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Birria Tacos Instant Pot Recipe
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Birria Tacos Instant Pot Recipe

This Birria Tacos Instant Pot Recipe shaves off a lot of cooking time while still giving you that slow braised flavor to make the BEST birria queso tacos dipped in that amazing consommè.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 24 tacos
Calories: 394 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

for the birria
  • 8 guajillo chile dried
  • 3 dried ancho chile
  • 3 dried pasilla chile
  • 3 dried chile de árbol optional
  • 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3.5 lbs chuck roast cut into large pieces
  • 3 lbs short ribs (or other bone-in beef)
  • 1 tsp salt + more to taste
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns or 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp clove about 25 cloves (or 3/4 tsp ground cloves, whole
  • 1 tsp cumin seed or 3/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp marjoram ground
  • 1 tsp thyme dried
  • 2 tsp oregano dried
  • 1 medium white onion divided
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 large jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped
  • 2 tomatillos paper removed, roughly chopped
  • 4 Roma tomato roughly chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups beef stock
  • 1 tbsp white distilled vinegar optional (helps extract collagen and nutrients)
  • 4 large bay leaves dried
for the tacos
  • 24 corn tortillas
  • 24 oz Oaxaca cheese grated
  • white onion reserved from above, diced
  • lime wedges

Instructions

toast & reconstitute dried chiles-
    Cup of Yum
  1. Using scissors, cut open dried chiles* and remove seeds and dried stems.
  2. Add chiles to a dry skillet and toast over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn. Once they start becoming fragrant, add water to cover and bring water to a boil.
  3. Once water has boiled, turn off completely and let the chiles sit for 15-20 minutes. Discard water and reserve reconstituted chiles.
brown the meat-
  1. Hit the Saute function button on your Instant Pot pressure cooker.
  2. Pat all pieces of meat dry with paper towels and sprinkle all sides generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Swirl a bit of oil in the bottom of the pot and brown meat in batches, searing a few pieces at a time as not to crowd the pan.
  4. Place browned meat onto a plate and continue browning until all meat has been seared on all sides.
grind spices-
  1. Using a mortar and pestle (Molcajete) or spice grinder, grind the whole cloves, black peppercorns, cumin seed and cinnamon stick. Combine with ground marjoram, ground thyme and dried oregano. Set aside.
make the sauce-
  1. Cut 3/4 of the medium white onion into large chunks. Finely dice the remaining 1/4 onion and reserve for serving.
  2. Swirl more oil in the instant pot, still using the saute function and add onion, jalapeno and ground spices. Cook for a few minutes until slightly browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatillos and tomatoes. Season with salt, to taste.
  4. Spoon pot contents and reconstituted peppers into a blender** and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add in some beef broth if needed for smooth blending.
  5. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain sauce back into the instant pot, pouring the beef broth into the strainer to thin out the sauce for easier straining. Discard any bits that were strained out. Taste sauce and add salt if needed.
pressure cook the birria-
  1. Add browned meat back to the pot with sauce. Add vinegar and bay leaves. Press "OFF" and then add the lid to the instant pot and turn to lock. Set venting valve to sealing position.
  2. Set to "Pressure Cook" on high for 80 minutes.
  3. Once you've reached the 80 minute cooking time, allow pressure to release naturally (do not touch valve) for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, switch pressure valve to the release position to allow remaining steam to vent. Remove lid.
shred the beef-
  1. Remove meat from braising liquid and shred using two forks. Remove any excess fat and gristle from meat and discard. Meat should be moist, but feel free to add in a little extra cooking liquid.
  2. Spoon off excess fat from the top of the cooking liquid and reserve for frying tortillas. Remove and discard bay leaves. Add extra beef stock to thin out sauce, if desired. Set aside and keep warm.
make birria tacos-
  1. Place a 8" nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush both sides of the corn tortillas with reserved fat. Place the tortilla onto a hot skillet. Top tortilla with 3-4 tablespoons of shredded oaxaca cheese and warm shredded beef birria.
  2. Once cheese has melted completely, and tortilla is starting to get crispy, fold into a taco and remove from the pan. Continue frying tacos.
serve birria tacos with consommè-
  1. Top birria tacos with reserved white onion. Ladle warm beef consommè into a bowl to be used as a dipping sauce. Serve tacos on the side with lime wedges.

Notes

  • *Dried Chiles de Arbol are small but mighty. They are very spicy peppers- they run around 15,000-30,000 Scoville Units. This is six times hotter than jalapenos or chipotle peppers. I marked them as optional. If you can't handle the spice, leave them out. If you love it spicy, add more! 
  • *Dried Chiles de Arbol are small but mighty. They are very spicy peppers- they run around 15,000-30,000 Scoville Units. This is six times hotter than jalapenos or chipotle peppers. I marked them as optional. If you can't handle the spice, leave them out. If you love it spicy, add more! 
  • **Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender right into the pot. I like to strain my sauce to get some of the chunks out so it's nice and smooth, so I always blend separately and strain. 

Nutrition Information

Calories 394kcal (20%) Carbohydrates 19g (6%) Protein 30g (60%) Fat 23g (35%) Saturated Fat 12g (60%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g (12%) Monounsaturated Fat 7g (35%) Trans Fat 0.5g (25%) Cholesterol 80mg (27%) Sodium 499mg (21%) Potassium 638mg (14%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 1916IU (38%) Vitamin C 5mg (6%) Calcium 66mg (7%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 24 tacos

Amount Per Serving

Calories 394

% Daily Value*

Calories 394kcal 20%
Carbohydrates 19g 6%
Protein 30g 60%
Fat 23g 35%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 7g 35%
Trans Fat 0.5g 25%
Cholesterol 80mg 27%
Sodium 499mg 21%
Potassium 638mg 14%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 1916IU 38%
Vitamin C 5mg 6%
Calcium 66mg 7%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.