Birria Taco Recipe: How to Make Mexican Birria Tacos
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 9, 2025 • 2 min read
This traditional birria recipe takes some time, but it yields delicious tacos.
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What Is Birria?
Birria is a goat-based soup that hails from the state of Jalisco in Mexico, though surrounding states like Michoacán, parts of Durango, and Zacatecas also make versions, including beef birria (birria de res). It’s typically served with tortillas, toppings, and salsas. Birria is often used to sweat out a cruda, or hangover. You’ll also find birria around holidays like Christmas and Easter and at baptisms.
Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, is full of birrierias, or shops specializing in birria, but if you can’t get there, it’s not hard to make your own delicious birria at home. The goat meat is typically marinated in a paste made from dried chile peppers, then braised until tender. The stewed meat can then be served in tacos or quesadillas or floating in a broth or comsommé. Traditional birria takes hours on the stovetop, but cooking the meat in a low oven, slow cooker, or pressure cooker can make birria a fairly hands-off dish.
What Are Birria Tacos?
Birria tacos are made with goat meat that is marinated in a dried chile pepper paste, then braised until tender. The stewed meat is then fried, and the cooking liquid is reduced to a sauce. Birria tacos are a more portable version of birria consommé and are typically served with corn tortillas, birria sauce, Oaxaca cheese, onion, cilantro, and lime.
Traditional Birria Tacos Recipe
makes
6–8prep time
1 hrtotal time
5 hrcook time
4 hrIngredients
For the marinade:
For the birria:
To assemble:
- 1
Prepare the chiles. Cut the dried chiles open to remove the seeds, then briefly toast the chiles in a dry skillet.
- 2
Cover chiles with hot water and soak until rehydrated, about 10–30 minutes.
- 3
Using a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chiles.
- 4
Make the marinade. In a food processor or blender, combine the rehydrated chiles with diced onion, garlic, vinegar, tomatoes, and ground spices. Puree the mixture until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- 5
Transfer the meat to a cast-iron Dutch oven and add bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.
- 6
Rub the chile sauce all over the meat and cover the Dutch oven with a lid or aluminum foil.
- 7
Refrigerate the sauce for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
- 8
Remove the solidified excess fat on the sauce of the sauce and set it aside.
- 9
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 10
Transfer the covered Dutch oven to the oven and braise until meat is falling off-the-bone tender, about 4 hours.
- 11
Remove the meat from the braising liquid and when it is cool enough to handle, shred the meat off the bones and set it aside.
- 12
Reduce the braising liquid to a thick sauce.
- 13
Using a hot griddle, fry the shredded meat until crispy.
- 14
Heat the tortillas on the stovetop in the excess fat and dip them into the sauce.
- 15
Fill the sauced tortillas with crispy goat meat and garnish with cilantro and lime.
- 16
Serve any extra sauce in a small bowl for dipping.
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