Birria is a popular Mexican dish. The traditional birria was made popular in Jalisco, Mexico and typically prepared with goat. Since many people prefer beef and goat is not easy to come by around here, beef is what I used today.
I have a similar recipe on my blog, but it’s prepared with beef cheek. It’s rich and delicious ans perfect for those Sunday morning barbacoa tacos that some of us crave. https://pinaenlacocina.com/birria-style-beef-cheek-birria-de-res/
There are two ways you can serve this tasty birria recipe. Tacos and quesadillas, that’s a no brainer! But also popular is to serve this with plenty of consomme, either in the bowl or separately on the side with your tacos.
Most times, chile guajillo is used for this recipe, but I like to mix in different dried chiles to add a little heat. That is the wonderful thing about cooking at home, making a recipe your own. A recipe is just a guide line after all.
Beef Birria With Consomé (Birria de Res Con Consomé)
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef chuck roast sliced into 5 equal parts
- 1 large white onion sliced in half
- 1 head of garlic
- 18 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- 7-8 chile guajillo or california remove stems and seeds
- 6 chile de arbol optional
- 4 large roma tomatoes
- 1 1/2 inch piece of Mexican canela
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp marjoram
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the beef, 1/2 the onion, 1/2 of the head of garlic, 18 cups of water and salt to taste. Bring up to a boil at medium heat. Skim off the top as needed. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking until the meat is tender(about 2 hours).
- In a separate pot, add the dried chiles, remaining onion, 4-6 cloves of remaining garlic and 4 roma tomatoes, Cover with water and bring to a boil at medium heat. Reduce heat and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes.
- To the pot with tomatoes, add the canela, cloves, thyme, oregano, marjoram, cumin seeds and peppercorns. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, using a wire mesh strainer, strain out the liquid from pot with tomatoes, reserving 1/2 of the cooking water. Transfer all the ingredients including any spices that are in the strainer to the blender, including the cooking water that you reserved. Also to the blender, add two cups of the beef broth from the cooked beef. Cover tightly and blend on high until smooth. let sauce settle and then blend on high again for 40 to 50 seconds.
- Remove the onion and garlic from the pot with beef and discard. Using a fine wire strainer, strain the sauce from blender directly into the pot with beef. Add the bay leaves. Cook partially covered for 1 1/2 to 2 more hours or until the beef shreds apart easily. Taste for salt along the way.
- You can serve the birria two ways. Serve in bowls with plenty of consomé. Garnish with onion, cilantro, lime and spicy red salsa. Or you can prepare crispy birria tacos or quesadillas and serve the consomé on the side.
Notes
Not into using whole spices? You can use ground spices. Just wait to add them when you get ready to blend your chile sauce.
Love my Vitamix blender! I don’t have to strain sauces most days when I prepare my recipes.
I did strain on this day, but had hardly any chile skins left behind.
It will seem like a lot of consomme, but believe me, you will just want to drink a big bowl of it!
It freezes well! I froze the consomme separately from the beef. Freeze in smaller portions and freeze flat , if possible.
There’s that consomme on the side. It’s like you get a soup and tacos in one recipe.
Spicy Salsa For Birria Recipes https://pinaenlacocina.com/spicy-salsa-for-birria/
I wish I could reach thru this screen and grab some of this! Looks and sounds delicious!
Thank you Robert!
This looks great! Silly question but if I were to buy goat instead of beef and follow the same directions would it still make the same results?
Hi Sara, to be honest with you I have never cooked goat meat. I know people use it for birria all the time. I would imagine it’s the same. It may just need to cook a little longer so it’s tender.
I’m cooking this for the first time. I love following you in IG..
Thank you Yesenia!!
Just got back from family’s over the holiday, and they had this dish. I’m gonna make it today, now that I found this recipe. Thanks
You’re welcome Nolan!
Would rib meat also work in this this?
Hi! Rib meat would work as well. I would suggest a mix if possible because you want to make sure you will plenty of that tasty shredded beef when it cooks down for hours.
Hello Sonia have you done a video on You Tube for this recipe? I think the recipe is the same I used & loved but can’t seem to find the video! Either way I will be making more this next week!
Thanks!
Hi Lyn, I did not load a video on You Tube. I shared step by step videos on my Instagram stories a while back. It’s saved on my Instagram highlights under one of the beef highlights.
This looks so good! After the beef is cooked and shredded, do you strain to keep it from being to wet on the tacos?
Hi Cody! Some people like to strain it when preparing tacos. They serve the consome on the side and garnish with onion, cilantro and lime.
Do you add the Chile de Arbol to the consome salsa ? With the tomatoes & Chile guajillo all together?
Hi Anne,
Yes, the chile de arbol is considered a dried chile and would be included if you like to add a little heat.
Is there a video ?
Hi Daniela, the only video is on my Instagram highlights the day I prepared the Birria. Look under the highlight titled Beef 2.
How can I keep the flavor authentic but not be too spicy, for my children who don’t eat too spicy
Hi Norma, If you just take out the spicy chile de arbol, the recipe should be a little more mild. Stick to using only chile guajillo. They are the mildest of all the dried chiles.
