Birria tacos are so good you’ll be making them every week.

Because Steph still has RSI, I’ve been making all our dinners while we chat and watch youtube each night, and in our house that always means taco nights. While my go-to tacos are al pastor, carnitas, carne adovada, barbacoa, and carne asada, Steph asked to mix things up a bit with something a little more modern, and suggested birria tacos. It was so good and so simple I think this just jumped to the top of my list for all of our future taco nights.

What are Birria Tacos?

Birria is traditionally a spicy and super savory Mexican beef or goat stew that’s slow cooked until the meat is tender and fall-apart juicy and delicious. Someone had the amazing idea to stuff this meaty goodness into a taco shell, and then dip the whole thing into the stew and fry it up. These birria tacos blew up after that, and the rest is history.

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Beef birria tacos

While birria is traditionally made with goat, for most of us it’s easier to get beef so that’s what I’ve gone with here. Beef is also the safer choice for crowds, but if you’re an adventurous eater and want to go with goat, you should totally go(at) for it. The recipe remains the same, just switch out the beef shank and sirloin for goat.

The best birria tacos are dipped in the stew and then fried to crispy goodness

It’s dipping the tortilla into the stew and frying it to a crisp that the magic happens, so don’t skip this step. Tacos are good but few people who don’t live in the southwest know that tacos only become truly amazing when you cook the tortilla in fat. Traditionally they do this in butter or lard, but here we use the fat from the top of the stew to give it that extra kick. Once you bite into a crisp fried taco shell, you’ll never go back.

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Birria Ingredients

  • Beef. For the ultimate birria tacos, use a good beef shank. This is non-negotiable. You can, and should, mix up another cut as well for texture and variety. I prefer meat that’s a little on the lean side for tacos, so I mixed it up with a cheap roast like sirloin, but if Steph had her way, she would use short ribs. But, since she’s not cooking, we ended up with a sirloin.
  • Dried Guajillo Peppers. These sun dried peppers add an authentic touch of mexican flavor to any stew and you can usually find them in the Mexican aisle of your local grocery store (if you live in America). They are like a mild-medium pepper and don’t add any heat, so you don’t have to worry at all. If you can’t find them, sub any dried mexican/southwestern peppers you can find, such as ancho, new mexico, california, or pasilla. If you really can’t find them, you can skip them, but they’re worth looking for!
  • Chipotle peppers in adobo. These come in a little can and they are salty-sweet-spicy delicious. They form the base of many mexican stews and marinades and you can find them pretty much everywhere in the world, they’re that good. We usually keep 3-4 cans around just for tacos al pastor.
  • Mexican oregano. This version of oregano is always cheaper and almost always fresher and better than the spice aisle stuff, so if you’re already in the Mexican aisle, be sure to pick up a bag, usually only 99 cents or so.

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

How to make Birria Stew

Making Birria stew is easy and quick:

  1. Soak the peppers. Bring a pot of water to a boil and then take it off the heat, soak the dried peppers while you do the next steps.
  2. Season the meat. While you wait for the peppers to soak, cube up the roast and season the meat with salt and pepper
  3. Make the marinade. Throw together everything left except the cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon into a blender. Remove the peppers from the now warm water and let them get cool enough to handle. Hold them by the tip over the sink and cut the tops off with scissors. The seeds will just fall right out. Then drop them into the blender too. Blend it all up into a smooth paste.
  4. Marinate the beef overnight. Two hours is good enough too, but longer is always better when it comes to stews.
  5. Make the stew. Saute the onions. Onions are the base of all flavor, so make sure they are extra delicious – transparent and golden. Take your time. Then add the meats, cover with chicken stock, and add the last few spices. That’s all there is to it!

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

How to make Birria Tacos

Once you have the stew, making the tacos is super easy:

  1. Shred your meats. Fry them up too, if you like. I skipped this step and it was ok, but if you like your meat extra crispy and hot, here’s where you would do that.
  2. Warm up your tortillas. This makes them pliable and soft. We use a tortilla warmer, but you can just wrap them up in damp paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds.
  3. Dip and fill. Dip your tortillas in the soup, the fat is near the surface so you don’t need to dip too far, but make sure they get coverage. Then top half of the tortilla with beef, onions, cilantro (optional), and cheese (optional).
  4. Fold and fry. Fry your tacos in a non stick skillet over medium heat until they crisp up, 2-3 minutes per side. Serve with a side of the stew to use as a dip.

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Instant pot birria

You can make this stew any way you like, but I prefer it in the instant pot because it’s so much faster, and keeps more of the flavor locked inside the dish. Those yummy smells that fill up your house when you slow cook for hours? Those are flavor particles, and that means that’s flavor that’s not in your soup. But, regardless of how you make this, it’ll come out absolutely delicious, so pick whatever method is best for you.

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Dutch Oven

To cook this in a dutch oven, you’ll need a fairly large dutch oven. Follow the instructions all the way until you close the lid of the Instant Pot. Instead, cover the dutch oven and set it on as low heat as possible on your stove, or alternatively, pop it in a 200ºF oven for 4-6 hours.

Slow Cooker

The only hard part of making this in a slow cooker is sauteing the onions. My solution was to just skip that step entirely. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference. What I did was pop all the ingredients into the slow cooker and set it to low for 8 hours. This recipe as given didn’t fit in our smaller slow cooker, so I halved it, but I think it will fit a standard sized slow cooker just fine. Let me know in the comments if you end up trying this out.

The tortillas

These tacos use street sized corn tortillas, but you can use anything you want. I like to use locally made uncooked corn tortillas or flour tortillas and cook them myself. Whole foods often carries really good local tortillas, even uncooked ones in the fridge section.

If you are in a place without access to good locally made tortillas, some of the best mass-produced tortillas around are La Tortilla Factory and Santa Fe Tortilla Company. If you go one level up to the national brands, Mission Foods is my fave.

With store bought tortillas, you need to warm them to make them pliable and delicious. If your tortillas are breaking when you fold them, warming them will fix that. The best way to warm tortillas is to wrap 6-12 at a time in a damp paper towel and microwave for 10-30 seconds, then let them rest for another 10-30 seconds.

Birria Ramen Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Quesabirria Tacos

Everyone loves cheese, and quesabirria tacos might just be more popular than standard birria tacos. To make quesabirria tacos, shred some Oaxaca cheese into the tacos before you fold and fry them. If you can’t find Oaxaca, feel free to use mozzarella or cheddar. For me though, I like to crumble some aged Cotija cheese into the tacos instead for extra cheese pull and delicious meltiness. The contrast of the melty cheese, soft birria, and crispy tortilla is one of my perfect bites in this world. 

What to serve with Birria Tacos?

These birria tacos are good enough to eat dozens on their own. If you wanted to do a side though, you can serve them up with homemade tortilla chips, mexican rice, and you even have all the ingredients necessary to make a birria tortilla soup. Or my current personal favorite: Birria ramen (pictured above).

Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Birria Tacos Recipe

Step up your next taco night with our ultimate guide to the best homemade tacos ever.
Serves 4
4.71 from 939 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb beef shank
  • 1 lb sirloin or other roast/steak

Marinade

  • 3 dried guajillo peppers see notes
  • 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin

Stew

  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 whole cloves
  • chicken stock to cover sodium free, about 1 quart

Tacos

  • 4" corn or flour tortillas as needed, 12-16
  • 1 medium onion chopped, optional
  • 1 bunch cilantro chopped, optional
  • 1 cup mexican cheese blend grated, optional

Special Equipment

  • instant pot or slow cooker

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then remove from heat. Soak your dried guajillo peppers for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cube your cab sirloin, then season both the steak and the shank with salt and pepper. Set aside.
    Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com
  • Add marinade ingredients to the blender. When the peppers are done soaking, hold them by the tip over the sink and use scissors to cut the stem off and allow the seeds to fall out, then add to blender. Blend the marinade into a smooth paste. Marinate the meats for a minimum of two hours or up to overnight.
    Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com
  • Set your Instant Pot on saute high or use a skillet over medium heat. Add 1-2 tbsp oil, then saute the onions until golden and translucent (6-8 minutes).
    Saute your onions in an Instant Pot | www.iamafoodblog.com
  • Add the meats, marinade, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cloves to the pot. Cover with chicken broth, then set to high pressure for 45 minutes. If using a slow cooker or stovetop, set to low heat for 4-6 hours.
    Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com
  • When the instant pot is finished, allow a natural release, then remove the meat. Shred, set aside, and discard the bones.
    Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com
  • Warm up some tortillas, then dip the tortillas in the stew. Build your tacos, top with any optional toppings, then fry over medium heat on a nonstick skillet. Enjoy immediately, preferably with a margarita or cold Mexican beer.
    Birria Tacos Recipe | www.iamafoodblog.com

Notes

If you can’t find dried guajillo peppers, sub any dried mexican/southwestern peppers you can find, such as ancho, new mexico, california, or pasilla.

Estimated Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Birria Tacos Recipe
Amount Per Serving (3 tacos)
Calories 626 Calories from Fat 157
% Daily Value*
Fat 17.4g27%
Saturated Fat 4.2g26%
Cholesterol 152mg51%
Sodium 1644mg71%
Potassium 788mg23%
Carbohydrates 31.8g11%
Fiber 9.5g40%
Sugar 7.5g8%
Protein 61g122%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

372 Comments

  1. I’ve never heard of these but they look delicious!!! We are taco lovers and this recipe looks like a potential new family staple. Can’t wait to try!!!

