This birria recipe is an iconic meat stew from the Mexican state of Jalisco of lamb, goat or beef cooked low and slow in a seasoned chili sauce. Serve it in a bowl or as birria tacos.
We're cooking up a flavorful Mexican meat stew in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen, my friends. It's called Birria, and you're going to want to make this right away.
What is Birria?
Birria is a classic Mexican meat stew or soup made with slowly braised meat - usually lamb, goat, or beef - with chilies and spices. It is one of the most iconic Mexican dishes, originally from Jalisco, Mexico, though has spread throughout Mexican and the U.S. because of its addictive flavor.
It was originally made with goat, as local Mexicans were given an overabundance of goats by the Conquistadors during the Conquest of Mexico. The name, "birria", means "worthless" or "without value", a pejorative term given by the Spanish who found eating goat beneath them.
Today, however, beef is more commonly used, as it is easier to obtain and is less lean, though it is delicious with any of these cuts of meat or what you can commonly find in grocery stores.
Birria is usually served a couple different ways - as a soup or stew, or as birria tacos. The soup/stew version is more classic and often served at family events or large gatherings. This way, the meat is shredded and served into bowls with the braising liquid, or consome.
As tacos, the meat is shredded and served over warmed corn tortillas dipped in the braising liquid, with the consome in a small bowl on the side.
There are different ways to make it, with different cuts of meat and variations to the chilies and seasonings. This is my preferred version adapted from a couple of my favorite Mexican cookbooks and some experimentation.
As a spicy food lover, I think you will love this recipe. It will smell amazing in the house with the meat cooking, enough to drive you wild with hunger.
Let's talk about how to make birria, shall we?
Birria Ingredients
- Dried Peppers. Use ancho peppers and guajillo peppers. I also use a few chiles de arbol for a bit of extra spice and heat.
- Olive Oil. For cooking.
- Vegetables. Onion, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, garlic. You can also toss in some fresh peppers, if desired.
- Seasonings. Mexican oregano, sea salt, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, black pepper. You can use others, like bay leaves.
- Vinegar. I prefer apple cider vinegar for this recipe.
- Beef Stock.
- Meat. Use lamb, goat or beef. Lamb shoulder or lamb belly are hugely popular options. For beef, use brisket, chuck roast or beef shank.
How to Make Birria - the Recipe Method
Dry Toast the Peppers. Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the dried chilies. Dry toast them in the hot pan 1-2 minutes per side, until the skins darken.
Soak the Peppers. Remove from heat and add the toasted peppers to a large bowl. Cover with hot water and steep 20 minutes, or until softened.
Cook the Onions, Tomatoes and Garlic. While the peppers are rehydrating, heat the olive oil in the same pan to medium heat. Add the onion and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute, stirring.
Food Processor. Add the cooked onion, tomatoes and garlic to a food processor. Remove the softened chilies and add to the food processor, but reserve the soaking liquid. Add the seasonings to the food processor along with the vinegar and 1 cup beef stock. Process until smooth. It should be fairly thick. You can strain if you’d like for a smoother sauce. See the RECIPE NOTES below.
Marinate the Meat. Cut the lamb (or beef) into large chunks and add to a large bowl. Pour the birria sauce over them and rub it into the meat. Cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 2 hours minimum. Overnight is better.
Simmer the Birria. When you’re ready to cook, add the meat with all of the marinade, the chopped roasted tomatoes and remaining 3 cups beef broth to a large pot or Dutch oven.
Cover and cook at medium heat for 3 hours, or until the meat is fork tender and easy to shred. Add more beef stock or some of the reserved soaking liquid if needed for a soupier birria.
I removed the meat to make it easier to shred.
Then added the shredded meat back to the pot to simmer a bit more before serving.
Serve the Birria. Serve the braised birria stew meat into bowls as a soup, or shred the meat and serve it up onto warm corn tortillas as birria tacos, with the reserved liquid consome from the pot as a side soup/broth. Adjust for salt and pepper. Garnish with onion, cilantro, chili flakes.
