick of so many woke recipss for gluten free and all special diets. How about some good normal. Desert recipes and I love good dim Sim recipe
Are the chilies used of the dried variety or fresh?
I used dried 🙂