    1. Angela Garrison says:

      5 stars
      I made them. They are now the most requested taco in the house!

    2. Karl says:

      5 stars
      Birria tacos are the best and this recipe is awesome!!!

    3. Christian says:

      FYI, They’re traditionally made with goat not beef..preservation of culture means everything, but one can substitute what their pallet desires.

      1. Justin says:

        5 stars
        Shut up, Christian.

        1. Christine says:

          LMAOOOO

          1. Philly says:

            Did you not read where they said it’s traditionally made with goat?

        2. Amanda Herbert says:

          5 stars
          Lmao!!!

        3. Connie says:

          5 stars
          Beef or goat, who cares! Way to tell ‘‘em Justin

        4. Jess from NZ says:

          5 stars
          Bahahahah

        5. Elle says:

          5 stars
          💀🤣

      2. Eli says:

        You must be a joy at parties

        1. Lindsey says:

          5 stars
          Dying ??

      3. Kira says:

        Palate*. A pallet is a wooden storage platform ;)

        1. Chiquita says:

          ??

        2. Suzy says:

          5 stars
          Yes!! I wanted to make that correction too :)

      4. William Wilkinson says:

        5 stars
        FYI, it’s traditional made with Lamb meat. Goat meat was used in different regions of Mexican because that was readily available. Beef is more common and less expensive in America. At the end of the day, it’s up to the individual

      5. Aileen says:

        5 stars
        That is absolutely NOT true birria tacos are made with beef or with goat. It don’t get more Mexican than my family and myself and birria de res is our go to… I tried this recipe and it is indeed A-mazing!!! ❤️ It !

        1. Aileen says:

          5 stars
          ❤️

      6. Cheryl says:

        Palate not pallet (sorry, i was an English teacher and still love the language.)

      7. Justin case says:

        4 stars
        Looks like someone can’t read. Internet hates people like Christian 🤷‍♂️🤣😝

      8. Aqilah says:

        5 stars
        Does it matter, Christian!! And did anyone ask?? It clearly says that this can be made with, GOAT!, beef, or whatever one desires! You go eat your goat!, but my fancy is chicken ;-)

      9. Julie says:

        5 stars
        FYI While it’s true They are often made with goat. My husband is Hispanic, born and raised in Mexico, and in their culture they also make beef Birria Tacos.

        1. Jacqueline Padilla says:

          5 stars
          I’m making them with goat tomorrow.
          My son made them a while back with beef and they were deliciously amazing or as my friend would say, “damn good”.
          The only concern I have is that the marinade I just made is very spicy. I used guajillo chiles which my son used before and they were not spicy at all.
          I have always use ancho and pasilla chiles for a tortilla soup recipe and they were never spicy either. But, the last batch I bought were super spicy as well.
          I’m hoping all the other ingredients will help alíviate the heat which I can’t take.

          My group loves spicy foods. I hope they like the goat too!

          1. Jan says:

            5 stars
            I hope they turned out to your liking! I find that the spiciness comes more from the chipotles. I use 6 guajillo and 4 chipotles. This is still spicy, but can be adjusted.

          2. Syl says:

            5 stars
            So I just learned the longer you cook it the spicy fades away I slow cooked mine in a crock pot for 12 hours when I checked it first it was a little spicy and was afraid of that because I made it for people who can’t really do spice and as the day went on later when I decided to take it out to shred the meat was not spicy it had a tad kick but it was edible for those who are not into spicy food. This recipe turned out so good for the mission trip I am on. Hope that helps, now I do have to add that the consome may be spicy but not that spicy just make sure to strain properly.

      10. Trevor says:

        It’s traditionally spelled palate, but you can spell it however your heart desires!

      11. Trish Muirhead says:

        I think they’ve explained that quite well in the description actually !

      12. Gma says:

        5 stars
        You are correct, I was educated on this when I asked at my favorite restaurant. I wish I could perfect the recipe to match there’s.
        I wish I could find goat meat. You’d think living in Texas that would be easy. but nope. So beef it is.

    4. Tracey says:

      Once you have these your pallet wi crave these. I first tasted these in Las Vegas at a taco truck- bought 1 then went back to buy 2more?

      1. Crystal King says:

        So true I did the same thing I love em they r expensive so I’m glad I found this recipe I will be trying soon lol

      2. Dee says:

        *palate. Why would a pallet crave these? It’s made of wood slats.

        1. Rich says:

          5 stars
          Because they’re do good, you’re going to want to eat them by the truckload. It’s easier to unload the tacos if they’re on pallets.

    5. josh says:

      5 stars
      Hannah I think the theme of tacos, is cheap ingredients turned to delicious tacos. sorry folks I had to use brazed ox tail and a nice roast because thats all that we had available. the tacos turned out great!!!! I’ll buy a goat to slaughter next time.

      1. Dee says:

        For gosh’s sakes. If the tacos turned out amazing, don’t be such a Debbie Downer. Use what you want and don’t be such a snot.

    6. denzel says:

      5 stars
      I love this recipe but i also made birria using the 123 solution. its called insta-birria by el sabor products. They have an adobo that all you do is add the sacue + water and any meat and thats it! instead of taking all this time to make birria. its fast and simple. I love my insta-birria. easier than making it by scratch and the flavor is amaaaaazzzziiinnngg!!

    7. Slayonkeee says:

      5 stars
      I’m telling you Birria tacos
      Are OUTSTANDING, sometimes I go to different taco spots JUST for the Birria 😩

  2. Tammy says:

    how many servings does this recipe yield? I would love to try!!

    1. Stephanie says:

      i would say it makes enough meat for about 12 generous tacos!

    2. Jenn says:

      Because I love them so much I doubled up on my meat and stew ingredients. I would buy these tacos often now I have the recipe, but it was enough for four ppl all having 5 tacos a piece.

  3. That looks incredibly good. Gonna try it out soon. Thank you for the recipe oh btw i really like your picture :D Have a nice day!

    1. Bryan says:

      5 stars
      Going in the crockpot now hopefully when I arrive home this evening it will be ready ..

    2. Kimberly says:

      5 stars
      These tacos are amazing!! Im actually making them tomorrow for the second time!!

  4. Barbara says:

    Can I substitute beef for pork? With the pandemic, there is never any beef at the stores. All I have is a beautiful boneless Boston butt.
    It’s 5.83 lbs.

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi barbara,
      you can definitely sub pork butt :)

      1. Brittany says:

        5 stars
        How long in the slow cooker for pork? Planning on making these tomorrow with Boston butt chunks!

        1. Stephanie says:

          hi brittany,
          i would do low for 7-8 hours :)

    2. Brady says:

      5 stars
      The original favorite in Jalisco Mexico is made from lamb. The cinnamon, cloves, oregano etc make such a rich stew. My favorite.

  5. Jay Behrendt says:

    How many ounces are your cans of chipotle peppers and crushed tomatoes?

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Jay, it’s the 7oz cans for the chipotle in adobo. The crushed tomatoes are 1/2 cup, which is 4oz, though I don’t think you can find smaller than 6oz cans for those.

      1. Amber says:

        When you say can of chipotle peppers….do you mean a 7oz or 12oz?

        1. Stephanie says:

          hi amber, it’s the 7 oz can

      2. SF says:

        5 stars
        OH MY GOD MIKE!!! I just had my first Birria taco from El Pollo Loco, they were so expensive, and they tasted pretty good, but I always like to challenge myself. Thank you for posting this recipe I just made it today the house smells amazing and these are probably the most amazing taco I’ve ever made! Thank you again, will be making this a bunch!!

  6. Gigi says:

    5 stars
    Absolutely amazing recipe and so complete and well explained! Thank you! Desde PR :)

  7. Stella L Gonzalez says:

    5 stars
    I will be trying this in the next couple of days I will post a picture….Thank u?

  8. Alexus says:

    Heyy so how do you do the shells i tried and they keep falling apart?

    1. Mike says:

      If your shells are falling apart they could be a little old/dry. You can steam them before dipping, just microwave them in a microwave tortilla warmer or damp paper towel for 10-30 seconds (depending on how many tortillas you are doing at once, 10s for 2-4, 30s for 6-8+), that should make them soft and pliable.

      1. Jill says:

        I’m dying to try this but I’ve never heard of or seen cab sirloin in my local grocery stores. Did I understand you correctly that you can sub short ribs for the cab sirloin? Or is there another sub for it? Thank you!

        1. Mike says:

          Hi Jill, cab sirloin is just angus sirloin, short ribs would be a great sub – it will make your stew a little fattier, especially in combination with the shank – but that’s just extra helpful for dipping the tortillas :) you should do it!

          1. Jill says:

            On it.

        2. Stephanie says:

          Embarrassingly, it took me way too long to figure out “cab” stands for “certified Angus beef.” I even asked the guy in the meat department what cab sirloin is and he had no idea what I was talking about. So, yeah… certified Angus beef. ?

          1. Donna says:

            You are not alone…my butcher looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked what “cab” sirloin was ?

          2. Mimi says:

            WOW!! I didn’t know that either!! Thanks for the info!!

          3. Liz says:

            My family raised beef and I never heard of cab sirloin! Not sure why it has to be Angus beef–Hereford just as good!

            These look delicious!