I made the birria tacos tonight for dinner!! I made the birria yesterday and had it tonight! Was sooo good!!! Made the chile Colorado con papas yesterday for dinner…Nothing I’ve made from your recipes has been bad!! Have always gotten amazing reviews when I make your recipes!! I’ve been cooking with you since 2009 and always love what I find on your blog!! Thank you!!!
Thank you so much Michelle! I really appreciate the feedback! I am happy you are enjoying the recipes!
Do we split the 18 cups of water between the 2 pots?
Hi Ricardo, sorry for the confusion. The 18 cups of water all goes into the beef. It will cook for quite a while from start to finish. You just add enough water to the chile mixture to cover it. Just enough so it can simmer and soften the ingredients. I will revise my instructions so it’s more clear.
Hello… I’ve made this reciepe before and my family loved it. However,I’m planning to do the same for my sons up coming birthday.how would I adjust the recipe for 50 people?
Hi Tiffanie,
I would just simply multiply all the ingredients. You could prepare it ahead of time in batches. Always taste better the next day anyway.
Thank you , I made this an I loved it , I did add a little bit different spices but this is delicious, my family loved it
Oh good Sheri! I am so happy you tried the recipe. I appreciate your feedback. Thank you!
I can’t wait to try this recipe with cachetes. My favorite restaurant in Oaxaca serves as their specialty tacos de cabeza de res that have a distinctive birria flavor. And of course they offer little styrofoam cups of consommé bursting with flavor with little pieces of cabeza, onions and cilantro. Now that I am house bound due to Covid 19 I can indulge in some cooking projects!!! If this turns out even close to el brujo you’ll have a fan for life!!!
Well, I don’t know how they prepare their birria in Oaxaca, but it sure does sound delicious! I have cachete de res in my freezer right now! That is one of my favorite ways to prepare it. Thanks you for the feedback!
Can you do this in a crock pot? How would you need to adjust the recipe?
Sam, in order to get the rich flavors out of the crockpot, I would suggest searing the meat and then adding it to the consome in the crockpot that you prepared ahead of time. i would cook it on low overnight.
It would taste better. Goat birria is the best.
Can’t get goat here where I live
How much water do you mean when you say add the water, then say keep half? Etc?
Robert, when I instruct you to add 1/2 of the cooking water, it from cooking the tomatoes, chiles and spices. To the blender, you will add all of the ingredients to prepare the tomato/chile sauce with half of the cooking water from cooking the tomatoes and 2 cups of beef broth from cooking the beef.
How much water do you mean when you say add the water to the pot, then keep half of it etc?
Robert, when I instruct you to add 1/2 of the cooking water, it from cooking the tomatoes, chiles and spices. To the blender, you will add all of the ingredients to prepare the tomato/chile sauce with half of the cooking water from cooking the tomatoes and 2 cups of beef broth from cooking the beef.
If you make tacos, do you use corn or flour? Which tastes best?
Well, for me it depends on what the filling is really. I am a corn tortilla girl most of the time, especially for carne asada, barbacoa and such. But I love flour tortillas with recipes that are braised or guisados like carne con papa or chile con carne.
Best Tacos I ever had and I made them from the corn tortillas to the Birria and consume and did it in Australia! Muchas Gracias.
That’s wonderful Stephen! Thank you for the feedback on the recipe!
Do people do cheese to the tacos ?
Hi Mary, the trend for birria is to prepare what they call quesatacos. It’s essentially a corn tortilla quesadilla folded like a taco. The cheese is placed on the griddle in s circle that resembles the shape of the tortilla. The cheese is cooked until it forms a crust. Place the tortilla on top of cheese, then flip over, fill with birria, fold shut. Then drizzle some of the consome with a little grease and sear both sides. Quesataco!
Hi, I have goat in the freezer and would like to use it in this recipe. What cut would you use for this?
Debra, I have never cooked goat before, sorry. They don’t even sell it around here where I live. You could ask Mely at Mexico in My Kitchen or look for Chemo’s Chorizo on Instagram. He cooks it often.
Love the recipe and thanks!
Can I store the extra in the freezer? Consome too?
Absolutelty! I freeze leftovers all the time.
Hi! My Birria has a more brown color than red. Does it get redder the more it cooks?
It depends on the dried chiles. It should be a reddish brown color, not completely red, unless you add more dried chiles.
Hello, I plan to make this recipe soon. The photos, it looks delicious. Question for you please – Why is it necessary to remove the seeds from the chili? What happens if you leave them in? And what is an easy way to remove the seeds from the chili? Should I remove the seeds when the chili are dry, or after the chili have cooked and softened up a bit?
Hi Mark, the seeds are removed while the peppers are dry. It’s much easier. The peppers have a lot of seeds and sometimes can be large, hard to chew or bitter. I would worry if you left some seeds in,
The recipe was an outstanding success. I made it last night and took it to work to share with the construction guys I work with, they gave it a 10 out of 10 saying it is better than a couple local restaurants. Thank you!
Wow Mark! I am smiling from ear to ear!!! Thank you for the feedback on the recipe. I really appreciate it!
Hi! I’m currently making this recipe and my strainer slipped a bit straining the tomato pepper mix into the broth. Do I need to restrain again and will it effect the soup at all? Thank you so much. It smells divine so far!
hi Melanie, no worries, it will be perfectly fine! When you serve the consome, just don’t push spoon or ladle all the way to the bottom of pot.