Birria Tacos, something most of us had never heard of until 2020 when these tacos blew up and took the food scene by storm. Easily the most trendy food of 2020, these tacos definitely lived up to the hype (okay not all versions lived up to the hype but my homemade version is 100% worth the hype) #humblebrag. I actually wasn’t blown away the first time I had Birria Tacos at a restaurant but I recognized how much potential they had and decided to try and create my own recipe for them at home. I went to the drawing board and after some trial and error, the final recipe turned out perfect.
I’ll be the first to admit that this recipe looks intimidating at first glance. There are 25 ingredients after all! But although there are a lot of ingredients, this recipe is not difficult to make. It has a lot of steps and does take a lot of time, but it is not complicated. With the right kitchen tools, even the most novice cook can make these tacos. If you want to be guaranteed success with these tacos, I recommend your kitchen has the following tools:
- Instant Pot
- Large Mesh Strainer
- High powered blender (something like a Blendtec or Ninja)
- Kitchen scissors (or clean regular scissors)
- A slotted spoon
- A large skillet and lid for frying
- Tongs
- An apron
As long as you have these tools, the prep and cook will be a breeze. I personally like to split this recipe up into two days. I like to make the marinade the day before, allowing the beef to get a full 24 hours of marinating. The next day I cook the beef and assemble the tacos. This makes it seem like less work and doesn’t feel like you’re in the kitchen all day. I’ve listed a few other tips and tricks below so that you are equipped with everything you need to make killer Birria Tacos at home.
Tips & Tricks:
- You can find the dried peppers in the hispanic isle at your local grocery store. The easiest way to deseed them is to cut the tops off with scissors and shake the peppers above a garbage can to allow the seeds to fall out into the trash.
- I marinade the beef using the Instant Pot insert as my bowl. I just cover it with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge. This way when it comes time to cook the meat, I just take the insert out of the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and pop it right into the Instant Pot.
- I mentioned above and also in the recipe, but I highly recommend wearing an apron when frying the tacos so you don’t stain your clothes.
- I only fry and assemble the amount of tacos we will be eating that night. I store the leftover broth, meat, onions, cilantro, limes and cheese in the fridge and just make fresh tacos in the frying pan when we want more.
- If you run out of beef but still have lots of broth, you can freeze the leftover broth and use it a second time to make Birria Tacos with a smaller beef roast (like a 3 pounder) without having to completely make the marinade over again. Just thaw it, season a new beef roast with the salt, pepper and cumin and marinade it for a few hours and then repeat the cooking process.
- If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can also make these tacos using a slow cooker. Just cook the meat on low for 8-10 hours until tender.
Instant Pot Birria Tacos
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours + up to 24 hours to marinade
- Yield: 8
Description
The infamous Birria tacos that took 2020 by storm and became the trendiest food around. This homemade version is better than any other restaurant version I’ve tried. Loaded with flavor and a crowd favorite. Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you, it’s actually pretty simple. Delicious things just take time!
Ingredients
-
4-5 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
-
1.5 tbsp salt
-
1 tbsp black pepper
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1 tbsp ground cumin
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6 dried guajillo peppers
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2 dried pasilla/ancho chilies
-
5 roma tomatoes
-
1 medium onion
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8 large cloves peeled garlic
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1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
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1.5 tbsp salt (additional to the above salt)
-
8 black peppercorns
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2 cloves
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1 tsp thyme
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1 tsp marjoram
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1 tsp oregano
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2 bay leaves
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½ tsp ground cumin
-
½ tsp ground ginger
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¼ of a cinnamon stick
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¼ cup apple cider vinegar
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4 cups water
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1 bunch cilantro chopped
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1 medium white onion chopped (in addition to the onion above)
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1 pkg Oaxaca cheese
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1 pkg corn tortillas
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Olive Oil
- Limes
Instructions
- Cut the beef into large chunks and season with 1.5 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp ground cumin and the pepper. Set in the instant pot and set aside.
- Cut the tops of the guajillo and pasilla/ancho chilies off with kitchen scissors and deseed them.
- Add 2 cups of water to a sauce pan and turn on high to boil. Meanwhile in a separate frying pan add about 2 tbsp oil and fry the dried chilies over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
- Add the fried chilies to the boiling water and let boil for 10 minutes.
- While the chilies are boiling add the roma tomatoes and onion to the same pan the chilies fried in and add more oil if needed. Saute for 5 minutes until starting to brown and soften.
- In a small bowl combine your remaining spices (excluding the cumin and ginger), your chipotle pepper and your peeled garlic cloves.
- To the tomato/onion pan add the spices, garlic, chipotle and the boiled peppers (including the water) and mix together. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes add the contents of the pan to a blender and then add cumin, ginger and apple cider vinegar. Blend on high until completely smooth.
- Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the sauce into a bowl and discard all the gritty paste that’s left behind.
- Add 2 cups of water to the blender and blend until the sides are washed down and pour it through the strainer into the rest of your sauce.
- Stir the sauce until the water is mixed in and then pour over your beef chunks that are in your Instant Pot insert. Cover the meat and marinate it for 6-24 hours in the fridge.
- After your meat has marinated, take the Instant Pot insert with the meat and sauce in it and cover it with the Instant Pot lid and turn the valve to the sealed position. Turn on manual high pressure for 90 minutes.
- Once 90 minutes are up, manually release the pressure.
- Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and put into a medium sized bowl.
- Using two forks shred the beef.
- Remove the insert from the Instant Pot and set the broth next to your stove while you prepare everything to assemble the tacos.
- Dice the onion into small pieces, cut the cilantro up, shred the cheese and slices some lime wedges.
- Add enough olive oil to a skillet to barely cover the bottom (about 2-3 tbsp).
- Turn the heat to just below high but still above medium. You want the pan to be really really hot.
- Put on an apron (just trust me), and have a lid handy to be able to cover the tacos in case there is too much splashing going on.
- Grab a corn tortilla with some tongs and dip it into the broth from the Instant Pot. Gently lay it into the hot pan, being very careful to not get burned because the oil will splash. Repeat this step until you have 3 tortillas in the pan (or maybe only 2 if you have a smaller pan).
- Next add some shredded cheese on top of each tortilla, followed by some shredded beef and then top them with some chopped cilantro and onions.
- Put the lid on the pan and let the tacos crisp up for about 2 minutes.
- Remove the lid and using a spatula, fold the tacos in half. They should be slightly charred, the cheese should be melted and the tacos should be slightly crispy.
- Remove the tacos from the pan and serve with a side of broth to dip in and some lime wedges.
- Repeat steps 18-25 until you’ve reached the desired amount of tacos.
*See notes below for Slow Cooker instructions
Notes
*If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can follow all the same steps except for when it comes time to cook, cook the beef and marinade in a slow cooker for 8-10 hours until the meat is super tender and can shred easily.
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: Birria, Birria Tacos, Tacos, Mexican Food, Mexican, Taco Tuesday
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