    2. Cindy says:

      5 stars
      I know this is about three years too late but I just found this. I use corn tortillas a lot for tacos and for enchiladas, but what I do is lightly fry them in a little oil with some cumin and chili powder not so they’re crispy but so they’re soft and pliable. I’m planning to do that with these, dip in the broth and fry them first on both sides, and then add the meat and cheese.

  9. Stella L Gonzalez says:

    Can you use mine garlic?are it have to be fresh?and the chipotle peppers the whole can it want make it to spice will it?
    Thank you

    1. Mike says:

      5 stars
      Hi Stella – you can use minced garlic, and if you add the whole can of chipotle it will make it much spicier!

      1. Natalie says:

        So use the whole can of chipotle in Adobe or not the recipe says whole can but I don’t want my chest burning

        1. Mike says:

          Hi Natalie, if you are not good with spice, leave out some or all of the chipotle peppers but include the adobo sauce (the can typically has 3-4 peppers and the rest is sauce). You might want to go for the larger can if you decide to leave out all the peppers. I don’t personally find the adobo sauce to be spicy at all – I would call it around black pepper levels of spice – but you might want to taste a tiny bit first before deciding.

    2. Evan L. Cooper Sr says:

      5 stars
      Can we use that small tortillas

  10. Jessica Bailey says:

    Hi! Can these be done without the tomatoes? I’ve had them once and loved them however I wasn’t a huge fan of the tomato flavor.

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Jessica, these won’t taste very tomato-ey at all, but feel free to sub for beef broth if you want to avoid any hint of tomato.

  11. Sarah says:

    5 stars
    Just made this. OMG so good! Really great recipe. I like the amount of heat this has. Spicy but great flavor! Thank you for a new regular in our house.

  12. Brandon Moore says:

    Ever made with ground beef?

    1. Mariana says:

      No because the conseme the “sauce” would not taste good and second don’t Americanize another Mexican dish lol

      1. Garrett says:

        Yessss

      2. Jeff says:

        Its not really americanizing something simply trying to find a cheaper alternative, but yeah I agree with your first point.

  13. Jennifer flemjng says:

    What can I use for the chipotle and adobo something said sub cayenne and smoked paprika for the flavor I have the other peppers ? And also the tortillas come fresh made by my house mmmmm

    1. Karen says:

      This looks amazing, can’t wait to try out the recipe. Do you have any tips to reduce the spice level/heat? Will removing the seeds from chipotle peppers and/or using less than full can help bring down the spiciness? Or is there a sub for the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce?

      1. Mike says:

        Hi Karen, I think your best bet would be to just use the adobo sauce with no peppers at all. You’ll lose a bit of smokiness but the peppers themselves can be pretty spicy, seeds or not. I would buy the bigger 14oz can if you choose to skip out on the peppers.

      2. Jesse L Corgatelli says:

        5 stars
        I just made these and they were amazing i used qualhilo peppers also ground up i put mexican creme on them sour cream will also make just rite on spice side wow

  14. Cindy says:

    Are you using bone in beef shank or boneless? Does it matter which one we use?

    1. Stephanie says:

      try to get bone-in if you can!

      1. Lauren Getherall says:

        If you use bone in? At what point do you take the bone out in this recipe?

        1. Stephanie says:

          hi lauren,
          when you take the meat out to shred after it is cooked, take the bone out as well and discard.

      2. Mrs. Whitner says:

        5 stars
        Couldn’t find bone-in shank. Used boneless. I’ll be cooking in my InstaPot. How much should the cook time be adjusted?

        1. Stephanie says:

          hi,
          you can use the same cooking time :)

  15. Nakia says:

    I will be trying this with a whole chicken. Do you just season with salt and pepper or put it in the marinade overnight and then add the chicken and left over Marinade to the stew

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Nakia, I would marinate overnight and do all the other steps the same, but change your instant pot time to 30 minutes instead of the 45.

      1. Shabs says:

        5 stars
        Hi, I made these yesterday with chicken legs. Instant pot 20 minutes and perfectly falling apart. These are the best tacos I have had, absolutely delicious. Even made some for my little oneinjs the chillis and a hit. Will definitely be a keeper in this house.

  16. Robert Heatley says:

    Curios if it matters what size insta pot ? I have the big 8 quart .

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi robert,
      the 8 quart is great, that’s what we have too and there’s more than enough liquid (1 quart)

  17. Carly says:

    Are the roasts cut prior to cooking? Or would you leave them as a whole roast?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi carly,
      the roast is cut into cubes (step 1) and we leave the shank whole.

      1. Cindy says:

        Why is the sodium so high? Sodium free broth. I don’t use salt. But maybe the adobo? I didn’t have that so not using. I just used cumin, paprika and roasted garlic powder and black pepper and crushed red pepper. Also I used unsalted beef stock instead of chicken because it is beef!

  18. Luis Galarza says:

    I know these will be great. Added some rib eye to the mix.

  19. Kaite says:

    Do you put onions and cilantro in the soup part when it’s finished?

    1. Stephanie says:

      yes, onions and cilantro!

    2. Natasia says:

      I did added a great flavor also added some lime

  20. Natasia says:

    Little bland to my liking added my own seasoning in with the seasonings included in this recipe. I used chuck roast next time I’ll try beef shank

  21. Tameka says:

    How important are the cloves and cinnamon and NO sodium broth. Can broth with sodium be used.

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Tameka, you can skip the cloves and use regular broth, no problem at all!

  22. Romeo Lopez says:

    5 stars
    We made them tonight and they were phenomenal. Started to marinate the meat at 1pm and let them go for 3 hours. We followed your recipe and it was an outer body experience. Slow cooked it for 3 hours on the stove top. We are on a Birria food coma. We are full and satisfied. Thank you!!! We thought it was going to be spicy but no. It was sweet with a little kick.

    1. Helen says:

      Was wondering if you happen to know the carb count without the tortillas. I do low carb so I would be using low carb tortillas with this.

      1. Mike says:

        Hi Helen, our nutrition is always estimated but without tortillas or the extra onions on top, it is 16.2g carbs, 7.6g fiber, 6.6g sugar per serving, so roughly 10g net carbs per serving.

  23. Phoenix Garcia says:

    5 stars
    Made this for kids and myself last night and omg so delicious!!!. Thank you so much

  24. Irfan says:

    I don’t have chipotle and other chilli. But we have chipotle chilli sauce . Any substitute

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Irfan, the chipotle chilli sauce probably isn’t a good substitute, sorry. Please contact us if you would like more one-on-one help making adobo sauce.

  25. SHEILA says:

    I made this last week without marinating the meat and cooked in a slow cooker for 5 hours. Filled my tortillas with meat, topped with cheese, cilantro and onions then fried them on the stove top and dipped it in the sauce. Holly hell it was soooo good. I’m making them again tonight with plenty of left over for lunch all week long.

  26. Memo says:

    What is the serving size for the nutrition facts? Is it 626 calories for one taco? Recipe looks great, can’t wait to give it a try!

    1. Mike says:

      It’s for 3 tacos including the tortilla and meat but not including any toppings you may put on. I’ve updated the nutrition card to reflect, serving size is always going to be a little wonky with tacos since it’s a DIY load-as-much-as-you-want kind of item, but hope this helps!

  27. A. Burnette says:

    OMG! These look delicious! Two questions though. So, I’d like to try them with chicken (I know, don’t stone me)! I’m sure they would taste great as well! Do you recommend that? Also, for the dipping sauce on the side, do you by chance have a recipe for that? I could be overlooking it!!!

    1. Mike says:

      Thanks! You can do it with chicken, just cook it for 30 minutes instead of 45 and it should be good to go – the dipping sauce is the stew (consomé) that the meat is made in.

  28. Katherine says:

    On the heels of this week’s Taco Tuesday, I’m elated to find this post! I’ll gear up for my Birria food coma event next week. I’m already salivating ????

  29. Katherine says:

    Incidentally! What type of vinegar is used for this; red wine, distilled white or apple cider?

    Can’t wait to make these!!
    ??

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Katherine, we did the recipe once with distilled white and another time with apple cider, both were great, I’d use whichever one you already have at home.

  30. Diamond says:

    Not the biggest fan of spicy and the sauce is ? haven’t assembled yet hoping it comes out good right now I just taste HOT ?. Was excited to try these but I was expecting some amazing flavor which I’m not getting at all. Its just hot, followed all directions hooefully it taste better once made into a taco but I definitely won’t be dipping them in the soup but will let my fiancé try it he loves spicy food but I’m definitely looking for something to give it an amazing flavor. Thanks for the very detailed recipe.

  31. Pamela says:

    5 stars
    Yum yum yum! Made this a few weeks ago and the entire family raved over it. I just heard the beep telling me it’s done pressure cooking. We can’t wait to have it again today. Thanks for the recipe- I follow it exactly for the marinade and soup.

  32. Lisha says:

    This looks amazing and we are trying it this week. Tho there’s only 3 of us. Is this a freezeable dish by chance? Can the soup be frozen as well?

    1. Mike says:

      You can definitely freeze both. I suggest freezing the meat and the soup separately so it’s easier to make for next time!

