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 1/2 large white onions 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 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, cinnamon, cloves, thyme, oregano, marjoram, cumin seeds and peppercorns. Cover with water and bring to a light boil at medium heat. Reduce heat and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes. 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.
I made the Birria for the first time and wow it was delicious! Probably the best Birria I’ve ever tasted. My entire family loved it. I will definitely make again and again. I’m so glad I found your website. Thank you!
Thank you for the feedback on the birria recipe Maria. I really am happy with it and my husband and I enjoy it very much!
I am currently making it. Smells great! Bought the meat recommended here. Does the meat get harder before it shreds by itself?
yes, it feels tough for a few hours. You will definitely know when it’s tender.
Hello! I make this for my husband all the time, and we’ve made it with both beef and goat. To be honest, it’s not different at all. Just make sure you get the bone in cuts of goat. Cook the goat for the same amount of time and it should be just fine. 🙂
The thing about it is that where I live you can’t find goat. And I am pretty sure my husband would not eat it. Don’t think I could convince him.
Your recipe says 8 servings, is that 8 tacos?
Definitely more than 8 tacos John with 5 pounds of meat. A few tacos per person depending on how full they like their tacos.
Do I remove the canela sticks before putting in the blender or do I go ahead and add them
Yes, I leave the canela when I blend the sauce. If it’s Mexican canela it is a lot softer and blends well. Sorry for the late response, lost WiFi for over a week.
I blend the canela as well.
Is there a way to do this in the Instant Pot?
Amy, you would still have to prepare the red chile sauce with tomatoes ahead of time. Add everything to the instant pot it it can fit enough water so you have enough consome to serve. I have a traditional stove top pressure cooker. I cook the beef for 45 minutes, than add the blended chile sauce and cook it for at least another 40 minutes
How much does this dish yield?
The recipe states 8 servings, but that depends on how much each person eats, of course.
What is your IG name?
La Pina en la cocina
If you make tacos what kind of cheese do you use
My cheese of choice when I can find it is Chihuahua cheese. I will also use queso quesadilla, asadero, jack or Oaxaca
I tried out your recipe twice. 1st time a little too much canela. 2nd time, it was perfect! My mexican bf said it came out really good. Thank you so much for your recipe
Thank you Monica. Yes, one has to be careful with the cinnamon in savory recipes. I am happy you enjoyed the recipe and tried it a second time!
Hola Sonia, I’ve used this recipe twice and both times it was delicious. Using it again to make quesabirrias. Just wanted to say thank you for your authentic recipe’s. I’ve seen other recipes from other sites and yours are the most authentic (and not weird) so thank you and keep sharing your recipes.
Thank you soooo much for taking the time to leave me your feedback on the birria recipe. I am pretty happy with the flavors every time I prepare it!
With gost you need to know how to fully cook it, some add vinegar or lots of onion to remove the smell, which is awful if not cooked thru, by the way ur recipe is awesome and easy to follow, thanks
I have never cooked goat, but I have eaten it when it’s been too strong and not enjoyable for me.
What’s a good substitute for guajillo? I only have access to dried chile ancho, morita and pasilla aside from arbol. Oh and chipotle in adobo sauce. What would be a good mix of these for birria?
Can you get Chile California or New Mexico? If you can, those are a good substitute. If Not, I would use mostly ancho and mix in a few morita. Morita can be spicy, but adds a great smoky flavor.
Questions:
Does it have to be Mexican Can ella
Can I use ground cloves n cumino
Is the a substitute for marjoram?
First time making it.
If you don’t want to use marjoram, just omit it. And, yes, you can use ground cloves and ground cinnamon, just be careful not to add too much. I would add 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ground clove.
Thank you.
So I sent some one to get the tomatoes for me but they brought me large regular tomatoes, will that work?
Hi Marie, I would just count 1 large tomato as 2 roma tomatoes.
Thank you
What a great recipe and thanks! It was nice dinner.
I have a quick question. Still remains lots of consomme.
Is there any special idea what can I do with this?
I don’t want to throw them away lol 🙂
Hi Kyle, the comments that come into the blog have to be manually approved by me before they show up in the comments. It helps when spam comments come into the blog. I would us the leftover consome to prepare a vegetable soup with pasta, tasty! Or add it to a big pot of beef chili!
I can’t see my comments. Where is it?
🙂
Oh, I got it! Thank you very much!
🙂
Omg !! I made this for dinner today everyone loved it great recipe thxx for sharing
Thank you so much Sarai! I appreciate you taking the time to send me some feedback!
I wanted to say thank you for your recipes! Make Birria last night and it was a huge hit!
Great Starla! I appreciate the feedback on the recipe!
Made this tonight and it was SO DELICIOUS!! My go to recipe from now on.
Wonderful! Thank you for the feedback on the recipe!
The eighteen cups of water in the beef: if I understand the directions, you strain the tomato and chili puree directly into this right, no draining (beef) once you remove the onion and garlic?
Hi Raymond,
Yes, it’s 18 cups of water. The beef cooks for quite a while and the water will reduce. I purposely was extra consome to enjoy on the side of my birria tacos. Sometimes we like extra big bowls of consome, so best there be too much than not enough once everything is done. If you want less, you can add a little less water.