Boom! Done! Your Mexican birria is ready to serve. This meat is so incredibly tender and flavorful. How are you going to enjoy yours? As a soup or stew in a bowl? Or as birra tacos? Quesabirria tacos? Try this birria ramen recipe!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Meat Options. You can make birria with many different cuts of meat. Use lamb meat, goat meat or beef. Lamb shoulder or lamb belly are hugely popular options. For the cut of beef, use brisket, chuck roast or beef shank. Short ribs are great, too. You can realistically make this with any cut of meat, but the best are the tougher cuts that require low and slow cooking. You'll get more flavor with bone-in meats.
- Strain the Pepper Puree. For a much smoother sauce, strain it through a fine sieve to remove any lingering bits if needed. Also, some people find the skins of anchos and guajillos to be slightly bitter, and straining can reduce this.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this Mexican birria recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you and how you served yours. Keep it spicy!
Cookbook Recommendations
If you love traditional Mexican cooking, I love these cookbooks with recipes from all over Mexico. Definitely recommended.
- Mexico: The Cookbook (affiliate link, my friends!)
- Made in Mexico: The Cookbook, by Danny Mena (affiliate link, my friends!)
Try Some of My Other Popular Mexican Recipes
- Pollo Asado (Mexican Roast Chicken)
- Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup)
- Chicken Pozole Rojo
- Albondigas Soup (Caldo de Albondigas)
- See all of my Mexican Recipes
Try Some of My Other Popular Soup and Stew Recipes
- Sancocho (Latin American Stew)
- Carne Guisada
- Pollo Guisado
- Green Chile Stew
- Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef)
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Mexican Birria Recipe (Goat or Beef Stew)
Ingredients
- 5 ancho peppers stems and seeds removed
- 5 guajillo peppers stems and seeds removed
- 2-3 chiles de arbol optional, for spicier
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 3 large tomatoes chopped
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 large roasted tomatoes chopped
- 4 cups beef stock separated
- 3.5 pound lamb shoulder or you can use beef shank or chuck roast
Instructions
- Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the dried peppers. Dry toast them in the hot pan 1-2 minutes per side, until the skins darken.
- Remove from heat and add the toasted peppers to a large bowl. Cover with hot water and steep 20 minutes, or until softened.
- While the peppers are rehydrating, heat the olive oil in the same pan to medium heat.
- Add the onion and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute, stirring.
- Add the cooked onion, tomatoes and garlic to a food processor.
- Remove the softened chilies and add to the food processor, but reserve the soaking liquid.
- Add the seasonings to the food processor along with the vinegar and 1 cup beef stock. Process until smooth. It should be fairly thick. You can strain if you’d like for a smoother sauce. See the RECIPE NOTES below.
- Cut the lamb (or beef) into large chunks and add to a large bowl.
- Pour the birria sauce over them and rub it into the meat. Cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 2 hours minimum. Overnight is better.
- When you’re ready to cook, add the meat with all of the marinade, the chopped roasted tomatoes and remaining 3 cups beef broth to a large pot. Cover and cook at medium heat for 3 hours, or until the meat is fork tender and easy to shred. Add more beef stock or some of the reserved soaking liquid if needed for a soupier birria.
- Serve the braised birria into bowls as a soup, or shred the meat and serve it up onto tortillas as birria tacos, with the reserved liquid consome from the pot as a side soup/broth.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Ed says
Re tomatoes: Do you use roma or a larger variety? Also, what is your method for roasting tomatoes?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Ed, I use larger plump tomatoes from the store, though you can use several Romas. Fire roasted canned tomatoes are great. For roasting, slice fresh tomatoes in half, drizzle with olive oil and salt, then bake for 20-30 minutes at 450 degrees F until they collapse or are done to your preference.
Nick says
Hi Mike,
We tried the birria the other night - it was a great success! We all loved the flavours. Had to improvise with the chillis a bit as guajillo and chiles de arból are hard to come by in Australia, so I used a selection from my garden - worked well, but next time I'll make it a bit hotter. Next time will be soon!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you enjoyed it, Nick! Yeah! Thanks for sharing!
Tracy McKinnon says
Can I use London broil for this recipie? Thank you
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Tracy, I don't believe London broil would be ideal here, as it is a leaner meat. It could work, but chuck would be much better, or brisket.