      1. Sunshine Cleveland says:

        5 stars
        Hi made before excellent help and the dish was amazing flavor Only thing I used beef broth!! Thank you so much ? Does chicken broth make a difference ? I have Pasilla peppers this time instead of guajilo pepper. I’m looking this time for a not so sweet but still Lil heat and Smokey.. please help me my family wants it again

        1. sunshine says:

          mike please respond thanks

          1. Mike says:

            Hi! The chicken broth is just fine and I’m glad to hear your family liked it! The pasilla peppers are great, but the sweetness comes from the adobo sauce more than the peppers, so if you’re looking for a little less sweetness, I would experiment with adding a little more tomato (3/4 cup instead of the 1/2 cup as written) in the beginning, then tasting it at the end and adding a little vinegar (a teaspoon at a time). You can also try a different brand of chipotles in adobo that contain less sugar. You’ll need to look at the ingredients list of the ones available to you, but I think Goya is the sweetest of all the common adobo sauces.

  33. anna says:

    How long would you reccomend for stovetop cooking?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi anna,
      simmer for 4-6 hours on low in step 4 :)

    2. Sue Aguilar says:

      I just started this—the meat is marinating right now. The marinade tasted great. What happens if I don’t use cloves and cinnamon when I am cooking the meat? Does that take away the entire point of birria tacos? Don’t mean to sound like a baby—I’m just not used to those spices in beef.

      1. Mike says:

        Hi Sue, it’ll be fine if you skip them. If you make it again I think you should try the cloves and cinnamon if you have it on hand; many (most?) cultures love and add these two spices to beef, so I think you’ll find yourself enjoying the flavor combo. They go together really well. If you love pho for instance, that’s cloves + cinnamon + beef.

        1. Sue Aguilar says:

          Not a fan of pho (I Know). But we do make a tri-tip rub that has cloves and cinnamon in it, so I will probably be ok!

  34. Sue Aguilar says:

    5 stars
    We just finished making this recipe, and I included the cinnamon and whole cloves and LOVED it! Such a great recipe!

  35. Amy says:

    Do you add all of the marinade into the soup with the meat? Or meat only? How long do you slow cook the meat it for? I’m not seeing this.

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi amy,
      yes, add all the marinade to the soup with the meat. the slow cooker instructions are in step 4. :)

  36. Kait says:

    I have a 4 lb pork butt. Do I need to add more ingredients/ double the cooking time?

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Kait, if your pork butt is boneless, cube it up into 2″ cubes and you should be fine with the recipe as is. no changes needed if its bone-in. If you want the pork on the softer side, cook for 1hr instead of 45min. Hope this helps!

  37. Stephanie N says:

    5 stars
    I followed this recipe to a T. We went the slow cooking route and WOW. Be warned, this recipe is quite spicy for those not used to it. It had a great smokey flavor. I was cautious about the cloves and cinnamon but it was definitely necessary! I wouldn’t change anything about the recipe and will make it again in the future

    1. Sunshine says:

      5 stars
      Mine wasn’t spicy and did as you but used beef broth and did both corn and flour tortillas.

  38. Verna says:

    5 stars
    I made these last night! Delish! I think next time I will use only one chipotle pepper. My day got away from me so I could only marinate one hour but figured it wouldn’t make much of a difference since they’re cooking in a pressure cooker. I think I was right…??? Anyway, amazing recipe! Thank you very much

  39. Kristine says:

    5 stars
    Tacos de birria is like a craze here in NJ. Our favorite spot is too far and I tried using your recipe tonight, the first one that popped up. My mexican family is super impressed! A keeper recipe for sure!

  40. Ruby says:

    5 stars
    It was amazing kids and hubby enjoyed it

  41. sherry says:

    5 stars
    Tried this recipe yesterday in the instant pot and WOW!!! Came out SOOOO good! It was easy to shred. I added more Kosher salt to the meat when it was done. It gave it a boost of flavor. Ate this with an avocado cream salsa and was amazing. I got multiple compliments. I was wondering what brand of tortillas do you use? :) I heated it over the fire then dipped it in the stew. It had the tendency to want to break so I was very delicate. But the corn tortillas I got were “extra soft” so maybe that has something to do with it.

    Either way this is 5+++ stars. Thank you for the recipe and tips!!! :)

  42. MargaretAnn Reeves says:

    5 stars
    I made this for my family in the instant pot and it was a huge success. I doubled it and I’m glad I did. That shank meet was absolutely the best. Your recipes are consistently awesome and I appreciate your awesome recipes.

  43. Angelina says:

    How much vinegar

    1. Elizabeth says:

      5 stars
      Fantastic!!! This is a new family favorite. We double the meat because we all love it so much my teenager ate 8 tacos the first time we made it and we ended up with zero leftovers. Happy to make a double recipe so that we all can enjoy a few more tacos and sometimes have leftovers. We love this recipe!! Thank you for sharing.

  44. Danny says:

    Is there a way to make this WITHOUT it being spicy at all? I want to have good flavor but no heat factor with these any suggestions? Thanks

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Danny, try using only the adobo sauce with no peppers, you’ll need two or three cans to make up for the lack of volume. Guajillo peppers aren’t spicy to me, maybe like black pepper level, but you can skip those as well if you are looking for zero heat factor.

  45. Samantha Fruhling says:

    Do you still need to marinate if you are using a slow cooker?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi samantha, if you have the time, i would marinate but if you don’t, it’ll still be really good, especially in the slow cooker!

  46. Jenni Silva says:

    5 stars
    Omg! I made these tonight for the first time and they were amazing!! So much flavor and I only marinated it for 4 hours. We love spicy and this did not disappoint!! If you don’t like so much spice I would recommend eliminating the chipotles that are in the adobo. Still use the sauce bit not the actual peppers. But if you love spice like we do, put the whole can in! Thank you for this recipe!!

  47. Giselle says:

    Haven’t tried these yet but can chipotle chiles without adobo sauce be used?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi giselle,
      do you mean canned chipotles? i’ve never seen them canned without adobo

  48. Lakeya Blair says:

    So would it be 4 cups of chicken broth

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi lakeya,
      yes, about 4 cups :)

  49. Nic says:

    5 stars
    I made this for the first time and it was SO good. Lots of flavor. I marinated all night and used beef shank and sirloin. There are lots of steps to the recipe but it’s not complicated. I will definitely make again!

  50. Mariana Gomez says:

    5 stars
    Hi I grew up eating these since I’m Mexican I never knew they would become a trend and they are amazing take it from me since I went to Mexico to eat them but when we do the tortillas I wouldn’t recommend in the microwave since well that’s not how I made it but I recommend just put it on stove and flip it with your hands that’s how my parents made it and I don’t recommend ground beef what you use in American style tacos because it’s ground and will most likely fall or mix the juices. But I love how you explained it thank you because Usually they get mixed up and Americanized if you get what I mean

  51. Cynthia says:

    5 stars
    Outstanding! Made these and was reluctant to add the cloves and cinnamon because never did that to cook beef in all my years of cooking. Let me tell you it gives it a flavor profile that is delicious! Added ancho and pasilla pepper to the marinade just because I had them on hand. I like spice but this recipe is not hot hot spicy. Just very flavorful. Adjust the spicy flavor to your taste but you really do not need the heat as the flavor is great without it. These are the best tacos I ever had. Thank you for this recipe. It will be used often.

  52. Landon Murphy says:

    Just in case I’m not able to get any:( can I make this without the Guajillo peppers??

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi landon,
      yes and you can sub in another dried pepper as well, it’ll just change the flavor profile a bit :)

      1. Karen says:

        We don’t have access to a lot of dried Mexican peppers in Canada. Can ancho powder be used instead with canned chipotle in adobo sauce?

        1. Stephanie says:

          hi karen,
          if you can’t find any dried peppers, you can try this with just canned chipotle in adobo! maybe add a tiny bit of chile powder in if you have access to that :)

        2. Wajiha says:

          Fellow Canadian here. Making this recipe for dinner tonight (super excited). We ordered the guajillo peppers on Amazon. : )

  53. Kat J says:

    5 stars
    I made this recipe exactly as it is written. Tonight’s dinner was a hit. This recipe will stay on our dinner rotation and next time I’ll double up so we have more left overs. Thank you so much for such a flavorful meal.

  54. Jesse L Corgatelli says:

    5 stars
    Hands down best tacos i have ever made or tasted.

  55. Mike says:

    5 stars
    Made this last night and it was absolutely phenomenal! If I stored the meat and stew separately, what is the best way to reheat? Thanks!

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi mike,
      you can simmer the consome on its own and give the meat a quick fry with a bit of consome in a nonstick pan over medium to medium high heat. glad you liked them!

  56. Rebecca Mejia says:

    5 stars
    These were absolutely delicious! My husband is typically a taco purist (likes carne asada with onions and cilantro and that’s it) but I decided to make these tonight and he couldn’t get enough of them! Thanks so much for such an awesome recipe, I’ll make it again!

  57. Karen says:

    Hi! Cant wait to make this for our new taco Tuesday spread, looks amazing. What are your thoughts if making the meat the night before and then day of event, just assembling? Thanks for your easy to follow recipe too =)

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi karen,
      you can absolutely do this, make the stew the night before and then the next day you can just assemble!

  58. T. Patrick says:

    My roast came out tough and it was a little hard to shred. Would I be better off cutting it in half before cooking or increasing the time on my Instant Pot?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi!
      depending on what cut of roast you got, it might not have had a lot of fat or connective tissue which would make it difficult to shred. if you go for a fattier cut, it’ll probably help :)

  59. Branen says:

    5 stars
    Could I use KC strip instead of cab sirloin?

