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I made these birria tacos in a slow cooker using chuck roast and a sauce made from dried chilies, spices, tomatoes, onion, and garlic. After that, I cooked the tacos with plenty of cheese on the stovetop and served them with the broth (called consomé) that the meat was cooked in. Honestly, these were the BEST tacos I’ve ever had!
For more delicious taco recipes, check out these incredible shrimp tacos and slow cooker shredded beef tacos.
Table of Contents
What are Birria Tacos and Consomé?
Birria tacos are crispy tacos filled with tender, juicy meat (usually beef or goat) that has been simmered with spices and chilies to give it lots of flavor. Consomé is the broth made from cooking the meat. You dip the tacos into this broth to make them extra flavorful!
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and complete instructions.
- Dried Chilies – You’ll need Guajillo chilies, ancho chilies, and arbol chilies. Make sure to remove the stems and seeds.
- Cheese – I used Oaxaca cheese but feel free to use mozzarella cheese instead. You ideally want to use any white salty melting cheese.
- Meat – Normally birria is made with goat meat, but I used chuck roast. Feel free to substitute chicken or pork for a different taste. If using pork, choose a slow-roasting cut like pork shoulder.
- Tortillas – I highly recommend using soft corn tortillas but soft flour tortillas work as well.
Step by Step (with photos)
Prepare the Sauce – Toast the dried chilies for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Be careful not to burn them! Flip them every 15 seconds and keep an eye on them.
Once the chilies are nicely toasted, place them in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 12-15 minutes.
Place the chilies in a blender along with 1 cup of beef stock, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin, and oregano. Blend until smooth.
Sear the Beef – Season the beef on both sides generously with salt and pepper. Sear it in a hot skillet with oil for 4-5 minutes on each side.
Slow Cook the Beef – Place the beef along with the sauce, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.
Assemble the Tacos – Dip a corn tortilla into the broth so it’s fully covered, then place it in a hot pan. Sprinkle on shredded cheese, add some shredded beef on one half of the tortilla, and spoon a little broth over the beef. Once the cheese melts, fold the tortilla in half and cook on both sides until crispy and golden.
Top Tips:
- Soaking and simmering the chiles in fresh water reconstitutes the chilis and gives you control over any bitterness which can come out of some chiles like guajillo and ancho. Although it is an extra step, it’s worth it.
- Toasting chiles are ready when they puff a bit and become fragrant. You don’t want to burn them but toasting helps to release essential oils for a richer scent and taste, adds depth to the dish, and can remove stale flavors if your chiles are old.
- It is crucial that you don’t burn the chilies while they toast, otherwise they’ll become super bitter.
- You can keep the tacos warm in a 275°F oven while you finish cooking the rest. Depending on the size of your pan, you can also cook two at a time as you get better.
- For best results, make the tacos with extra cheese and serve them with limes, hot sauce, and the consomé!
- Use a hot nonstick skillet with 1-2 tablespoons of oil to cook the tacos. Cook them until crispy! If you don’t cook them long enough, they will be soggy. You want them to be nice and crispy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use other types of tortilla shells? I have used different kinds of corn tortilla shells, including ones containing flour and they worked just fine. I even used keto tortilla shells and they worked great.
What can you do with the leftover consume? You could freeze portions of the leftover consume and use it to simmer shredded chicken, beef, or pork to make a birria-style taco in the future. It could be used as a dipping sauce for quesadillas, or taquitos.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback and would greatly appreciate it ❤️
Birria Tacos (Queso Tacos)
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 lbs beef chuck roast or bottom blade
- 3 teaspoons Kosher Salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoons Pepper
- 6 guajillo chiles
- 4 ancho chiles
- 2 arbol chiles
- 3 cups beef broth, divided
- 3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 white onion, roughly chopped
- 7 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano, Mexican if you can find it
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ stick cinnamon or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups shredded Oaxacan cheese – can sub with mozzarella
- 12-15 corn tortillas
Garnishes (optional)
- Diced white onion
- Cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Hot sauce
- Fresh radish slices
Instructions
- Season the meat with salt and pepper on both sides and set it aside. Remove the stems and seeds from all the dried chiles otherwise, it will be way too spicy!
- Toast the chiles in a dry fry pan until they become puffed a bit and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Flip them every 15 seconds and keep an eye on them so they don't burn!
- Once toasted, place the chilis in a medium sized saucepan and add water until it just fully covers them. Turn the stovetop to medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and strain out the solids. Place the solids into a blender and add 1 cup of beef broth, the tomatoes, onions, and garlic, cumin, oregano, and ground cloves. Blend on high until you get a smooth sauce. Place the sauce into a slow cooker.
- Add the seasoned beef to a hot skillet with oil and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side.
- Into the slow cooker add in the rest of the beef broth, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add in the beef. Turn on the slow cooker to low for 7-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
- After cooking remove the meat from the slow cooker and shred with two forks and place in a large bowl. Add some of the consume from the slow cooker into the bowl to keep the meat moist. Check for seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Taste the broth in the slow cooker and add more salt if necessary.
How to assemble the tacos
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a nonstick skillet. Dip one corn tortilla into the consume in the crockpot so that it is fully covered in consume (the oil on the top helps to crisp the tortilla when cooking). Immediately place into the frypan (I prefer to use a nonstick skillet) on medium/high heat for about 1 minute. Sprinkle on the shredded Oaxacan cheese all over the tortilla. You can add however much you like depending on how cheesy you want it. Add on the shredded birria beef to one half of the tortilla shell, you can use as much or as little beef as you like, but I use about 3-4 tablespoons. Spoon a little consume over the beef.
- Once the cheese starts to melt, fold the empty side of the tortilla over the meat to form a half-moon shape. Continue cooking for about a minute, until the bottom is crisp and golden with dark spots. If you don't cook it long enough, (it will become soggy so make sure to cook it until it's crispy) Then flip and cook the other side for another minute, or until it's crispy to your liking.
- Remove from the heat and serve with condiments of your choice like diced white onion, cilantro, hot sauce, and a small bowl of consume for dipping. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
