Beef Birria

Beef Birria

Dinner
610 min
10 servings
375 kcal / serving

This beef birria is Chef John's recipe for a full-flavored meat stew featuring short ribs and chuck simmered with guajillo chiles and various spices.

Ingredients

  • 1beef chuck
  • 3beef short ribs
  • 4 teaspoonskosher salt
  • 2 teaspoonsdried mexican oregano
  • 1 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoonground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoonground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoonground cloves
  • 7dried guajillo chilies
  • 2 tablespoonsolive oil
  • 1 largeonion, roughly chopped
  • 6 clovesgarlic, peeled
  • 1piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
  • 3 largetomatoes, cored and chopped
  • 2 cupswater
  • 4 cupschicken broth
  • ¼ cupwhite vinegar
  • 3bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoonhoney
  • 2 tablespoonsfinely diced white onion
  • 1 tablespoonchopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 mediumlime, sliced

Directions

  1. 1

    Cut beef chuck in half; cut each half into 3- to 4-inch pieces. Cut each beef short rib through the middle, all the way down to the bone.

  2. 2

    Place beef chuck and short ribs into a soup pot; season with kosher salt, oregano, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Toss thoroughly until meat is evenly coated with spices, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to overnight.

  3. 3

    Prep guajillo chiles by snipping off stems with scissors; slice open and scrape or shake out seeds onto a plate to discard.

  4. 4

    Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add guajillo chiles and toss in hot oil, about 30 seconds. Add onion, garlic, and ginger; toss to combine. Add tomatoes and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes.

  5. 5

    Turn off heat and use an immersion blender to purée mixture as smooth as possible, or use a countertop blender, working in batches as needed.

  6. 6

    Remove the soup pot with meat from the refrigerator. Strain puréed chili mixture into the pot using a large mesh strainer. Add chicken broth, vinegar, bay leaves, and honey to the pot.

  7. 7

    Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until meat is fall-apart tender, 3 to 4 hours. Skim fat off of the top and reserve for future birria queso tacos.

  8. 8

    To serve, place a few chunks of beef into a soup bowl and spoon some cooking liquid on the top. Sprinkle with some white onion and cilantro; squeeze lime juice over the top.