Birria Tacos (Quesabirria)

Birria tacos are slow-braised Mexican beef stuffed into corn tortillas with melty cheese, fried in the rich red fat from the stew, and dipped in a bowl of consomé. They look like restaurant food, but the method is honestly simple: one pot of birria does all the hard work, and the tacos come together in minutes. This recipe gives you the full step-by-step, with oven, Instant Pot and slow cooker options.

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What Are Birria Tacos?

Birria is a rich, slow-cooked stew from Jalisco, Mexico. It is traditionally made with goat or lamb, but the beef version - birria de res - is just as much a family standard across Mexico, and it is the one you will find at most taco trucks. The stew is served with its strained stock, called consomé, plus chopped onion, coriander and lime.

Birria tacos came later, and they are a genuinely brilliant idea: dip a tortilla in the fat that rises to the top of the stew, fill it with the shredded meat, and fry it until crisp. Add melty cheese and you have quesabirria - the cheesy version that took over social media a few years ago and never left. The crowning touch is the bowl of consomé on the side, for dipping every single bite.

A Closer Look at the Ingredients

• Dried chillies (guajillo, ancho, arbol) The soul of birria. Guajillo brings fruity tang, ancho brings deep earthy sweetness - both are mild. The little arbol chillies carry the heat, so add or skip them to taste. I keep this birria deliberately on the milder side - for a deeper, richer chilli flavour, add 2 more guajillos. Look for all three in the Latin or international aisle.
• Beef chuck The main meat, and the cut matters: chuck is worked muscle full of connective tissue, which melts into gelatine over three hours and gives you soft shreds. A lean cut like topside will only ever go dry and stringy, however long you leave it.
• Bone-in short ribs The secret to a proper consomé. The bones and fat give the stock body and the red-gold fat cap you fry the tortillas in. Oxtail works too.
• Oaxaca cheese Mexico’s melting cheese (quesillo) - mild, stretchy and perfect here. Mozzarella or Monterey Jack are easy substitutes.
• Warm spices Mexican oregano, cumin, coriander, cloves and a piece of cinnamon give birria its unmistakable depth. Mexican cinnamon (canela) is soft enough to blend right into the sauce.
• Corn tortillas Street-size corn tortillas crisp up beautifully in the birria fat. Warm them first so they fold without cracking.

Ingredient Substitutions

Birria is forgiving - here is what swaps cleanly if you cannot find something:

• Dried chillies - ancho and pasilla are interchangeable, and New Mexico or California chillies stand in for guajillo. If you cannot get any dried chillies, the nearest workable swap is about 3 tablespoons of mild chilli powder plus 2 tablespoons of tomato puree for body. Chipotles in adobo will do at a push, but use two or three chipotles and a spoonful of the adobo, not the whole tin: chipotles are smoked jalapenos and several times hotter than the mild guajillo and ancho they are replacing, so a full tin gives you a fierce, smoky stew rather than this one.
• The beef - goat or lamb are the traditional choices and use the exact same method. Oxtail swaps in for short ribs, pork shoulder braises beautifully, and bone-in chicken thighs need only about 30 minutes in the sauce.
• Oaxaca cheese - mozzarella melts almost identically; Monterey Jack is a little richer. A crumble of Cotija adds a salty kick instead of the cheese pull.
• Corn tortillas - flour tortillas work and still crisp up in the fat, just softer and less traditional.
• Mexican oregano - regular oregano is fine at the same amount; the flavour is slightly less citrusy.
• Mexican cinnamon (canela) - use 1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon instead, and skip blending a hard cassia stick - it will not break down.
• Beef stock - chicken stock or even water works; the meat and chillies carry the flavour.

Equipment You’ll Need

A few solid bits of kit make this braise easy

How to Make Birria Tacos (Step by Step)

Full quantities are in the recipe card below. Nothing here is difficult, but two moments decide how good the birria is: throwing away the chilli water, and not rushing the braise.

