The flavor of the beef and the consomé, or broth, is outstanding. Yes, there may be a bunch of ingredients, a lot of steps, and a lot of time required. Yes, these cuts of meat can be pretty expensive. The taste makes everything worth it.

I like to use a combination of bone-in beef short ribs and beef chuck roast. The bones add a nice richness and a fuller flavor to the broth. Place them in a large dutch oven or pot with onion, garlic, carrot, salt, pepper, and water to develop a flavorful beef stock.

Simmer away for 30 minutes before skimming off any impurities (solids and foam) from the top. Remove and discard onion, garlic, and carrots and keep simmering while preparing spices.

Rinse chiles briefly with warm water, and remove their seeds, stems, and ribs. Place in a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, toast all spices; garlic cloves, sesame seeds, whole peppercorns, cinnamon stick, whole peppercorns, dried cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, and dried thyme; in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Toasting spices intensifies their flavor.

Blend all chiles and spices together with tomatoes, vinegar, and some of the beef cooking liquid to create a delicious adobo. Although I use a high-powered blender, I strain the adobo to remove any spice particles. Add to the beef, and simmer for another 90 to 120 minutes, until the beef is very tender and falls right off the bone.

Remove the beef from the consomé and shred with two forks. Feel free to add the beef back to the broth and serve as a stew with some potatoes and other vegetables or make delicious quesabirria tacos. Use leftovers for a beef ragù with either polenta or pasta.

Beef Birria

Recipe by Renaissance DanCourse: Dinner, LunchCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

3

hours 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs bone-in beef short ribs

• 2.5 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 8 cubes

• 1 onion, peeled and halved

• 1 head garlic, with top end removed

• 1 carrot, peeled and quartered

• Water

• Salt, pepper

• Adobo

• 8 dried guajillo chlles

• 5 dried ancho chiles

• 2 beefsteak tomatoes, quartered

• 4 dried bay leaves

• 12 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

• 1 tbsp peppercorns

• 2 tbsp black sesame seeds

• 1/2 cinnamon stick

• 3 whole cloves

• 2 tbsp fresh oregano

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 3 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/4 cup white vinegar

• About one cup beef cooking liquid

Directions

• In a large dutch oven or soup pot, place short ribs, chuck roast cubes, onion, garlic, carrots, and enough water to submerge everything.
• Covered, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes of simmering, remove any impurities (foam and solids) by skimming the top of the broth.
• Remove onion, garlic, and carrot. Keep simmering while preparing the adobo sauce (See instructions below).
• Pour stained adobo into beef and stir. Continue to simmer until the beef is falling off the bone and very tender, about 90 more.
• Taste for salt and pepper. Serve as a stew or make quesabirria tacos.
• Adobo
• Cover guajillo and ancho chiles with water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, individually toast all spices (garlic cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, sesame seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, dried oregano, dried thyme, cumin, and smoked paprika) in a dry, nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant.
• Drain rehydrated chiles and add to a blender with tomatoes, toasted spices, vinegar, fresh oregano, and about 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the beef.
• Blend until smooth. Strain to remove any unblended spices or pepper skins.