Beef Birria (Batch Method)
Rich, chile-braised beef chuck with a deeply flavored consomme that serves as both sauce and soup base. This batch component produces shredded beef and concentrated broth for quesabirria tacos, birria ramen, enchiladas, and consomme soup. One batch yields 10-12 meals worth of meat and broth.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Blender
- Dry Skillet
- Vacuum Sealer
- Vacuum Sealer Bags
- Storage Containers
- Bowl
- Two Forks
- Small Jar
Ingredients
Dried Chile Paste
- 6 Guajillo Chiles stems and seeds removed
- 4 Ancho Chiles stems and seeds removed
- 3 cups Water boiling, for rehydrating
- 4 cloves Garlic peeled
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Dried Mexican Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper ground
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
Beef Braise
- 5 lb Beef Chuck Roast cut into 3-inch chunks
- 2 lb Beef Marrow Bones or 1 split beef shank
- 2 tablespoon Kosher Salt Morton brand
- 2 tablespoon Avocado Oil or beef fat
- 2 cups White Onion chopped, frozen package works perfectly
- 4 cups Beef Broth low sodium
- 2 Bay Leaves
Instructions
Prep Chile Paste
- Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes per side until fragrant and slightly darkened.
- Place toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with 3 cups boiling water.
- Rehydrate for 20 minutes until soft and pliable.
- Transfer the chiles and 1 cup of the soaking liquid to a blender.
- Add garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, cloves, and apple cider vinegar.
- Blend on high until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
Braise
- Season the beef chuck on all sides with salt.
- Heat avocado oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the chile paste to the hot oil and sear for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens and thickens slightly.
- Add the onions and stir into the paste for 1 minute.
- Add the beef chuck, marrow bones, beef broth, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and braise for 3.5 to 4 hours until the beef shreds easily with a fork.
Finish
- Remove the beef and shred with two forks.
- Discard marrow bones and bay leaves.
- Skim the rendered fat from the surface of the consomé and save it separately.
- Taste the consomé and adjust salt.
Notes
Beef birria is a two-product batch component — actually three if you count the birria fat. You get shredded beef, consomme, and rendered chile-infused fat, and all three have value in different assembly meals. The consomme is what separates birria from barbacoa, which is a drier braise focused purely on the meat. My early attempts came out too mild and the meat was dry even after hours of braising. The fix was twofold: adding marrow bones for body and richness in the broth, and blooming the chile paste in hot oil before adding any liquid. That searing step develops the deep, complex flavor that just simmering the paste in liquid cannot achieve. Chuck roast is the most accessible cut for this — Sam's Club and Costco carry 4-6 pound packages at good prices. If you want even richer results, swap half the chuck for beef short ribs, but the cost goes up significantly.
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