1. Sear the beef. Season the chuck and short ribs generously with salt and sear them hard, in batches, in a little oil over a medium-high heat until every side is deeply browned. Batches matter more than they sound: crowd the pot and the meat releases its water faster than the pan can boil it off, so it stews grey instead of browning. That golden crust is the savoury backbone of the whole braise, and you cannot add it later.
2. Simmer the chillies and aromatics. Snip the stems off the dried chillies with scissors and shake the seeds out through the opening, which is far easier than cutting them and keeps the bitter seeds out of the sauce. Put them in a separate pot with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppercorns, oregano, cumin, coriander, cloves and cinnamon, cover with water and simmer gently for 15 minutes. You are rehydrating leather here: the chillies need to go completely soft or they will never blend smooth, and a hard boil will make them bitter.
3. Blend the sauce and strain it. Drain the pot and throw the simmering water away. That is the step people skip and it is the commonest reason a birria tastes harsh, because the bitterness leaches out of the skins into the water. Lift the cinnamon stick out unless it is soft Mexican canela, then blend the solids with the vinegar and a cup of the stock for a full two minutes, longer than feels necessary. Push it through a fine sieve afterwards. What stays behind in the mesh is chilli skin and spice husk, and it is the difference between a consome that feels silky and one that feels sandy on the tongue.
4. Braise it low and slow. Oven to 150°C (300°F). Return the meat to the pot, pour the sauce over, then swill the remaining stock round the empty blender and tip that in too, with the bay leaves and salt. Bring it to a gentle simmer on the hob before the lid goes on, so it is already at temperature when it goes in, then braise for about three hours. Treat that as a guide and not an instruction: it is done when the meat gives way to a fork with no resistance, and bigger chunks, a cooler oven or a heavier pot all add time. Underdone braised beef is tough, not chewy, and the only cure is another half hour.
5. Shred the meat and skim the fat. Lift the meat onto a board, pull out the bones and the bay leaves, and shred it with two forks. Now the important bit: a layer of red fat will have risen to the top of the stock. Skim it into a small bowl and guard it, because that is what you fry the tacos in and it is where the colour and most of the flavour live. If you have made the birria a day ahead it is even easier, because the fat sets into a solid cap in the fridge and lifts off in one piece.
6. Build and fry the tacos. Warm the tortillas first so they bend instead of splitting, which takes twenty seconds in the microwave wrapped in damp kitchen paper. Dip a tortilla in the skimmed fat, lay it in a hot frying pan, and top one half with the shredded birria, the cheese and a little onion and coriander. Fold it over and fry two to three minutes a side until it is properly crisp. Keep the heat at a steady medium: too hot and the tortilla darkens before the cheese has melted enough to weld the taco shut, and it falls open when you lift it.
7. Serve them straight away. These do not wait. Scatter over the rest of the onion and coriander, put the lime wedges out, and give everyone a bowl of warm consome with a little shredded meat stirred into it. The tacos soften within a few minutes of leaving the pan, so fry them in batches and eat as you go rather than building a plateful first.

No Dutch oven or no time for the oven? The birria also works in a slow cooker (LOW for 6-8 hours) or an Instant Pot (high pressure, 50 minutes, natural release) - both versions are in the recipe notes.

Recipe Card for Birria Tacos (Quesabirria)

Recipe Card

Birria Tacos (Quesabirria)

Slow-braised Mexican beef birria shredded into corn tortillas with melty cheese, pan-fried crisp in the rich fat from the stew, and served with a bowl of consome for dipping.

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Prep

30 min

Cook

3 hrs 20 min

Total

3 hrs 50 min

Serves

6

Per serving

875 kcal

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6 people (2-3 tacos each)

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Equipment I Use

Dutch OvenBlenderFine Mesh SieveLarge non-stick frying pan or griddleKitchen scissors

Ingredients

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For the birria (beef and sauce)

2 lb beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks, excess fat trimmed 1.5 lb bone-in beef short ribs, or oxtail; the bones and fat make the broth 1 tbsp neutral oil, for searing 6 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed 3 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed 2 dried arbol chiles, optional - this is where the heat comes from; leave out for mild 4 roma tomatoes, quartered 1 white onion, peeled and halved 6 garlic cloves, peeled 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano, or regular oregano 1 tsp cumin seeds, or ground cumin 1 tsp coriander seeds 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/2 cinnamon stick, Mexican canela if you can get it - see notes 3 bay leaves 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 3 cups beef broth, divided 1 tbsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the meat

For the tacos

12-16 corn tortillas, street size, white or yellow 9 oz Oaxaca cheese, shredded; mozzarella or Monterey Jack work too 1/2 white onion, finely diced 1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped 2 limes, cut into wedges

Instructions

Tap a step to tick it off as you cook.