When I lived in Mexico my friend would make me Birria de res regularly (she said I was high maintenance). She only used goat. This dish was his I was first introduced to it. At first I thought it was chicken 🤣 Seriously, I did. Then I had some odd looking bones & asked what animal went into the pot. It was always very tender, goat meat was never dry or gamey. Idk if it makes difference what goats eat, assume it would, they were free range living off the grass on the Pacific ocean at base of rain forest.
She did make here differently, everyone does, she would cook all day starting wee hours of morning like we do w a big Thanksgiving bird. Sometimes she would have it dinner all night, that was her face method
I personally enjoy goat, it is not gamey like lamb. I think it needs the advise from the tomatoes & the enzymes from chili’s to help soften the meat. It’s not something you’d want to eat like roast, coop or cutlet.
I have had goat that was not gamey too, but also some that was real gamey. I remember someone explaining to me why, maybe older goat used. Younger goats, less gamey. Either way, beef is just popular because people are unsure of the goat and it’s not that easy to find in all places. Thank you for taking the time to write. I appreciate it.
I just made this for dinner. It is delicious. My picky seven year old and one year old both ate a big bowl. The only bummer is that the family ate so much that we can’t have tacos for dinner tomorrow! Also, the recipe was not difficult, even though I was kind of worried about the boiling and blending and straining it was easy.
Hi Stephanie! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed the birria recipe! Even the kids, wow! Wonderful. You will definitely have to prepare it again just for tacos!
Thank you 🙏🏼 my bucket list has extended to one day spend a day or a week with you to learn first hand.
You can do it Sharon! Kitchen therapy!
Hola Sonia,
How much cinnamon? It is not listed in the ingredients list but you have it in your instructions. By the pictures it looks like it is probably about a 2″ piece, please confirm. I am making this recipe on Saturday and can’t wait to have it.
Muchas Gracias, Maribel
It is listed on the ingredients as 1 1/2 piece of a cinnamon stick. But it has to be Mexican canela because it’s softer and can be blended. A few people have expressed that they liked adding less canela, but that is up to your individual taste.
Omg my biggest critics approved thank you so much for your help
Jennie! That makes me sooo Happy! Thank you for taking the time to write! I appreciate it!
Literally just finished making this and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wait for my wife to come home. It’s that good gentleman! I did make a few additions/substitutions. First off the marjoram was a little hard to find in my area so I used a little mint. I also added half of a fennel bulb for the sauce and it seems to add to the onion taste. As for the meat I bought the meat already cubed. I brought about 4 lbs of the chuck already cubed and about 2 lbs of beef oxtails. For the first step I browned all of the ingredients on high heat with a little oil for extra flavor! It turned out great! Fellas make this for your wife and then ask her if you can buy that thing you want!
Good Morning Wayne! Thank you so much for taking the time to write! I really appreciate it! I love, love, that you adding your own touch to the recipe. That’s what it all about. Get in your kitchen and enjoy the process and make the recipe your own. I agree, extra flavor on the searing part!
I made this exactly how you put it and omg I made the best birria consume on town 😋 thank you I love it
Thank you Linda for taking the time to write about the birria recipe. I really appreciate it! I do enjoy this recipe very much and I am happy the ground cinnamon worked out for you! Happy Holidays!
I had the powder canela and it worked out I only did a Tbls
Can you use canned tomatoes? Trying to replace the meal I was originally making and don’t have fresh romas, just cans of whole ones
It would be fine to substitute canned tomatoes if that is all you have, No problem.
Hello, this looks amazing! If I am pressed for time (I usually am), can I throw everything in a pressure cooker, and cook it for about an hour, then take out the meat, blend everything and strain it?
You could prepare the chile sauce with spices first then add everything to the pressure cooker. I would season and sear the beef first for more flavor.
What can I do with all the leftover birra consommé?
Well most people eat bowls of it on the side with there tacos. Some people use to to make ramen soup, lol! I sometimes freeze it and use it for future stews or beef soups.
We have already had so many bowls on the side but now that there is no more meat I wanted to add something else. I may just freeze what I have until I figure it out. Thanks for your response! 🙂
Anytime!
I love your pictures and descriptions but I must have gone horribly wrong somewhere. My consommé tastes like red water and the shredded meat reminds me of shoe leather. It’s so bad that it is now way past fixing and I don’t have any idea where I went off track. Obviously it’s not your recipe(I’ve read all the happy comments). Maybe too much water?
Hi Victoria, oh no! I can only think that maybe there is not enough seasoning, maybe not cooked long enough. I choose meat that has a good amount of marbling(fat) for more flavor. Maybe too much water could have effected the results. I have prepared this recipe over and over, both on the stove top low and slow and in my pressure cooker. Pressure cooker yields deeper flavors in a short amount of time. Sometimes I season and sear the beef first for more flavor as well. I posted that version on my blog, Birria Revisited.
I saw your video on the quesadillas with the birria. Was the cheese on the bottom? What kind of cheese did you use? Is there a link for that? I’m trying to make your birria recipe right now.
I typically use Oaxaca or Chihuahua shredded cheese. Look up my blog post Birria Revisited for more details on quesabirria.
Do you have a link to make this in a pressure cooker!
Sorry, no link. I believe I have just shared it on my instagram stories, maybe my highlights. I will have to check.