Easy Beef Birria, Featuring Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished Chuck Roast

A comforting Mexican Stew, by KJ and Co

October 02, 2024

Easy Beef Birria is a comforting Mexican stew that you can turn into all sorts of dishes, from tacos to soup (and more)!

Beef is slow-cooked in a savory broth, infused with chiles and spices, and cooked until fall-apart tender.

Serve this classic Mexican dish with lime wedges, cilantro, and a side of Mexican rice. Or make easy beef birria tacos with corn tortillas and your favorite, melty cheese.

This recipe is perfect to throw in a slow cooker on a busy day. There’s nothing more satisfying than coming home to the aroma of a flavor-packed meal that’s ready to go.

Making Beef Birria Easy

Making traditional beef birria is a lengthy process.

It requires several types of dried chiles that are toasted, soaked, and then blended for the sauce. Then, the chuck roast is simmered low and slow in the chile sauce for hours.

You might not have a lot of time to track down the different types of chiles from the store and prepare the traditional sauce.

That’s why we’re taking a few shortcuts. You can still enjoy the flavors of this dish — without all the hours of effort.

The biggest time saver is using chiles in adobo, a canned ingredient you can find at almost any grocery store. We are also only using a chuck roast (or you can use Certified Piedmontese Stew Beef), so we can cut back on the time that the beef birria needs to cook if you were using traditional short ribs.

Seasonings & Herbs

We’ll season the beef with a variety of spices, including salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano, and bay leaves.

Garlic

Use fresh garlic, or grab the pre-chopped garlic in a jar to save on time.

Chilies in Adobo (chopped)

You can usually find these cans of chilies in adobo in the aisle with other Mexican ingredients.

Carrots (chopped)

Carrots are not typically used in authentic beef birria, but they add a nice sweetness to the flavor. Chop the carrots into 2-inch pieces.

Onion

Yellow or white onion would both work. Chop it into 2-inch pieces.

How To Serve Beef Birria

Soup: Ladle the birria into bowls and top with chopped onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Burritos: Wrap the meat in a large flour tortilla with rice, beans, and your favorite toppings.

Burrito bowls: Serve over rice with black beans, avocado, and a drizzle of the broth.

Quesabirrias: Add cooking oil to a frying pan over the stovetop. Throw on some corn tortillas, fill with the shredded beef and plenty of cheese, and then fry until crispy and golden.

Ingredients

48 oz Certified Piedmontese Grass Fed, Grass Finished Chuck Roast
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
4 chiles in adobo, chopped
3 carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 onion, cut into 2 inch pieces
4 cups beef stock, plus more if needed

Instructions

Cut the beef into 3-inch pieces. Working in batches, sear the beef in the bottom of a large Dutch oven over medium heat until golden brown. Add all of the seared beef back into the pot.
Evenly season the beef with the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano and bay leaves. Add in the garlic, chiles, carrots and onion.
Pour in the beef stock and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer on low for 2-3 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Check the pot about half way through to make sure that a constant simmer is occurring and that there is enough liquid covering the beef. Add in 1-2 cups extra beef stock as needed if the liquid is cooking out too quickly.
Remove the beef from the pot, shred it with forks and submerge back into the liquid in the pot.
Serve as a hearty soup or use the shredded beef as taco meat, burrito meat, burrito bowls or as a Mexican-inspired pot roast with roasted potatoes. Either way you serve it, use the stock from the pot as a dipping sauce or spooned over the top. Enjoy!
Topping ideas: diced onion, cilantro and lime wedges.

To view the original recipe, visit KJ and Co's website