1

Sear the beef

Bring the meat to room temperature and season it generously with salt. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the chuck pieces and short ribs hard on all sides, in batches, until well browned. Set aside.

2

Simmer the chiles and aromatics

Snip the stems off the dried chiles with scissors and shake out the seeds. Put the chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppercorns, oregano, cumin, coriander, cloves and cinnamon in a separate pot, cover with water and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until everything is soft.

3

Blend the sauce

Drain the pot and discard the simmering water - it can taste bitter. Transfer the solids to a blender (remove the cinnamon stick first unless it is soft Mexican canela), add the vinegar and 1 cup of the beef broth, and blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer for a silky consome.

4

Braise the birria

Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Return the seared meat to the Dutch oven, pour the sauce over it, and swish the remaining 2 cups of broth around the blender to collect every bit of flavour - pour that in too, with the bay leaves and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer on the hob, cover, and braise in the oven for about 3 hours, until the meat shreds easily with a fork. If it is not falling apart yet, give it more time - it is done when it shreds.

5

Shred the meat and skim the fat

Lift the meat out onto a board, discard the bones and bay leaves, and shred it with two forks. Skim the red fat floating on top of the broth into a small bowl - that is your frying gold. Ladle the broth (the consome) into small bowls for dipping and stir a little shredded meat, diced onion and coriander into each.

6

Build and fry the tacos

Warm the tortillas so they bend without cracking (wrap a stack in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds). Dip each tortilla in the skimmed fat, lay it in a hot non-stick frying pan over medium heat, and top one half with shredded birria, cheese, and a little onion and coriander. Fold, then fry for 2-3 minutes per side until crisp and deeply golden.

7

Serve

Serve the tacos hot, sprinkled with the rest of the onion and coriander, with lime wedges and a bowl of warm consome on the side. Dip every bite.

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Chef’s notes＋

Spice level: guajillo and ancho are mild - the heat is all in the arbol chillies. Leave them out for a mild birria, add one or two for medium. And the longer the braise, the mellower the heat becomes.

Make ahead and freeze: birria is a brilliant make-ahead dish. Keep the meat and broth in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for 3 months - the fat sets in a cap on top, and that cap is exactly what you want for frying the tacos.

Slow cooker: sear the meat, then cook everything on LOW for 6-8 hours. Instant Pot: high pressure for 50 minutes with a natural release.

Chicken version: make the same sauce and simmer bone-in, skinless chicken thighs in it for about 30 minutes, then shred.

For a crowd: fry the tacos in batches and keep them warm on a tray in a 95°C (200°F) oven.

Nutrition per serving＋

875 kcalProtein 58 gCarbs 45 gFat 52 gSat fat 22 gFibre 9 gSugar 8 gSodium 1880 mgServing 460

Birria Tacos (Quesabirria) · https://chefsbinge.com/birria-tacos/

What to Serve With Birria Tacos

The consomé is non-negotiable - every taco gets dipped. Beyond that, keep it simple: lime wedges, extra chopped onion and coriander, a bowl of guacamole on the side, and something cold to drink. Mexican rice, refried beans or corn on the cob round it out into a proper feast, and for a full taco-night spread, put my Cochinita Pibil Tacos on the table next to them. Something green cuts the fat too, and a salad built round coriander and lime beats a vinaigrette here.

FAQ for Birria Tacos

A Few Words from the Chef

I am a huge fan of tacos, and there are not many good Mexican restaurants in my area - so I have learned to make them myself, and birria tacos are the highlight of our Mexico-themed nights at home. What I love most is the technique: you build a deep braise, rescue every bit of flavour from the pot, and the fat you would normally skim away becomes the star - it fries the tortilla into something crisp, stained red and full of the stew’s flavour. Nothing is wasted. Make the birria a day ahead if you can - the flavour deepens overnight, and the chilled fat cap makes frying effortless. Buen provecho!

If taco night is your thing, try my Al Pastor Tacos next, or keep the crispy-and-cheesy theme going with my Quesadilla Con Carne.