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My husband is a born-and-bred Mexican, and he has strong opinions on Birria. This is the recipe that has been passed down through the generations in his small town in Aguascalientes, and I’m so excited to share it with you.
Meggan’s notes
Unlike the birria that went viral on TikTok (a barbacoa-style shredded meat served in a chili broth), this birria is made with shredded beef steamed with herbs and spices. It’s served minced white onions, cilantro, and a special birria-style salsa on the side.
This is the actual birria they serve in Aguascalientes when feeding hundreds of friends and family for weddings, baptisms, and birthday parties, and you’ll love how easy it is to make for your own gatherings.
Table of Contents
Beef Birria Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Sachet: A sachet is a fancy term for herbs, spices, and garlic tied up in a piece of cheesecloth with twine. You could also use a tea ball or loose leaf tea bag to hold them. It makes it easier to pull these small ingredients out later.
- Beef: Boneless beef chuck roast, short ribs, stew meat, oxtail, or beef cheeks work great here (or substitute a bone-in cut). In Mexico, it is common to use lamb or goat for Birria, too.
- Water
How to make birria meat with chuck roast
- To make the sachet, lay a piece of cheesecloth on a flat surface. Add cloves, garlic, cumin seeds, and peppercorns. Tie with kitchen twine.
- Season beef liberally with salt on all sides. Fill the bottom of the pot with 1-2 inches of water and add steam insert. Set seasoned beef on steam insert.
- Add the sachet of spices, cover the pot, and bring water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Steam the beef in the pot until tender and falling apart, about 4 to 5 hours. Check the pot occasionally, adding more water if necessary, to prevent the pot from burning.
- Remove beef from the pot and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet or cutting board. Pull apart the beef to shred the meat, separating and discarding any fat or gristle.
- Transfer to shredded beef to a serving platter or bowl. Serve with tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime wedges, and Salsa de Birria, if desired.
Birria Roast Variations
- Slow cooker: In the bottom of a slow cooker, add the meat, salt, spice sachet and water. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours or LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Pull apart the beef to shred the meat, separating and discarding any fat or gristle. To serve the Birria from the slow cooker, drain excess juice before adding back the shredded meat. Serve with tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime wedges, and Salsa de Birria, if desired.
- Instant Pot: In the bottom of an Instant Pot, add the meat, salt, spice sachet and water. Cover, seal, and set to HIGH PRESSURE for 45 minutes. Let the pressure cooker release naturally before opening. Pull apart the beef to shred the meat, separating and discarding any fat or gristle. Serve with tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime wedges, and Salsa de Birria, if desired.
How to store birria meat
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 servings, 1 cup (4 ounces) each. 2 ½ pounds of beef chuck roast cooks down to 1 pound total (with some slight variations depending on how fatty the roast is and how meticulous you are about pulling out the fat).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Make this 1 day ahead for parties and reheat with a small amount of water in a pot or slow cooker until heated through.
Birria Beef FAQs
Birria is best made with high-fat, slow-cooked pieces of beef such as a beef roast. You’ll also find this cut of meat under names such as boneless beef chuck roast, pot roast, or chuck roast.
You can also substitute short ribs, stew meat, oxtail, or beef cheeks. In Mexico, it is common to use lamb or goat for Birria, too. When properly cooked, the meat becomes meltingly-tender and falls apart with just a fork for a pile of tender, shredded meat.
This recipe calls for steaming beef in a pot on the stove, and the recipe takes about 4 to 5 hours for the beef to become meltingly-tender. This happens when all the fat has melted, and the meat falls apart with just a fork.
If you opt for a slow-cooker, it will take 8 to 10 hours on LOW or 4 to 6 hours on HIGH. If you need birria fast, you can make it in your instant pot in about 45 minutes.
If you want to do things the old-fashioned way, dig your pit the night before and start roasting your goat on a spit over the fire at 4:00 am. 10 to 12 hours later, your goat will be ready for birria.
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Birria (Chuck Roast)
Ingredients
For the sachet (see note 1):
- 4 whole cloves or ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 clove garlic peeled and smashed or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds or ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 8 whole black peppercorns or ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the birria:
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast (see note 2)
- Corn tortillas (warmed), minced onion, minced cilantro, and lime wedges, for serving
- Salsa de Birria
Instructions
- To make a sachet, lay a piece of cheesecloth on a flat surface. Add cloves, garlic, cumin seeds, and peppercorns. Tie with kitchen twine. (To use ground spices, in a small bowl, whisk together ground cloves, garlic powder, cumin, and ground black pepper.)
- Season beef liberally with salt on all sides (if using ground spices, rub the beef all over with the spice mixture). Fill the bottom of the pot with 1-2 inches of water and add steam insert. Set beef on steam insert and add sachet of spices.
- Cover the pot and bring water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Steam the beef in the pot until tender and falling apart, about 4 to 5 hours. Check the pot occasionally, adding more water if necessary, to prevent the pot from burning.
- Remove beef from the pot and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet or other rimmed work surface. Pull apart the beef to shred the meat, separating and discarding any fat or gristle.
- Transfer to shredded beef to a serving platter or bowl. Serve with tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime wedges, and Salsa de Birria, if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Sachet: A sachet is a fancy term for herbs, spices, and garlic tied up in a piece of cheesecloth with twine. You could also use a tea ball or loose leaf tea bag to hold them. It makes it easier to pull these small ingredients out later.
- Beef: Boneless beef chuck roast, short ribs, stew meet, oxtail, or beef cheeks work great here (or substitute a bone-in cut). In Mexico, it is common to use lamb or goat for Birria, too.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 servings, 1 cup (4 ounces) each. 2 ½ pounds of beef chuck roast cooks down to 1 pound total (with some slight variations depending on how fatty the roast is and how meticulous you are about pulling out the fat).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I cooked the meat in the slow cooker. Very delicious.
I’m so glad you loved it, Christine! Thank you for your feedback! – Meggan
I use large, loose-leaf tea balls for whole spice sachets – I’m not so good with scissors, cloth and string. This looks so good and since it’s a low n slow cook, I imagine that plain old cheap stew beef would work too. This is a nice “fiesta-style” recipe with all the other suggestions and is definitely on my “to make” list.
I don’t have to make it first because I know it’s going to taste superb as do all your recipes. Cheers……