Timothy Woods says
Hello!
Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I tried this recipe the other night. It so happens that my inlaws were there too. They like the recipe so much that they ask for the leftovers to go!
Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing this. Excited to send the next recipe here to my wife.
Have a great day!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Timothy! Glad you (and your inlaws) enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
Theresa says
Had to substitute fresh tomatoes for canned and the Mexican oregano for regular. Did keep the seeds so after processing all the ingredients the base sauce was too spicy but after cooking it down it was just right! Made and froze the extra sauce for next time. Thanks for the great recipe. Maybe next time we'll try it with lamb instead of chuck roast
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Thanks, Theresa!
Ron says
Have everything in the marinade. Used peppers as listed plus added a dried Chipotle pepper. The recipe mentions reserving the pepper liquid, doesn't say for what?
Preparing for tomorrow, New Year day.
Happy New Year!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Ron. You only need it if you'd like to thin out the consome for serving. Enjoy!
joyce m corcoran says
Fantastic Birria Recipe. What a treat for me at 73 who loves Mexican Food but I have never had a Birria Taco. I was concerned about the amount of cinnamon as I am not a fan but I followed the recipe as I love so many of your other recipes. It turned out terrific and all the flavors blended overnight. I used 5-5-3 chilis and it really mellowed overnight. If you don't like heat then just leave out the arbols. I figured out the seeds and stem issues as I learned how to toast chili's from your site but still not sure why you reserve the chili soaking liquid.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
So great to hear, Joyce!! I love it. The soaking liquid is to help thin out the consome, if desired. I made and update to make that more clear. I greatly appreciate your comments!! Thanks again, and take care.
Douglas Forney says
Big hit w the family! Did it without the arbol chilis cuz I didn’t want it too hot. It was perfect spiciness. This is the 3rd chilipeppermadness recipe I’ve tried, none have failed.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great! Glad you enjoyed it, Douglas! I appreciate you sharing your experience!
Josh says
Just had this for dinner and it was absolutely scrumptious. Went with a chuck roast, added a bay leaf and only used one chile de arbol, even my ever-picky mother ate it up. Can't wait to fix some for myself with more heat and some lamb.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Very nice. I appreciate it, Josh! Glad you (and your mother) enjoyed it!
David Munroe says
Can you cook the Birria Recipe in an instant pot?
DRM
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You can David. You can cook this on the low slow cooker setting, or pressure cooker setting. I hope to do a pressure cooker version soon.
Jérémie says
This recipe is really original, with the lamb marinating in an almost ready sauce. And the combination of fresh an:d roasted tomatoes is amazing too.
I added an Arbol chili pepper, as recommended (and a Numex, it's Holidays!) and tasted the dish with corn tortillas. Thanks Mike, that was excellent!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesomeness! Glad you enjoyed it, Jérémie! You rock, as always!
Jim says
Thanks! Love your recipes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jim!
Bill Dunmyer says
My mouth is watering and I am dyeing to try your Mexican Birria, but worried it will be too spicy for my family. I wish you would add a heat indicator to your recipes. Thank you
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Bill. I do try to add heat factor, but it can really range depending on the person. For me, this is quite mild without the chile de arbol. I think you'll find it mild with a touch of heat. But if you add chile de arbol, you'll get more heat. Skip any fresh peppers as well if you're concerned. Let me know how it goes if you make it.
Robert says
Hi Mike,
Thanks for this recipe. I will give it a go in a slow cooker (starting off with half of the 3 cups beef stock). Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year to you and yours. \o/
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much, Robert! Enjoy! Yes, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you and your family!
Jim Ostrem says
There's no mention of seeding the peppers. Does this recipe call for toasting and soaking whole, unseeded guajillo, ancho and chiles de arbol before blending them, or should the seeds be removed? If so, when? Before toasting, after toasting, after soaking?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jim. Yes, the stems and seeds should be removed before toasting the peppers. I've made the adjustment to make that clear.
John says
This goes on the "must try list". Happy New Year!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Absolutely! Happy New Year, John!
Shelly says
Amazing recipe. Loving your spin on popular Mexican dishes. Both innovative and traditional.