Birria de Res
Photo: T.Tseng · CC BY 2.0

History

Birria originated in Jalisco in the 17th century as a method for cooking the tough meat of Spanish-brought sheep; the dish moved north to Tijuana with beef, then exploded internationally as quesabirria around 2018. Mexico City's birria boom is more recent (post-2020) with stands in Roma, Condesa, and the markets serving Tijuana-style quesabirria alongside the Jalisco-original beef consommé.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 45 minTotal 4 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg beef chuck or short rib, cubed into 5cm chunks
  • 500g beef shank with bone
  • 8 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 4 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 3 dried chipotle chiles or chiles de árbol
  • 1 large onion, halved
  • 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin, freshly toasted
  • 1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 60ml apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp salt, plus more to taste
  • 1.5L water
  • For tacos: 24 small corn tortillas
  • 400g shredded queso Oaxaca (or mozzarella)
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 1 large bunch cilantro chopped
  • 4 limes in wedges
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil for crisping

Method

  1. Toast dried chiles in a dry pan over medium heat for 30 seconds per side; do not burn.
  2. Char the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and ginger directly over a gas flame or under a hot grill until blackened in spots.
  3. Soak toasted chiles in boiling water for 20 minutes until soft.
  4. Blend chiles with charred vegetables, cumin, oregano, cloves, vinegar, and 250ml of the chile soaking water until smooth. Pass through a sieve to discard skins.
  5. Heat oil in a heavy Dutch oven. Sear beef hard on all sides, in batches, 4 minutes per batch.
  6. Return all meat to the pot. Pour the chili puree over and stir to coat.
  7. Add cinnamon stick, bay leaves, salt, and 1.5L water. Bring to a simmer.
  8. Cover and braise on the lowest heat for 3 hours, or until beef pulls apart with a spoon.
  9. Lift out meat, shred with two forks. Skim a generous spoon of the orange fat from the surface of the broth and set aside.
  10. For consommé service: ladle broth and shredded meat into bowls, top with raw onion, cilantro, and a lime wedge.
  11. For quesabirria: dip a tortilla into the reserved orange fat, lay on a hot griddle. Top one half with cheese and shredded meat, fold over. Cook 90 seconds per side until crisp. Serve with consommé for dipping.

Tip from the editors. Save the orange fat that floats on top of the consommé; this is what gives quesabirria tacos their distinctive crisp shell and bright colour, and skipping it leaves you with a generic taco.

Where to eat birria de res

Birria de Res in Mexico City

El Hidalguense ★ 4.5

$$ MexicanRoma Norte

El Hidalguense in Mexico City: Weekend-only Roma Sur barbacoa pit from Hidalgo state, off the tourist map and out of consome by noon Sunday.

Why locals goWeekend-only Roma Sur barbacoa pit from Hidalgo state, off the tourist map and out of consome by noon Sunday.

TipOpen Friday to Sunday only, 07:00-18:00; arrive by 09:30 Sunday before the consome runs out.

Directions

Tortas El Cuadrilatero ★ 4.2

$$ MexicanCentro Historico

Centro tortas counter on Luis Moya since 1992 from wrestler Super Astro Jr's family; 1.5kg Torta Gladiador free if finished in 15 minutes, lucha-libre decor.

Why locals goCentro torta counter on Luis Moya owned by the family of Super Astro the luchador since 1991, with a kilogram free-if-you-finish Gladiador torta challenge.

TipClosed Sundays; the Gladiador is free if you finish it in 15 minutes. The walls are covered in lucha libre masks.

Directions

Mercado Roma ★ 4.3

$ MarketRoma Norte

Mercado Roma in Mexico City is the Roma Norte gourmet food hall on Queretaro, a three-floor market with 50-plus vendors covering Mexican, Italian, Venezuelan.

Directions

El Bajio ★ 4.3

$$ Veracruz MexicanPolanco

El Bajio in Mexico City is chef Carmen Titita Ramirez's Veracruz-rooted regional Mexican kitchen with locations across the city, with the Polanco branch.

OrderThe carnitas; the empanadas de platano with frijoles refritos.

TipOpen daily 09:00-22:00; the Azcapotzalco original opened 1972 and is the deeper room for connoisseurs.

Directions

Los Cocuyos ★ 4.7

$$ TaqueriaCentro HistoricoUntil Open 24 hoursCash only

Los Cocuyos in Mexico City is the 24-hour Centro Historico taqueria on Bolivar since 1980, the around-the-clock counter that runs suadero, longaniza.

TrySuadero and tripa tacos

Directions

El Califa Condesa ★ 4.3

$$ TaqueriaCondesaUntil Daily 04:00

El Califa in Mexico City is the Condesa taqueria on Altata that runs till 04:00 daily, the late-night al carbon counter and the go-to Condesa post-bar stop.

TryCampechano and gaonera tacos

Directions Book

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