SHORTCUT BEEF BIRRIA TACOS
on Aug 21, 2024
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Using my Viral Chuck Roast method, this beef taco recipe is full of chili and spices and is juicy, tender, and ridiculously easy to make.
One of my followers requested this recipe, and let me tell you, I’m so glad she did!
Birria is a Mexican meat stew, made by marinating meat in a blend of chilies, vinegar, garlic, and spices. It cooks low and slow, allowing the meat to soak up all these bold flavors. It’s traditionally made with goat or sometimes lamb. However, making birria with beef is a more approachable option and is melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
My Shortcut Beef Birria Tacos showcase the beef birria in the best way possible. The chuck roast is placed in a Dutch Oven along with all the birria sauce ingredients, including onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and lots of warming, grounding spices.
The oven does all the work for you as the meat cooks in the sauce and becomes unbelievably tender. And just like in my Viral Chuck Roast recipe, I crisp the beef under the oven during the last 20 minutes, which chars the top bits and is (obviously) the best part of the dish!
Stuffed in grain-free or corn tortillas along with chopped onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice, these beef tacos will be requested by your family and friends time and time again. And you can thank a fellow follower for that!
That said, do you have a recipe that you’d like me to create? Let me know over on Instagram, @olivia.adriance.
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Key Ingredients for Birria Tacos
Don’t be alarmed by the number of ingredients here! Most of them are used to make the birria sauce, which is really a dump-and-pour method into a Dutch oven pan!
- Chuck Roast: A tougher cut of meat, chuck roast is best cooked low and slow so it tenderizes in the oven. A 3 to 4 pound chuck roast will serve up to six hungry guests. If the roast is too big for your Dutch oven, cut it down into a few more manageable pieces.
- Onion and Garlic: A whole chopped onion and six garlic cloves add a punch of flavor to the sauce.
- Broth: Beef bone broth is the main ingredient for the birria sauce. The chuck roast cooks in this broth-based sauce for several hours, allowing the meat to get juicy and tender.
- Canned Tomatoes: A can of tomatoes with green chilies adds a little extra spice to the broth.
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Pin It- Chipotle Peppers: Traditional birria involves toasting dried chilies on the stovetop. But to keep things simple here, I’ve used a can of chipotle peppers in adobo. These add just the right amount of heat during the cooking process. I remove them after the meat is cooked so nobody is surprised by a big bite of hot chili pepper!
- Spices: To capture the warm, cozy flavors, I use a dried spice blend containing black pepper, cumin, oregano, salt, ground cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves.
- Serving Suggestions: Birria tacos are simple, making the meat the real star here. A bit of chopped white onion, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice is all you need. Oh, and of course, corn or grain-free tortillas from @sietefoods make for the perfect taco shell.
How to Make Shortcut Beef Birria Tacos
Let’s get this beef braising! To start, preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a large Dutch oven or casserole dish with a lid, add the birria sauce ingredients: chopped onion, garlic, broth, canned tomatoes, whole chipotle peppers, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, cumin, oregano, salt, ground cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves. Be sure to leave the chipotle peppers whole since you’ll want to fish them out before serving.
Place the chuck roast into the dish. If the roast is too thick or big, cut it into smaller pieces so all of it is submerged in the braising liquid.
Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and cook for 3 to 4 hours. The cooking time will vary based on the size of the roast. It’s typically 1 hour per pound of meat.
After the time is oven, remove the roast from the oven. Check for doneness by seeing if it easily shreds apart with a fork. If not, cover and return to the oven in 30 minute increments or so.
Raise the oven temperature to 425°F.
Using a large spoon or measuring cup, remove some of the rendered fat. Doing so will ensure the meat isn’t too greasy.
Then remove the bay leaves and the whole chipotle peppers. Shred the meat using two forks.
Toss the shredded meat around in the delicious sauce and place it back in the oven, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until you see some nice crispy ends. These bits are by far the best part!
While this is happening, warm the tortillas and chop your onion and cilantro.
Serve the beef birria in a warm tortilla with a bit of chopped onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!
Other Taco Recipes To Try:
- Viral Chuck Roast Tacos
- Crispy Baked Ground Beef Tacos (Grain-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Blackened Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
- Saucy Braised Chicken Tacos
SHORTCUT BEEF BIRRIA TACOS
Ingredients
Beef:
- (1) 3-4 pound chuck roast
Birria Sauce:
- 1 onion, diced small
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 16 ounces beef bone broth
- (1) 10-ounce can tomatoes with green chiles
- (1) 7-ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo (see Note 2)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 bay leaves
For Serving:
- Corn tortillas
- Chopped white onion
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- To a large casserole dish or Dutch oven, add all of the birria sauce ingredients. Leave the chipotle peppers whole, as they will eventually be removed.
- Place the chuck roast into the dish. If your roast is thick and mostly sticking out of the sauce, cut it into smaller pieces so that most of the meat is submerged.
- Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and braise for approximately 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of your roast. (See Note 1).
- Remove the roast from the oven and see if it shreds apart easily with a fork. If not, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes or so.
- Raise the oven temperature to 425°F.
- Using a large spoon or measuring cup, remove some of the rendered fat. Then remove the bay leaves and the whole chipotle peppers.
- Shred the meat using two forks.
- Toss the shredded meat around in the delicious sauce and place it back in the oven, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until you see some nice crispy ends.
- While the roast is finishing, warm the tortillas and chop your onion and cilantro.
- Serve the beef birria in a warm tortilla with a bit of chopped onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
- ENJOY!