    1. Mike says:

      Absolutely! KC strip is a great choice.

  60. Amanda says:

    Do I need to sauté the onions before putting in crockpot or would I just put the onions in raw?

    1. Mike says:

      If you can spare the time, sautéing the onions boosts the flavor a lot, even if you’re just doing it inside the crockpot on high.

    2. Stephanie says:

      hi amanda,
      yes, sautéing will give you better flavor!

  61. Nia says:

    Will this work with a chuck pot roast?? Couldn’t find the shank anywhere

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Nia, yes it will work with a chuck roast, but you need to find a pretty fatty piece or add in a piece of short rib (or other fatty cut) because you need the layer of fat on top to dip your tortillas.

  62. Rocki says:

    Hello. 2 questions, would I do the same steps if I’m using chicken, would Indo anything different? Also do you have a recipe for the dipping sauce?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi rocki,
      chicken doesn’t take as long to cook – are you planning on doing it on the stove, in the instant pot, or the slow cooker? as for the dipping sauce, it’s the soup that the meat cooks in.

  63. Tsancyi Lynch says:

    When do you add the optional cheese?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi,
      add it when you’re assembling the tacos! when you put the meat down, add some cheese, then fold and fry :)

  64. Jasmine says:

    When you said to add the meat then marinade to the instant pot, does that mean I’m not seasoning the meat with the marinade overnight ? So I’d be seasoning there meat to my liking?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi jasmine,
      we season the meat before adding it to the marinade.

  65. Rafat says:

    Tonight I made it and let me tell you it was amazing. Next time l will try to made with chicken.

  66. VictoriaJ says:

    Making it right now!!!! If i dont have a crock pot or a instant pot what would i do

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi victoria,
      you can cook it in a pot on low heat for 4-6 hours at a low simmer.

  67. Claire says:

    5 stars
    So made last night and it was a hit! I have leftover beef and soup. Do you recommend adding the beef and eating as a tortilla soup? Should I remove the fat layer at the top? Anything else you recommend to add to plump up the soup?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi claire,
      you can make more tacos! tortilla soup is also a delicious idea! or you can use the extras and make this ramen. feel free to remove the fat layer off the top and add it back in as needed for flavor :)
      if you want to plump it up, adding some potatoes would be delicious, but that’s because i love potatoes. hope that helps with ideas!

  68. Traci says:

    I am getting ready to start this! My son found this and is so excited! I am using a 3 pound pork roast. How long should I cook it in the instant pot or do you recommend the slow cooker for pork. If slow cooker how long? I assume to marinate I need to cut it up?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi traci,
      either will work! yes to cutting up the pork, just do large-ish cubes. timing wise, it’s the same for the instant pot :)

  69. Cabrenna Lee says:

    5 stars
    Awesome recipe! Thanks for all of details and tips! “Don’t skip this step”! ?? Lol! Perfection!

  70. Ryan says:

    Hi, do I throw away the seeds for the peppers? Or blend them with the peppers after cutting them out.

    Thanks.

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi ryan,
      we throw the seeds away :)

  71. Sarah says:

    Hi! If I’m making this with bone-in beef shank and short ribs, should I leave the bone in on both while cooking? Thank you in advance!!

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi sarah,
      yes, leave the bone in, it’ll add a lot of flavor to the consome!

  72. Brandi says:

    5 stars
    So good! Making these for the 2nd time tonight. Cutting down on the the chipotle’s to just 2 as was too spicy for my son the last time. Definitely a keeper!!!!

  73. Auds says:

    So i made this exactly.to the recipe except i didnt use a whole can of chipotles. I marinated the meat for 3 days then cooked and left it in the sauce for 3 days. Its bland and tasteless! How can i rescue it? I have no idea why it hasn’t worked?

  74. Becky says:

    5 stars
    This comes out bomb,cut a few corners to make it faster prep time,the flavors are amazing take the meat to the flattop grill throw some tortillas dipped in sauce some queso omg delicious

  75. Liv says:

    So i came across this recipe going to try it out but im using pork roast, couldn’t find the pepper but hopefully things will come out okay fingers crossed

    1. Jessica says:

      I couldn’t find been shank anywhere. So I’m using a Chuck roast. I got one with a good amount of fat and am using cab sirloin with it. Do I need to add anything else to help with fat? Also, how long do I cook the chicken roast in a slow cooker?

  76. Chris says:

    4 stars
    I’m making this now as the recipe indicates but wonder why marinate a cut of beef that will be shredded? The sauce has great flavor and will be part of the shredded meat at the end. Next time as a comparison, I’ll seer the beef with just salt and pepper adding the onions and then stock to the pan to to deglaze and create a fond and then add the rest of the ingredients

  77. Brenda Bertram says:

    4 stars
    I’ve had these before but never made them. I decided to make them and although the meat was delicious, the broth was too spicy. When I’ve gotten them at a restaurant or from someone who sells them where I live, the broth isn’t spicy at all. Not sure why that happened. All the recipes I’ve looked at all have pretty much the same ingredients. Not sure how to make the broth not spicy.

  78. Marta Saenz says:

    Original birria is made with lamb

  79. Susan says:

    Hello – You say to soak the peppers in a pot of water. How many cups of water do I use? Will this liquid be used in the broth?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi,
      the soaking water isn’t used, so just use enough to cover the peppers.

  80. Tracy Taylor says:

    5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious!!! I live in Texas and Mexican restaurants are on every street corner. I’ll make this anyday over going to a restaurant. Used my instapot, I used 2 large beef shanks from the Mexican market. I also added a roast. 45 minutes with 20 minute natural release and it was super tender and falling apart. I did however strain my marinade through a mesh sieve to eliminate the possibility of tough skins and any stray seeds.

  81. Daneen says:

    5 stars
    I tried this and it was delicious and had great flavor! The only thing that threw me off was I didn’t know to leave the bones on the meat until the recipe said remove the bones after cooking so I might have missed flavor there. I couldn’t find guajillo peppers and used ancho which were still good. Next time I would add more meat. I used two pounds of shank but didn’t realize it was mostly bone. Overall a great recipe! Thank you for sharing!

  82. EJ says:

    5 stars
    Loved this recipe! Approved by my partner who is from Mexico too haha! Planning to make this for Holiday dinner with whole family. But quick question- I exactly followed the recipe (added one more dried pepper) and it was so flavorful but little too spicy. We still loved it but we had to eat so many avocados at the same time! Any advice to make it less spicy but still flavorful?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi ej,
      did you remove the seeds from the peppers? :)
      you can also remove the seeds from the chipotle peppers!

  83. Sharon P says:

    5 stars
    This was the best recipe so far that I’ve tried!! The marinade made the difference!!

  84. Divina says:

    I notices that can of Dageraad in the background (Vancouver native here!) and cant help but wonder if this photo was taken in Van!

    Also, these taco’s look BONKERS good.

  85. Alejandra says:

    5 stars
    I made this for my Mexican mom and when she asked for more I knew I had hit the jackpot ! Thank you so much for this recipe it was truly delicious!

  86. Karina Ski says:

    5 stars
    Hi, I’m currently making this recipe and I accidentally cubed both the steak and the shank rather than leaving the bone in the shank. Is this okay?

    1. Mike says:

      No problem – include the bone in when you make the stew and it’ll be great!

  87. Pamela says:

    5 stars
    My family is obsessed! We now make triple the recipe. The marinade smells divine and is soo flavorful. We ran out of consume once and added water to dilute and it was still flavorful. I can’t say enough good things (we just use chuck roast for the meat)

  88. Lacey says:

    Tomorrow is my hubby’s birthday Currently marinating beef and pork for birria tacos for our siesta Saturday birthday for him! CAN NOT WAIT! The marinade smells soo good it’s seeping out of the refrigerator!! Oh em gee ????? I’ll come back to tell how they were. Thanks for sharing this easy recipe!

  89. toni says:

    Trying out this recipe but could not find these guajillo peppers for the life of me, or the other alternatives even at a Spanish supermarket!! Lets see but know I’m always going to wonder what it taste like with ALL the correct ingredients. Its going to drive me mad:)

  90. Brandon says:

    Stumbled across this recipe and made the marinade tonight. Couldn’t find Mexican oregano or the right peppers but found some other peppers I’ve never heard of (árbol) that were dry and used some pablano as well. No joy on the beef shank either, so I grabbed a chuck roast instead. Hoping it’s fatty enough. Can’t wait to taste this tomorrow.

  91. Neil says:

    In my haste to get home to make this I picked up chiles instead of chipotles…please tell me these will turn out as good.

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Neil, do you mean you picked up other dried chiles and not dried chipotles? the chipotles in the recipe aren’t dried actually, they are chipotles in adobo and come in a can. You’ll need to look in the Mexican aisle for a small yellow or red can, it’s core to the recipe.

      If you did buy random dried chiles, you can still use them in place of or along with the guajillo chiles. But you still need the can of adobo.

  92. Adam says:

    5 stars
    I am going to try this. I like your recipe, however why didn’t you add cheese to the tortillas? Also I see people adding radishes, onion and cilantro to the broth. Might be tasty to do that too.

  93. Dan Smyth says:

    5 stars
    After hitting up a great little Mexican joint in North Phoenix for some quest birrias, I decided to find a recipe to go at myself. This recipe is NO JOKE! WOOOOOW!!! This is basically a once a week staple in our house now! Absolutely fantastic! We’ve got a griddle that makes AMAZING work of these bad boys! And we’ve now started drinking the consommé as an after dinner drink. ? Now all we need is your address because you deserve a big fat present for giving us this amazing deliciousness!!! ?

  94. Autumn Kilker says:

    If you double this recipe, do you need to adjust cooking time in Instant Pot?

    1. Mike says:

      It should work with the same amount of time but will take longer to come to pressure.

      1. Autumn Kilker says:

        Yes, you were correct. Same amount of cooking time but it did take longer to come to pressure. Amazing tacos with an excellent flavor profile!! Thanks for sharing.

  95. Trang Bonnette says:

    Hi, you’re absolutely right about the essentialness of dipping the tortillas in the fat and then frying them – delicious! But what went wrong with the meat???? It came out bland and tasteless. I seasoned the meat and let it stand while making the marinade. More salt/ pepper? Marinate longer (I only let marinate fir 1.5 hours)? I’d love to make this again but afraid it might turn out the same. Any advice?
    Thanks for the recipe. Surprisingly tasteless for all its wonderful luscious ingredients.

    1. Mike says:

      Hey Trang, you should probably marinate it overnight for more flavor. Was the broth flavorful?

  96. Julie says:

    I have a couple
    Of great beef rib roast bone in, will
    This cut of meat work?

    1. Mike says:

      Yes, it’ll be awesome!

  97. Autumn Kilker says:

    5 stars
    Amazing tacos with an excellent flavor profile!!

  98. Courtney says:

    5 stars
    First time making these tacos and I was SO impressed! It definitely was a labor of love but everyone loved them! I was skeptical using leaner cuts of meat but I’m glad because it worked out perfect. I added in two chopped up jalapeños for some kick. I also strained the broth and mixed the “stuff” left in the strainer in with the beef, it was mostly stewed peppers. Also, for such a complicated recipe in general these instructions were VERY easy to follow! Thank you so much for sharing.

  99. Ryan Sebastian says:

    5 stars
    Good recipe, adding ox tail, short rib, and fried pork belly as a crispy garnish.

  100. Mister says:

    What kind of Vinegar are we to use in this recipe?

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi,
      it’s white vinegar.

  101. Mike says:

    5 stars
    Great recipe. I slightly deviated by used ground cloves and garlic but it still yielded amazing results. Thank you!!

  102. Amethyst42 says:

    5 stars
    So delicious! Could not find any dried chilis of any kind, but the chipotle in ancho was enough for the younger family members spice level. Used the crock pot on low for ~5 hours, worked out so well!

    Also, store was out of beef shank, so we used beef fingerbones. Gotta have those bones for flavour!

  103. Mike says:

    Making this for daughter/daddy time this weekend…..for the guajillo peppers…..how big should the 3 be?

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Mike, the dried guajillos are 4-10″, ours tend to be around 8″ long.

  104. Tami says:

    5 stars
    Delicious! Although we couldn’t find a all of the ingredients like the dried peppers, it turned out wonderful. I just had to improvise use a little chili powder….This turned out so great to marinate it was great, meat was the delicious. (We opted not to use cinnamon and clove). My family loved it.

  105. Camille says:

    We’d love to try this recipe! We don’t have an instant pot but an electric pressure cooker should work as well right? We have a Cuisinart with the sauté function as well.

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Camille, any electric pressure cooker will work.

  106. Marji Scruggs says:

    Just saw your recipe is it possible to make this the day before and reheat the next day and will the stew be ok for the dipping

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi, yes, you can make it the day before and reheat!

  107. kim says:

    Making this tonight and i Was wondering . I have beef shank .
    What other meat do you suggest using ? ?

  108. Kim says:

    adding to my previous comment.
    i accidentally grabbed pork spareribs ??‍♀️
    would this work

    1. Mike says:

      Yes, it’ll taste good

      1. Carrie says:

        Could I use beef loin sirloin steak instead of shank ?

        1. Mike says:

          Yes – It’ll be leaner so you may not have as much fat to dip the tortillas with, but it’ll taste great.

  109. Lindsey says:

    5 stars
    Thank you! This turned out perfectly. I had both fresh corn and flour tortillas, and the flour worked so much better when I crisped them up in the pan. The corn was too delicate and fell apart. I will be making this again! I used chuck roast.

  110. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    I made this today and it was great. Very flavorful. I did have a problem frying them at the end with the meat coming out. I think it will take practice. But it was delicious. Absolutely delicious.

  111. Alice says:

    4 stars
    Delicious recipe! I used cubed beef chuck roast which worked great as well. It was a bit too spicy so I would decrease the amount of peppers in the marinade but that’s based on personal preference. Highly recommend!!

  112. Stephanie Lyon says:

    Hi, I’m trying this out tonight but realized I only grabbed short ribs and not the beef shank ( I thought it said one or the other ?) I assume if the amounts are the same, would the recipe still work out? The closest store doesn’t have shank.

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi stephanie, yes it’ll still work! :)

  113. Karenna Insanally says:

    hi! if cooking on the stovetop – how long and what temp should it be done at?

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Karenna, bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, covered, for 4-6 hours, keeping an eye on the liquid level. It’s done when the meat starts falling apart.

  114. Nicole Y says:

    4 stars
    I have tried birria tacos around my area and this is the closest recipe I could find, and man were they amazing! Tacos are my comfort food and I knew I had to give these a try, I recommend going to a mexican grocery store for the guajillo peppers because I could not find them anywhere else. AMAZING!

  115. Rebecca says:

    I have a prime rib roast that I need to use the rest of, do you think this will work if I throw the same ingredients along with the roast in the slow cooker?
    Thank you!

  116. Terri says:

    I forgot to get cinnamon stick, could I sub in ground cinnamon and if so, about what measurement?

    1. Mike says:

      Hi Terri, it’s about 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.

  117. Terra Owsley says:

    5 stars
    This recipe is AMAZING!!! A few of the spices intimidated me, but alas I made it exactly as written, except I used a chuck roast that I hand trimmed and cut into 1”chunks and marinated overnight. The flavor was completely out of this world! I just happened to have my sons friend over who used to make these in a restaurant. He said my tacos were the best he’s ever had!! What a compliment! Thank you for the excellent recipe!

  118. Lauren says:

    5 stars
    Amazing recipe! My first try at making Birria and we were not disappointed. I am attempting my second try today using tamale meat and a reduced amount of chiles and chipotle peppers. The spice of the broth was too much on my first attempt. Hoping my edits still result in the same amazing flavor profile of the original recipe. Thank you for sharing!

  119. Kim says:

    5 stars
    So Here i am again. I finally grabbed some beef shank and made this recipe and let’s just say it was to die for ! It was super simple and full of flavor !
    Family requested that i make this again ❤️

  120. Heather says:

    OMG I’m hungry just reading this! They look amazing and I’ve never done tacos like this before with the frying so I’ve really got to try this one soon. Printing out the recipie now!

  121. Carmen says:

    What kind of vinegar are we supposed to use?

    1. Mike says:

      You can use any, we like rice vinegar.

  122. Mel says:

    Can I use a 2.5 lb flank steak for this?

  123. Stephanie says:

    5 stars
    Wow! Wow! Wow! Absolutely fantastic – HUGE HIT!!!

  124. Shabs says:

    5 stars
    Hi, I made these yesterday with chicken legs. In the Instant pot 20 minutes and perfectly falling apart. These are the best tacos I have had, absolutely delicious. Even made some for my little one minus the chillis and a hit. Will definitely be a keeper in this house. The flavours are amazing. Any suggestions for what I can do with the leftover consume? I was thinking maybe a ramen?

    1. Stephanie says:

      so happy your family loved it :)

      we have a birria ramen right here: How to Make Birria Ramen if you want some inspiration!

  125. Phoebe says:

    Just a note – traditionally birria is goat, not beef.

  126. Jennifer says:

    5 stars
    I made these tacos last night and they were a hit! Super easy to make! Marinaded the meat over night and cooked in a crock pot for 8hrs the following morning. The meat was super tender and packed with flavor. Will definitely be making this again!

  127. Pete says:

    5 stars
    Thank you for not making this recipe a 45 min read. I had to give up on two recipes because they were like 12 paragraphs before you got to the ingredients.

  128. Wajiha says:

    Hi! Thank you for this detailed recipe. We are making them today and are so excited. I’ve had the meat marinating since last night and will use a pressure cooker later today. My only question is regarding the salt. There is no added salt in the recipe at all and even the broth required should be no sodium. Is the adobo sauce very salty? I just wanted to know the reason for omitting salt. Thank you again!

    1. Mike says:

      You might have missed seasoning the steak in step 1. If so, don’t worry – add about the same amount of salt you’d season a steak with to the marinade before cooking. You should definitely season to taste afterwards as well.

  129. Nick says:

    5 stars
    Hi I tried to increase the recipe by half… but it is way too spicy. Any ideas on how to cut down the spice?

    1. Mike says:

      If you find the meat or assembled taco spicy there’s not a lot you can do, but if it’s the soup, you can try to cut it down with 1 cup extra stock, another tablespoon of vinegar, and a little more salt to dilute. Sorry!

  130. Alissa says:

    These were a hit and so fun to make! I have a quart of the marinade/sauce left…does it work to use it again if I do it within a couple of days?

