You do not need to visit your favorite restaurant to enjoy delicious Birria Tacos—you can make them at home! This recipe is super versatile. Once your beef is cooked in this savory sauce, you can use it for quesadillas, salads, and more.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2lbs of Chuck Roast cut into 1-inch cubes (Choose from a USDA Prime, USDA Choice Grass Fed, or Classic Wagyu Chuck Roast)
- 5 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and deseeded
- 4 dried Chiles de Árbol, stemmed and deseeded
- 4 Roma tomatoes, halved
- 1 red onion, quartered
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 4 cups beef broth
- 4 cups water
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 16 corn tortillas
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup white onion, diced
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the ancho chiles, Chiles de Árbol, tomatoes, onion, garlic, beef broth, and water in a large pot. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 12-14 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Sear the beef in batches of 2 or 3, browning all sides. Transfer the meat to a plate.
- Using a blender, blend the chile and vegetable mixture until smooth.
- Add the blended sauce and meat to the dutch oven. Add cumin, oregano, bay leaves, and the cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is fork-tender, for about 3 hours.
- Remove the beef from the dutch oven, shred with two forks, and set aside. Save the cooking liquid.
- Preheat a griddle or large pan to a medium heat. Dip one tortilla in the retained cooking liquid. Place tortilla on griddle or pan and top with 2 Tbsp of mozzarella cheese and 3 Tbsp of beef. Add onion and cilantro, and fold in half. Repeat with more tortillas until the pan is full.
- Cook tacos until crisp, about 40 seconds per side. Remove cooked tacos to a platter.
- Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Use the leftover cooking liquid as a dipping sauce—it’s so good!
