Name: Beef Birria
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 135 min
Total time: 160 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 400 g Beef Chuck, cut into large chunks; 2 Dried Guajillo Chiles, stemmed and deseeded; 1 Dried Ancho Chiles, stemmed and deseeded; 1 Dried Pasilla Chiles, stemmed and deseeded; 2 Tomato, roughly chopped; ¾ cup Onion, roughly chopped, divided; 4 clove Garlic, peeled; 1 Bay Laurel Leaf, whole; 1 inch Cinnamon Sticks, small piece; 2 Cloves, whole; ½ tsp Cumin Seeds, lightly toasted; 1 tsp Dried Oregano, crumbled; 1 tbsp Vinegar, for brightness; 1 tbsp Cooking Oil, for browning beef; 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped, for finishing; ½ Lemon, cut into wedges, preferably lime; to taste Salt, for seasoning; 3 cup Water, for braising

2 hr 40 mintotal

Prep 25 min · Cook 2 hr 15 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Hard
Spice: Medium

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Method

Soak the dried guajillo, ancho, and pasilla chiles in hot water until softened, then drain them.
Blend the softened chiles with tomato, part of the onion, garlic, vinegar, cumin seeds, dry oregano, cinnamon, cloves, and a little water until smooth.
Heat the measured cooking oil in a heavy pot and brown the beef chunks on all sides.
Pour the blended chile sauce over the beef, then add the bay leaf, remaining water, and salt.
Cover and simmer gently until the beef is very tender and the sauce becomes deep red and flavorful.
Shred some of the beef lightly into the broth while keeping a few pieces chunky.
Adjust salt, finish with fresh coriander, and serve hot with lemon wedges.

How to tell it's done

The beef should be very tender and shreddable, with a rich red broth that is glossy but not greasy.

Getting it right

Tip

Keep the simmer gentle; slow cooking gives birria its tender beef and deep chile broth.

What to serve it with

Serve as a stew with corn tortillas, onion, coriander, and lime-style lemon wedges.

Common mistakes

The broth is bitter.: Soak the dried chillies until soft but do not use the soaking water, and take out the seeds and stems. Toasted too hard or soaked too long, guajillo and ancho turn acrid, and that bitterness carries through the whole pot.
The beef is tough after hours of cooking.: Keep it at a bare simmer rather than a boil, and keep the pot covered. Chuck at a rolling boil seizes up and stays that way — low and slow is what breaks the connective tissue down into the broth.

Substitutions

Use a similar slow-cooking beef cut if Beef Chuck is unavailable.
Use only Dried Guajillo Chiles and Dried Ancho Chiles if Dried Pasilla Chiles are unavailable.
Use Red Chilli Powder only as a last substitute; the flavor will be less authentic.
Serve as a stew to keep it distinct from taco-first birria variations.

Storing and reheating

Keeps four days in the fridge and is better on the second day; the fat sets on top and can be lifted off or stirred back in. It freezes for three months. Reheat gently.

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Ingredients