    1. Mike says:

      The marinade was diluted with chicken broth so the beef won’t be as flavored if you use it to marinate again, but it’s safe to do so if you want to and it’ll still taste great.

  131. 5 stars
    I made these last night with Beef Shank and Beef Sirloin (but I cut out most of the fat, oops). I didn’t see much of a layer of fat on the broth from my InstaPot, but just dipped in the liquid and fried (I put veg oil in the pan), it was hard to keep the meat in the shells and made a huge mess with the grease splatters, but the the tacos were excellent, great flavor with just the right amount of heat. I think I will eat the leftovers with just steamed tortillas, not fried, and I am sure they will still be amazing. Great recipe!

  132. Donna Smith says:

    5 stars
    Very very GOOD!
    Made these tonight.
    I made 2 separate batches, one I put more of the chipotle peppers in.
    They both turned out really good, next time I will make one batch just like the recipe states. From a lot of the comments, I was afraid it was going to be too hot but it wasn’t. Great recipe.

  133. Mady says:

    4 stars
    I made with 1lb chuck roast and 1lb chuck steak. I seared the meat before marinating. I cooked for 2 hours in a Dutch oven at 350. Turned out wonderful, super flavourful and made a huge portion for leftovers.

  134. Cami says:

    5 stars
    I followed this recipe exactly as written because it was my first time making and eating these! We doubled everything because we had a birthday party for my son. I barely even got a picture in because they were eating them faster than what I could make them. Definitely a hit!

    1. Stephanie says:

      Hi, Cami. Did you use corn or flour shells. If so, which brand did you use. Were you able to get the shell crispy like the picture? Thanks.

  135. Stephanie says:

    Mike, which is best to use. Corn or flour shell? And which brand works best for both? I’m making this weekend. Thanks! :)

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi stephanie, traditionally corn tortillas are used and that’s what we like! if you don’t have a local taqueria nearby, mission makes street size corn tortilla shells and la tortilla factory makes some really good ones too!

  136. Stephanie says:

    5 stars
    Hi, Cami. Did you use corn or flour shells. If so, which brand did you use. Were you able to get the shell crispy like the picture? Thanks.

  137. James says:

    5 stars
    Holy shit, made this tonight, my buddies loved it, a lot. I thought it was going to be tricky since you have to boil the chilis, and take the seeds out, but it was really easy, the seeds just fell out. Plus my house has at least 2 days worth of good smells.

    Thank you!

  138. Mamij says:

    5 stars
    This recipe is amazing! We’ve had many birria tacos over last couple of years because my kids love them and I can tell you that they always rave over this recipe when I make them at home. I don’t add the cinnamon just because it gives me a lot of heart burn and they are still super delicious! Thank you for sharing!

  139. Allison Hamff says:

    5 stars
    I have been seeing so many articles about how to make birria tacos, and I keep wanting to try them. I think this is the recipe that I am going to attempt first; it looks absolutely delicious!

  140. Steven Saporito says:

    5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious, but the consume (braising liquid) was quite spicy and I was not able to give it the kids. I would recommend reducing the amount of chipotles or deseeding them first.

  141. Baseemah Gaskins says:

    5 stars
    Amazing is all I can say. Now I truly think I’m the best that ever did it!!! I love the fact that all the directions and details was easy to follow! Thanks a million.

  142. Julie says:

    5 stars
    Once again I picked the BEST recipe to follow! Mike and Steph! This is amazing. We fell in love with Birria Tacos at a local place (Taco Bar). Only bad thing about that place is they only sell them on Thursdays. My Foodie son and his girlfriend came over for dinner and I made your recipe with 4 lbs boneless short ribs. OMG!!!!Delish! Thank you so much. My daughter said she did not think it would come out that good since we are not Mexican! WRONG! She said they were better than the restaurantś.

  143. Helen says:

    5 stars
    Great recipe! Everything looks very yummy.I love it.

  144. Sarah says:

    5 stars
    this recipe impressed my friend who was born and raised in Mexico. he kept saying THIS IS BIRRIA! and EXQUISITE! I was so thrilled. will definitely make again, this is a recipe to impress. he said it was better than one of our favorite local restaurants :) :) :)

  145. Rhondee M says:

    I just had burria in Rosarito but served in a bowl and eaten like a soup/stew. Tortillas dipped and fried and eaten on the side. Can’t wait to try this now that I’m back in the States.

  146. Ayesha says:

    5 stars
    Any ideas on what to do with the extra sauce at the end? Don’t want it going to waste! :)
    Also great recipe!

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi ayesha,
      you can make another batch or make this birria ramen: https://www.vchale.com/how-to-make-birria-ramen/

  147. Mr Bis Plays Music says:

    5 stars
    This is the first recipe I’ve read that was full of tech tips but also to the point. Room for substitutes but strict on the right things.

  148. Sean says:

    5 stars
    I made this recipe with pork shoulder instead, and man this was delicious, people at my party loved it, I could eat this every dat

  149. Mama JAC says:

    Delicious and easy enough to follow instructions. Used flank & roast, also added 2 cans of spicy/hot Mexican tomato sauce. Still delicious with 1 carb Mr. Tortilla tortillas…. LOVE!!

    1. Mama JAC says:

      5 stars
      Delicious and easy enough to follow instructions. Used flank & roast, also added 2 cans of spicy/hot Mexican tomato sauce. Still delicious with 1 carb Mr. Tortilla tortillas…. LOVE!! R

      1. Cristy Wolverton says:

        Can you do a manual release instead of natural on the instant pot? This is my first time cooking a meal in this scary machine and I’m reading it can take up to 30 minutes for natural release. What will happen if I release it myself? Thanks!

  150. Chef Mark says:

    Making these tonight super hype for them , can I use a lower sodium chicken broth if I don’t have the no sodium one ?

    1. Stephanie says:

      absolutely!

  151. Stephanie says:

    I loved the recipe, easy and tasty. Thank you. I used flour tortillas and could not get them crispy. Any tips?

    1. Stephanie says:

      if you use corn tortillas they will crisp up, flour tortillas are more difficult to crisp :)

  152. Virat Sharma says:

    4 stars
    I’m not sure if I’ve ever left a comment before, but I’ve always like your blog and find myself returning to it time and time again for inspiration. Beautiful cuisine, and even more beautiful photographs. Continue to do excellent work and to post regularly. Wishing you the best!

  153. Zoey says:

    5 stars
    These were so amazing. The recipe was a little bit intimidating but was actually so easy and they turned out perfectly. I used about 1 pound of chuck roast and about 1.5 pounds of beef shank in an instant pot; the meat fell apart beautifully. I cubed both meats in large ~ 2-3 inch squares before marinating, and left it for about 24 hours. If you are hesitant, make these! They are so worth it. I added Monterey Jack cheese (highly recommend) and sour cream! I also had leftover meat and broth which I plan to freeze. I will be saving this recipe and making it many more times I’m sure.

    1. Kevin says:

      Hi zoey, my wife doesn’t do spicy at all & I know that sour cream will aid in doing that. Can I ask how you used the sour cream in your dish?

  154. AJ says:

    I love Tacos! This looks better than any taco that I ever saw!!!

  155. Emily says:

    Is it okay to substitute the chicken stock for beef stock, when I first read the recipe I thought I read ‘beef’ instead of chicken so that’s what I brought.

    1. Stephanie says:

      absolutely!

  156. Jenny says:

    5 stars
    I am making it for the third time now. It’s has become a family favorite. Thank you!

  157. Adrianna says:

    Is it alright to use water instead of chicken broth? I couldn’t find any broth at my local grocery store:(

    1. Stephanie says:

      absolutely!

  158. Diana C says:

    5 stars
    This was delicious! My only note would be to squeeze some fresh limes into the stew. The acid really brings out the flavor!!

  159. Tonno says:

    5 stars
    What can i do with the leftover marinade? We finished the meat, and tried to do some vegetarian tacos with random vegetables in the fridge and the few tortillas left… But it would be such a waste to throw away all the marinade left!

    1. Stephanie says:

      you can make another batch! we also make ramen with it :) How to Make Birria Ramen

  160. Julie says:

    Do you have to marinate the beef for 2 hours or more? Did not plan well and skipped this step or we would have been eating too late🤓

  161. Mike says:

    5 stars
    Finally made these for a party cause my son has been talking about them non stop. Found this recipe and went with it. Have been asked multiple times to make again by a few people. Very Good. Made a Cabbage soup out of marinade left over that was great also.

  162. Alysha says:

    Can I use apple cider vinegar or does it have to be regular vinegar?

    1. Stephanie says:

      you can use apple cider vinegar :)

  163. Trisha says:

    5 stars
    These are my favorite tacos I have ever made and they are frequently requested by my husband. He eats his with a helping of sour cream to cut some of the spice, and I’ve noticed the brand of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce will greatly affect the heat level but I am a huge fan of the spice! I also struggle with dipping the tortilla in the sauce as it falls apart on me right away so I opt to warm up the tortilla and then just fry the taco in butter or olive oil to make it a little easier (which i’m sure makes them pretty inauthentic but it’s our preference).

  164. The man says:

    The flavours of everything came out great, but there wasn’t a lot of sauce left (I’m using stove top 5 hours) it was also kind of on the thick side. Do you have any suggestions how to make there be more sauce and not as thick ? (Also a lot of the sauce stayed with the meat when I took it out to separate it

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi, you can add in some chicken stock at the end to thin it out!

