Birria Tacos

Total Time Prep: 45 min. + marinating Cook: 2 hours
Yield 10 servings
Test Kitchen Approved
You don't need to travel across the border (or even to the nearest taco truck) for birria tacos. This step-by-step birria tacos recipe will make your kitchen the most popular taco spot in the neighborhood!

Ingredients

  • 8 dried guajillo chiles, stems removed
  • 2 dried pasilla chiles, stems removed
  • 4 cups hot water
  • 1 medium white onion, halved and divided
  • 1 roma tomato, quartered
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
  • 8 whole peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 pounds), quartered
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 20 corn tortillas (6 inches)
  • Shredded Oaxaca cheese or other melting cheese, optional
  • Optional toppings: Chopped onion, chopped cilantro, sliced radishes and lime wedges

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine chiles and hot water; let stand 30 minutes. In a blender, puree 1 onion half, the tomato, garlic, bouillon, peppercorns, thyme, oregano, cumin and soaked chiles with soaking liquid until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve.
  2. Place beef in a Dutch oven; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add bay leaves and remaining onion half. Add strained sauce and 2 cups cold water; stir to combine. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
  3. Place Dutch oven over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beef is tender and starting to fall apart, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Remove meat and set aside; remove onion pieces and bay leaves and discard. Continue to simmer liquid, uncovered, until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Shred meat with 2 forks; return to pan.
  4. To serve, dip a tortilla into the meat mixture, thoroughly coating with sauce. Place the tortilla onto a griddle, comal or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle with cheese if desired; cook until cheese melts. Top with beef; fold tortilla over to form a taco. Serve with toppings as desired.

Nutrition Facts

2 tacos: 370 calories, 16g fat (5g saturated fat), 89mg cholesterol, 447mg sodium, 27g carbohydrate (1g sugars, 5g fiber), 31g protein.

Birria tacos have gained traction all over social media. If you haven’t seen them yet, they’re juicy tacos loaded with a brothy red sauce and tender shredded meat. What a treat! —Erika Sanchez, La Habra, California
Recipe Creator

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