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birria tacos recipe adobo sauce paste homemade from scratch best authentic traditional Mexican shredded beef

Birria Tacos

By Kimberly Killebrew
These birria tacos are stuffed with tender shredded beef, oozing melted cheese, and are served with a flavor-packed adobo sauce consommé for dipping!
5 from 43 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 16 tacos

Ingredients
 
 

  • For the Beef Birria:
  • 4 pounds beef chuck, shanks, bottom roast, short ribs, or combination
  • salt and pepper
  • For the Adobo Sauce:
  • 6 dried whole guajillo chiles
  • 4 dried whole ancho chiles
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 white or yellow onion
  • 6 cloves garlic (optional: for best flavor roast the garlic)
  • 2 chipotles with 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • For the Birria Tacos:
  • 16 corn or flour tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded or crumbled cheese (oaxaca, queso fresco, cotija, or Monterey jack)
  • diced onion
  • chopped cilantro
  • fresh lime wedges
  • optional accompaniments for serving: Mexican crema or sour cream, guacamole, salsa, pickled jalapenos, etc).

Instructions
 

  • Make the Adobo Sauce:
    Place the dried ancho and guajillo peppers in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to fully cover. Let them sit until they’ve cooled down and are soft. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the soaking liquid and discard the rest.
    Place the reconstituted chiles in a blender with the reserved soaking liquid, beef broth, onions, garlic, chipotle with adobo sauce, and blend until the mixture is very smooth. Transfer the pureed mixture to a medium saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients for the adobo sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Give it an occasional stir to prevent scorching. Discard the bay leaf. Add salt and sugar to taste.
  • Make the Beef Birria:
    Season the beef with some salt and pepper. If preferred you can brown the beef first for some added flavor or just place it directly in an oven safe pot or a slow cooker. Pour the adobo sauce over the beef.
    If cooking in the oven, preheat it to 300 F / 150 C. Bring the pot to a simmer on the stovetop, cover securely with the lid, and then transfer it to the middle rack in the oven. Cook for about 3 hours or longer until the beef is perfectly fork tender. If you're using a slow cooker, cook on low for 8 to 9 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
    Transfer the beef to a cutting board use two forks to shred it. Reserve the adobo cooking liquid/consommé. The sauce will have become thinner and more brothy from cooking with the beef. Use this as your consomé for dipping the tacos.
  • Assemble the Tacos:
    If you're not frying the tacos, place some of the beef on a tortilla shell (corn or flour, your choice) or in a taco shell with some cheese, onion, cilantro and any other toppings of choice and serve.
    If you're frying the tacos (which I highly recommend), you can use corn or flour tortillas: Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. You can add a little oil or lard to the frying pan if needed but the top layer of the adobo sauce consomé already has a good amount of fat in it. Dip each side of a tortilla shell in the adobo sauce liquid and place it in the frying pan. Fry it for about 30 seconds and flip it over. Top half of the tortilla with some shredded beef, cheese, minced onion and cilantro. Fold the tortilla in half to close it and fry on both sides for another minute or so or until crispy. Transfer to a serving platter in a warm oven and repeat with the remaining tortillas.
    Serve with a side of the adobo sauce consommé for dipping along with fresh lime wedges and any other accompaniments or sides as desired.

Notes

The adobo sauce can be made well in advance or frozen for up to 3 months.  To use, simply thaw, add it to the beef, and proceed as written.
The beef birria can likewise be frozen for up to 3 months and then thawed and reheated in the microwave.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1tacoCalories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 31gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 682mgPotassium: 677mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 2739IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 4mg
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
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