Prepare meat and dried chiles: Remove any large pieces of fat from the chuck roast. Cut it into a few large pieces and season with salt. Rinse the chiles (use gloves if desired), then use scissors to remove the stem and make a slit along the side to open them and remove the seeds. (The arbol chiles are hottest, so for less heat, remove the seeds, or omit these chiles completely. If you like extra spice, leave them whole).
Make sauce: Add tomatoes and onion to a large stock pot (at least 5.5qt pot of bigger) over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring. Add whole garlic cloves, chile peppers, and all of the spices except the bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add vinegar and 4 cups water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.
Blend sauce: Add mixture to a blender and blend as smooth as possible. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer, back into the pot. Add 4 cups of water to the blender and swirl it around to clean excess sauce from the blender, then add it to the pot.
Add meat and simmer: Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Add short ribs, chuck roast and 3 bay leaves. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 ½ hours.
Shred meat: Check meat to make sure it’s tender. Remove meat to a plate and chop or shred into pieces. Discard bones and bay leaves.
Make Tacos:
Dip tortillas in broth: Heat a large griddle or skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with a small amount of oil. Dip a corn tortilla into the birria sauce and lay tortilla on hot pan.
Add taco toppings: Quickly top with a spoonful of shredded meat, a sprinkle of cheese and a little chopped onion and cilantro.
Pan fry: Fold tortilla over, in half. Fry for several minutes, until crispy and browned on the bottom. Flip and cook until crispy and browned on the other side. Remove to a plate, for serving.
Garnish and Serve: Sprinkle remaining chopped white onion and cilantro on top of tacos. Serve with a cup of warm consommé broth, for dipping. I also have a delicious hot salsa recipe in the notes, that takes these tacos over the top!
*Any leftover sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months. Cook another small chuck roast in it to make birria tacos for another meal.
Video
Notes
Chile Peppers and Spice Level: Guajillo and Passilla peppers have mild heat. Guajillo chiles are required for this recipe, but passila could be substituted with mulato chiles, or use 1-2 extra guajillo chiles. Arbol chiles are spicy, so for very mild heat you can leave them out, or for medium heat, remove the seeds.Cinnamon Stick: Mexican cinnamon sticks are softer than cassia cinnamon sticks, so be sure to use Mexican cinnamon sticks so they blend well, or substitute ground cinnamon.Slow Cooker Birria Tacos: Prepare and blend sauce. Add sauce and meat to slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, until meat is tender.Chicken Birria Tacos: Add bone-in, skinless chicken thighs to the sauce, instead of beef, and cook for about 30 minutes, or just until chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove to a plate and shred. Assemble tacos as instructed, and serve with sauce.To Make Ahead: The meat and sauce can be cooked a few days in advance, and stored in the fridge in an airtight container. To Freeze: freeze meat and sauce separately in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before rewarming, to make tacos.Optional Hot Salsa, for serving:
2 chiles pasilla
5 arbol chiles
10 tomatillo
3 cloves garlic
Small piece onion
Salt and pepper
Cover chiles and tomatillos with water and boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove everything chiles and tomatillos from the liquid and add to a blender. Add ½ cup of the water from the saucepan, garlic cloves, onion, and season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Serve as hot sauce for birria tacos.