Description
Authentic Birria is a traditional Mexican stew featuring tender, slow-cooked chuck roast simmered in a rich and flavorful sauce made from a blend of dried chiles, tomatoes, aromatic spices, and beef broth. This versatile dish can be served as a hearty stew garnished with onions and cilantro or used as a delicious filling for tacos with shredded Oaxaca cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat and Seasoning
- 4 to 5 pounds chuck roast, cut into large 4-inch chunks
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
Chile Sauce
- 12 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded (about 2.5 oz)
- 5 ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded (about 2 oz)
- 5 árbol chiles, rinsed and stemmed (about 0.1 oz)
- 2 large Roma tomatoes
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 1 4-inch Mexican cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- Water, as needed
- 2 cups beef broth
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Seasoning and Searing Meat: Generously season the chuck roast chunks with kosher salt and black pepper on all sides. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, sear the meat until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- Preparing Chile Mixture: Place the guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles, Roma tomatoes, yellow onion, Mexican cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and whole black peppercorns into a medium pot. Cover completely with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until chiles soften.
- Blending the Sauce: Using a slotted spoon, transfer softened chiles and other ingredients to a large blender. Add 1 cup of the chile-soaked cooking water, beef broth, distilled white vinegar, garlic, ground cumin, dried Mexican oregano, and ground cloves. Blend on high speed until the sauce is completely smooth, blending in batches if necessary.
- Straining the Sauce: Pour the blended sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the pot with the seared meat, discarding any solids left in the strainer.
- Simmering the Birria: Stir the meat and chile sauce together and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer gently for 3 to 3 ½ hours until the meat is fall-apart tender.
- Shredding and Serving: Transfer the meat to a large bowl and shred it using two forks. Return the shredded meat to the consomé. Serve hot as a stew garnished with diced onion and chopped cilantro or enjoy as tacos in corn tortillas with shredded Oaxaca cheese, cilantro, and diced onions.
Notes
- Authentic Birria is traditionally enjoyed either as a stew with fresh diced onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice or as tacos using the flavorful shredded meat.
- Use a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot for best results when simmering the meat.
- Adjust the number of chiles according to your preferred spice level.
- For a more intense flavor, you can marinate the meat overnight with the seasoning before searing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 640 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 803 mg
- Fat: 37 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 23 g
- Trans Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 59 g
- Cholesterol: 196 mg
