Crockpot Birria Tacos Recipe

Crock pot Birria Tacos with cilantro, onion, and lime with a side of cxonsommé.

4.92 from 36 votes

Crockpot Birria Tacos Recipe

These Crockpot Birria Tacos are made with fall-apart tender beef, crispy pan-fried tortillas, and rich consommé for dipping. This easy slow cooker recipe delivers restaurant-quality birria tacos with minimal hands-on work.

Prep Time30

Cook Time8

Total Time8 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: beef, beef chuck roast, crockpot birria tacos, crockpot recipes, slow cooker, tacos

Servings:

Calories: 177kcal

Author: Sharon Farnell

Equipment

crockpot
blender or immersion blender

Ingredients

2-3 lbs boneless chuck roast
1 tablespoon avocado oil or neutral oil (plus more for taco frying)
coarse ground salt and fresh ground pepper
4 dried Guajillo chiles
5-6 Chipotle chilis in adobo (from a can)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
8 whole cloves garlic, smashed
32 oz beef stock or beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can Fire roasted diced tomatoes
¼ cup organic Apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
1 cinnamon stick
3 dry bay leaves
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 tsp ground coriander

Tacos/fixings

corn or flour tortillas
lime wedges
fresh cilantro leaves
diced white onion
shredded Oaxacan cheese (or Italian cheese/Mozzarella cheese)

Instructions

Cooking the Beef/Consomme:
1. Heat avocado oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat for 4-5 minutes.
2. Liberally salt and pepper beef, add to hot skillet, and sear on both sides, 5-6 minutes a side.
3. Add beef to crockpot with remaining ingredients, and stir. Cook on low heat, covered, for 8 hours.
4. After 8 hours, remove beef to a rimmed baking sheet, and shred with 2 forks.
5. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick from crockpot and discard.
6. Using a high powered blender or immersion blender, blend everything until a smooth sauce forms. ***If using a standard blender, allow liquid to cool to warm (don't blend piping hot liquid!), then carefully work in batches in the blender, being careful not to overfill.
7. Transfer sauce back to crockpot to keep warm.
8. Add 1 ½ to 2 cups of sauce to shredded beef and toss to coat.
Tacos:
1. Dip doubled up tortilla into consomme, and lay flat in frying pan with a bit of avocado oil or neutral oil over medium heat.
2. To one half of the tortilla, add cheese, then meat, and top with diced onions and cilantro leaves.
3. Fry 2-3 minutes over medium heat, then flip other side to make a half moon.
4. Add a small ladle of consommé to the top of the tortilla.
5. Flip over, and fry 2-3 minutes more.
**If not using cheese, 1 tortilla is fine.

Video

Notes

Customize the consommé. Blend the broth for a thicker, richer sauce, strain it for a traditional dipping consommé, or blend only half for a consistency somewhere in between.
Dip, don't soak. Quickly dip each tortilla in the consommé before frying so it crisps up without becoming soggy.
Use sturdy corn tortillas. Thicker white or yellow corn tortillas hold up best and develop the crispiest texture.
For quesabirria. Add shredded Oaxaca cheese before the beef so it melts as the taco cooks.
Instant Pot variation. Cut the beef into 2-inch chunks, sear, then pressure cook with the braising ingredients on High Pressure for 60 minutes followed by a natural release if time allows (or a manual release if needed). Shred the beef and prepare the consommé as directed.

Nutrition