Slow Cooker Mexican Birria Recipe
This Slow Cooker Mexican Birria recipe offers tender, flavorful beef simmered to perfection in a rich, spiced chile broth. Using dried guajillo and ancho chiles blended with tomatoes, onion, and aromatic spices, the slow cooker method infuses the meat with deep Mexican flavors ideal for tacos, quesabirria, or broth-dipped servings.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours (LOW) or 5.5 hours (HIGH)
- Total Time: 8 hours 25 minutes (LOW) or 5 hours 55 minutes (HIGH)
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Scale
Meat
- 3 lb beef chuck roast or short ribs
Chiles & Vegetables
- 5 whole dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 whole dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 medium roma tomatoes
- 1 large white onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 inch fresh ginger
Spices & Seasonings
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- to taste salt and black pepper
Liquids & Others
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
Instructions
- Toast and Soak Chiles: Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to burn them. Transfer them to a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 15 minutes until softened.
- Prepare the Beef: Season the beef chuck roast or short ribs generously with salt and black pepper. Cut the meat into large 3-inch chunks for even cooking and easier shredding later.
- Make the Chile Sauce: In a blender, combine the soaked chiles, roma tomatoes, quartered onion, garlic cloves, fresh ginger, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of beef broth. Blend until completely smooth and well incorporated to form a rich sauce.
- Assemble in Slow Cooker: Place the beef chunks into the slow cooker. Pour the blended chile sauce over the meat. Add the remaining 2 cups of beef broth along with the whole bay leaves and black peppercorns to the slow cooker.
- Slow Cook the Birria: Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours until the beef is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
- Shred and Strain: Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred it using two forks. Strain the cooking liquid (consommé) through a fine-mesh sieve to remove solids and skim any excess fat from the top for a silky broth.
- Serve: Return the shredded beef to the consommé to soak up the flavors. Serve hot as tacos, quesabirria, or in bowls with the flavorful broth for dipping tortillas.
Notes
- Straining the consommé creates a silky, restaurant-quality broth that’s perfect for dipping.
- Save the rendered fat skimmed from the consommé to fry tortillas for an extra layer of flavor.
- You can adjust the spice level by modifying the number of dried chiles used.
- For even deeper flavor, marinate the beef in the chile sauce a few hours before cooking.
Keywords: birria tacos, crockpot recipes beef, mexican birria, quesabirria, slow cooker birria
Find it online: https://deliciousdishspot.com/slow-cooker-mexican-birria-recipe/
