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Birria Style Beef Cheek-Birria de Res

Two of my favorite beef dishes, beef cheek and birria combined in this low and slow beef birria recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6 Servings

Equipment

  • large slow cooker
  • Blender

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds beef cheek, excess fat trimmed away you can use chuck roast if you prefer
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
  • 2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves

Chile Sauce

  • 5 dried chile california or guajillo
  • 6 dried chile morita
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 2 cups water reserve 1 cup
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 inch piece of Mexican cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp marjoram
  • 6-8 peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons  chicken  or beef bouillon powder optional

Instructions

  • The night before: Trim excess fat from beef cheek and place into slow cooker. Add the salt, pepper, garlic and 3 cups of water. Turn onto low while you prepare the chile sauce.
  • Remove the stems and seeds from large dried chile pods. Leave small morita chile as is. They typically don't come with a stem. Add the chiles, garlic and oil to a small sauce pan and heat to medium/low. Once chiles begin to soften in the oil, add 1 cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes.
  • To the blender add the chiles, garlic, 1 cup fresh water and all the cooking liquid from chiles in pan. Add remaining ingredients listed for sauce. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Push ingredients down in blender jar with a spatula. Cover and blend on high for 30-40 more seconds, making sure there are no large pieces left. Using a wire mesh strainer, strain the sauce into a bowl. Set aside.
  • Preheat 2 tablespoons of oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Carefully pour in the strained chile sauce and cook at a steady simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the sauce into the slow cooker with beef. Pour in 1-2 more cups of broth or water to the slow cooker. Cover 3/4 of the way and continue cooking on low for 7-8 hours.
  • The fat layer that forms on top is ideal for preparing quesabirria tacos. Or you can skim the fat off with a spoon if desired. Ladle birria into bowls with plenty of consome. Serve with warm tortillas or bolillo rolls. Garnish with cilantro, onion, Chile serrano and lime. Yields up to 6 servings.

Notes

No Mexican cinnamon? Just add 1/3 teaspoon ground when blending the sauce.
Pressure Cooker Method For Birria
To prepare this recipe using a pressure cooker, prepare the red chile sauce first as instructed above. Once the sauce is done, preheat 3 tablespoons of oil at the bottom of pressure cooker. When hot, sear and brown the seasoned chunks of beef for 4-5 minutes per side. Add the salt, spices and 4 cups of water listed. Stir well to combine. Pour in the prepared red chile sauce. If the mixture looks a little thick, pour in 1 more c of broth or water. Turn heat to high, lock and seal pressure cooker. Once the safety valve locks and it starts releasing rapid steam, turn heat below medium and continue cooking under pressure for 1hour, 10 minutes. 
After the time is up, let pressure cooker sit until it's safe to open. Remove lid and enjoy with fresh garnish and warm tortillas!