Beef Birria de Res (Stovetop + Instant Pot)
This easy birria recipe can be made on the stovetop or Instant pot! Tenders chunks of seared beef that we'll stew in onions, chile paste, garlic, and lots of herbs and spices! Then use the birria meat to make quesabirria tacos, birria ramen or serve over rice!
Ingredients
- 4 Ancho chilies
- 3 guajillo chilies
- 2-4 chili de Arbol these have heat
- 5 cups water divided (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons oil plus more
- 1 large white onion cut into a few pieces
- 14 cloves garlic
- 5 Roma tomatoes cut into a few pieces
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 4 bay leaves
- 8 EACH: whole black peppercorns AND whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons EACH: Mexican oregano AND dried thyme
- 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- 1- inch piece of Mexican cinnamon see notes
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 3 pounds chuck roast cut into 8 pieces
- 2 pounds bone-in short ribs or use 4 lbs. chuck roast total
Instructions
- SIZZLE: Wearing disposable gloves, remove stem of dried peppers, and cut down the length of the pepper with kitchen shears. Remove ribs and seeds; discard. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 6-quart dutch oven (or larger) over medium heat. Add the chilies and fry for roughly 1-2 minutes, flipping often. Remove chilies using a slotted spoon to a medium bowl, add 2 cups boiling water, cover, and let the chilies soak for 12 minutes. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes over medium-high heat in the oil that’s remaining in the pan, if dry, add a small drizzle.
- BLEND: Transfer onions, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, bay leaves, peppercorns, whole cloves, oregano, thyme, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, and soaked peppers with water to a high powder blender; blend. For smaller blenders, blend in batches. See notes for conventional blenders.
- SIMMER: See notes for pressure cooker directions. Pat the beef chunks dry and season with 2 teaspoons salt. Heat the same dutch oven over medium-high heat. If the pot is dry, add a tablespoon of oil. Sear beef in batches and allow it to brown on all sides; about 5-6 minutes. Add oil between batches if the pot is dry. Once the meat is browned, pour blended chili mixture over the beef. Add 3 cups of water (see notes) and the remaining teaspoon of salt. Allow the mixture to reach a simmer, then, lower the heat to low, and cover pot. Simmer for 4-5 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender. I check it about every hour and give it a stir, but it’s pretty hands off at this point. Test the meat with a paring knife. The knife should go through the meat very easily.
- SHRED AND SKIM: When the meat is tender, remove, discard bones, and shred using two forks or meat claws. You can thin out the broth with additional water or simmer it longer to concentrate it. Taste and adjust the salt in the broth to preference. You'll also want to skim the top to remove excess grease. You can use an oil separator or if you're making this in advance, I suggest skimming the top after the birria has been refrigerated, so much easier to remove that way!
- SERVE: Serve it in bowls as stew with rice topped with onions and cilantro. For quesabirria tacos, I like to strain the consommé and season with lime juice, chopped onions, and cilantro. You can also make ramen bowls by preparing noodles ladling with consommé and topping with desired toppings.
Notes
- if you used a conventional blender (not high powered) you will want to strain the chili mixture at the end when the meat is done. This is so you don’t end up with bits of spice in your stew!
- Water or broth: If you’re using only chuck roast for this recipe, I suggest using beef broth instead of water and waiting on salting until the very end. If you’re using bone-in short ribs, you can skip the broth and use water!
- Pressure Cooker: You'll need a 6 quart pressure cooker for this recipe. Follow steps 1 and 2 and most of 3, searing the meat in the pressure cooker. Once the meat is seared, add chile paste, water, and salt. Place the lid on top, seal the vent, and pressure cook on high pressure for 48 minutes. Then, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, and pick up from step 4 above.
- Cinnamon: Mexican cinnamon can be found in Hispanic grocery stores. If you use regular cinnamon, skip it from the ingredients that are added to the blender. Instead, add it directly to the meat when you’re pouring in the blended liquid at the end of step 3. Fish out the cinnamon stick and discard when you shred the meat.