  165. 5 stars
    I know what good birria tacos taste like. And as someone who’s been cooking them for years, I can say that these are the best!

  166. Veronica says:

    5 stars
    I put this in a slow cooker and left the house. When I returned and opened the door I was greeted with the most wonderful aroma!!
    The only thing better was the taste!!! Thank you, this definitely will be a favorite!!!!!!

  167. Veronica Shafer says:

    5 stars
    I put this in a slow cooker and left the house. When I returned and opened the door I was greeted with the most wonderful aroma!!
    The only thing better was the taste!!! Thank you, this definitely will be a favorite!!!!!!

  168. Kristen says:

    5 stars
    Hi Mike! I made this recipe a while ago and it turned out great. I am planning to make it for my mother’s birthday dinner and am curious if I would need to change the amount of time in the instant pot if I double the recipe? Thanks!

  169. Babs says:

    5 stars
    Delicious and easy. Everyone loved them. We had extra marinade and I slathered it on boneless, skinless chicken thighs and roasted them. They were spectaular. Now we are addicted. Thank you!!

  170. Kevin says:

    My wife doesn’t do spicy at all. A little paprika is enough for her. Any suggestions on substitutes to maintain some flavour or do I just leave out the guajillo peppers & can of chipotle peppers in adobo?
    I can smoke the meat on my smoker if that helps

    1. Denisse Meza says:

      3 stars
      Hi! I am Mexican, and make variations of this dish. U can leave out the guajillo and make a salsa on the side to make “barbacoa”.

      In my family we add thyme, coriander, cumin, whole black peppercorns and bay leaf.

      We don’t add chipotle, because we make a very spicy salsa macha on the side for heat.

      For those of you asking, it is also less commonly made with chicken, and a similar popular dish (same ingredients different name) is made with pork.

      Also, don’t forget your limes :)

  171. Anita says:

    5 stars
    I’m currently making your Birria Taco recipe. The sauce is so delicious! Best recipe ever! Thanks so much for sharing it! I can’t wait to try more of your delicious recipes.

  172. 5 stars
    I’ve been a taco man my whole life and this really takes it to the next level! Wow. This could become a fortnightly fish. I made mine in the Instant Pot Duo

  173. Mayra says:

    5 stars
    This was so darn simple to follow! Thank you so much it is a favorite at our home. Not going to lie it is more authentic than some I have tried ….and believe me I have tried too many

  174. Sarah says:

    5 stars
    Seriously as good as the birria’s I had in Mexico! Wow!
    Added some puya chiles for a little extra heat!

  175. Shawn says:

    5 stars
    Making this for the 2nd time. Delicious the 1st time around. A bit spicy for some family members so this time only put a couple chipotle peppers and adobo sauce from 2 cans (1 small 186ml and 1 bigger 340ml) of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Thx for the awesome recipe.

  176. Alexandra says:

    Just wondering if anyone has made these in advance for a dinner party? If so how did they prepare? I was thinking of filling and folding the tacos. Putting them in the fridge and then just before serving dip in sauce and fry? Thank you

  177. Camila Gregoire says:

    5 stars
    Delicioso. Outstanding recipe. Thanks for sharing this Birria Tacos Recipe, this one is so amazing.

  178. Amber says:

    5 stars
    Outstanding! I used beef short ribs and a sirloin roast since I couldn’t find beef shank and it turned out amazing. We had last minute guests show up and they said I can make this anytime!!! Great recipe!

  179. Wolf says:

    5 stars
    Truly phenomenal. Best tacos we’ve ever made. We’ve made these twice so far and both times we made these with a mix of both pork and beef since we can’t afford much else. The first time had a higher beef ratio, it was good. It have a very sharp spice the first day but the second day it wasn’t as spicy. We were confused over how much liquid was left over and actually left the meat in it. This cause it to soak up the stew like crazy. Which actually made it helpful for left overs that I took to work and could only microwave it to heat it up.

    Today we made it again. This time with a higher pork ratio AND doubled it. Again amazing. Actually not spicy at all though which is weird. Still tasted great and the pork actually helped with the oil on top quite a bit making it easier to fry up.

    Both times we skipped the cinnamon since we don’t have sticks and don’t usually like the almost sweetness it brings to savory dishes.

    We plan on trying this with some chicken thighs next.

    I can say, don’t skimp on the spice. I wanna try to search around for a more authentic recipe just to compare notes and see if there’s ways to tweak this to make it better. But it’s pretty great as is.

  180. Rg says:

    5 stars
    Love this!!! Making with lamb this weekend. Work around for onion saute in crockpot version: when I find onions on sale I buy a whole bag and saute them all (onion confit), then freeze in whiskey cubes for portioning.

  181. Dolores says:

    5 stars
    Do you discard the marinade or throw the rest in the stew?

    1. Stephanie says:

      add the marinade to the stew when you’re cooking the meat :)

  182. Kim says:

    5 stars
    Please don’t come for me…it was a night I didn’t feel like going to the store for meat and I had all the other ingredients. I had some ground beef in the freezer so I tweaked the recipe a bit and made this in a skillet with the ground beef. OMG, these were super amazing! My husband is Moroccan and he loved these so much that he ate about 6 or 7 (they were the street size tacos lol). I will definitely make these again using the correct kind of meat, but in a pinch, I’d make them with ground beef again!

  183. Stefano says:

    5 stars
    This is the first time I’ve ever commented on a recipe. I’m a pizzaiolo and make a lot of my own recipes, but sometimes I’ll use other people’s recipes as a key ingredient in a pizza. I used your birria recipe here to make a birria pizza, and it was just unbelievable. I did it on a NY style crust in a 900F pizza oven, so the crust got nice and crispy which was able to be dunked in the consommé.

    The pizza was made with the leftovers though. The birria itself was an unbelievable dinner. One of the best recipes I’ve used.

  184. Linda says:

    5 stars
    Delicious. I used oxtail for the stew. Followed all other recipe ingredients. Very complex sauce.

  185. 4 stars
    Needed to Amp up the heat, other than that, it’s worth making. Very yummy.

  186. Beth says:

    5 stars
    So I’m very excited to try this recipe! But first I wanted to give some feedback for the recipe, in the picture it just shows the cloves just hanging out in the stew but I can say firsthand that those cloves are awful if someone eats them whole, so I would give a suggestion to try an onion piquet. So for seasoning purposes if you want to use cloves and bay leaves.. if you start with half an onion with the stem holding it together and put a bay leaf on the flat end and then stab the cloves into that. Delivers great flavors and keeps all the pieces together so you can remove when you’re done cooking!

  187. john says:

    is it best to use flour tort or corn torts? When i use the corn torts for other tacos i always heat both sides before putting in a towel to keep warm, if using corn do i need to heat both sides or just the one side when pan frying, thanks

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi, corn tortillas are the way to go: you can heat them up first so they’re pliable before frying so they fold over the filling nicely :)

  188. M Warren says:

    I can’t wait to try this recipe but need some more info! What size can adobo sauce? Is there a ground clove alternative to whole cloves and if so, how much? Finally, and one reader commented as well, the same for ground vs. stick cinnamon. Thanks!

    1. Stephanie says:

      for the chipotles, a 7 oz can is what you need. for the cloves, you can sub in 1.5 ground tsp ground cloves. for cinnamon, add in 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. hope that helps!

  189. Jess says:

    5 stars
    These are AMAZING!! I added a little bit of smoke paprika because it sounded good, but its definitely great with or without it!

  190. Edwin says:

    5 stars
    I love the goat because it’s so tender and melts in your mouth when you make these.

    As far as the recipe- you’re spot on with every step.
    Your pictures are great, and these by far are the most favorite taco by everyone.

  191. Olivia says:

    This may be a silly question but when marinating, is it covered?

    1. Stephanie says:

      there are no silly questions! you can cover it!

  192. Sebastian says:

    5 stars
    I halved this recipe by using 1 pound of beef chuck. I even used a serrated knife to saw a cinnamon stick in half. I didn’t have chipotles in adobo, as I have never seen that product ever before, so I decided to create a substitution by using tomato sauce and a jalapeño with a total volume half of the typical 7 ounce can. I didn’t bother marinating the meat. I sauteed the onions with beef tallow and browned the meat a bit just for fun. I then cooked it in an instant pot at high pressure for 30 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. I figured a half batch would take less time to cook and I was right, the meat came out perfectly. The meat had some flavor but not too much, and the sauce had a great flavor, not too spicy but quite bold, intense even. The only problem I had was that there wasn’t enough fat in the sauce to fry the tortillas in because the meat I used was boneless. So I tried soaking the tortillas in the sauce to fry but it didn’t work very well. I struggled to find a use for this sauce since I didn’t want to drink it as a broth since I wanted to make tacos, so I boiled it down until it was the ideal consistency for coating the shredded meat and used it like that to make delicious tacos.

    1. Diane says:

      5 stars
      Sebastian – next time you have leftover broth (consommé), cook up some Ramen noodles, then drain them and add heated birria broth – delicious!!!

  193. Chipper Food says:

    5 stars
    I just added this recipe to my favorite comfort food list!

  194. Kirra says:

    5 stars
    This looks amazing, I’ll have to give it a try soon!

  195. 5 stars
    This looks absolutely amazing! Can’t believe I haven’t tried this before – adding it to my list ASAP!

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