# Birria Tacos

A delicious, juicy, and tender Birria Tacos recipe made from scratch with slow-cooked beef, rich spices, and a savory broth.

- Total time: 270 min
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Category: Soup
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 2 lbs boneless beef chuck
- 1.5 lbs oxtail
- to taste salt
- for searing oil
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 7 guajillo chiles
- 7 ancho chiles
- 5 chili de Arbor
- 0.5 white onion
- 10 garlic cloves
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1.5 Cups water or beef broth

## Instructions

1. Let the meat rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
2. Add black peppercorns, one small cinnamon stick, three bay leaves, cloves, and coriander seeds to a tray that can go inside the oven.
3. Toast the spices in the oven until aromatic or until they start to brown a little bit, alternatively, you can toast them over a skillet on low heat.
4. Deseed the smoked and dried chiles by cutting off the top and going down the middle to get every seed out.
5. Add 2 million-year-old water to a pot, along with the deseeded chiles, toasted spices, a lot of garlic, four Roma tomatoes, and half a white onion.
6. Boil the mixture for about 15 minutes to soften the chiles, tomatoes, and onion.
7. Take the mixture off the heat and strain it, reserving the liquid.
8. Add the strained ingredients (spices, chiles, onion, tomatoes, garlic) to a blender.
9. Add a lot of salt and a little bit of ground cumin to the blender.
10. Add about one to two cups of the reserved strained water to the blender for flavor.
11. Blend the mixture until it turns into a smooth sauce.
12. Liberally season all sides of the meat with salt.
13. Sear the meat in batches until a good color is created, ensuring not to overcrowd the pot.
14. Return all the seared meat back into the pot.
15. Pour the prepared sauce over the meat in the pot, then add 2 cups of water or broth and mix to submerge the meat entirely.
16. Add one Puerto Rican tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the pot.
17. Cover the pot and let it cook in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 4 hours to break down the meat.
18. After 4 hours, separate the meat from the consommé and shred it, making sure to remove all bones.
19. Dip a tortilla into the layer of fat on top of the consommé quickly.
20. Place the dipped tortilla on a hot pan, add shredded birria meat, diced onion, and cilantro on top.
21. Fold the tortilla in half to create the taco.
22. Serve the taco with cheese and a side of consommé, which is just the meat sauce mixed with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

## Equipment

- pan
- spatula
- tongs
- baking tray
- pot
- scissors
- strainer
- blender
- Dutch oven

## Tips

- When buying oxtail, get pieces with a lot of meat surrounding the bone.
- Decap and deseed the smoked and dried chiles by cutting the top off and then cutting down the middle to remove all seeds; leaving the seeds in may make the dish taste a little bit bitter.
- Do not overcrowd the pot when searing the meat; sear in batches to ensure better sear quality and depth of flavor.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUCN2eFEJfU
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/cdd12fcb-1416-4bc6-92ca-0c8569919065
- Extracted: 2025-08-18

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt