Birria Tacos

By: Instant Pot Culinary Team

Birria Tacos
cuisine icon Cuisine
Mexican
cuisine icon Course
Dinner, Main Course
cuisine icon Difficulty
Medium
cuisine icon Duration
2 Hours or more
cuisine icon Cooking Technique
Pressure Cook, Sauté
cuisine icon Keywords
6-8 servings, apple cider vinegar, avocado or vegetable oil, bay leaves, beef stock, black peppercorn, boneless chuck or pot roast, cilantro, cloves, contributed, coriander seeds, corn tortillas, cumin seeds, dinner, dried ancho chiles, dried chiles de arbol, dried guajillo chiles, garlic cloves, Instant Pot Culinary Team, instant pot taco recipes, main course, medium, medium onion, mexican, mexican oregano, more than 2 hours, oaxaca cheese, pressure cook, roma tomatoes, sauté, short ribs, stick mexican cinnamon

prep icon Prep Time
10 Minutes
cook icon Cook Time
1 Hour 10 Minutes

serving icon Servings
6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. boneless chuck or pot roast
  • 1 lb. short ribs
  • 1-2 tbsp. avocado or vegetable oil
  • 10 dried guajillo chiles, trimmed, seeded, cut into pieces
  • 10 dried ancho chiles, trimmed, seeded, cut into pieces
  • 4 dried chili de árbol, trimmed, seeded, cut into pieces
  • 1 tbsp. black peppercorn
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp. coriander seeds
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 Roma tomatoes, halved
  • 1 medium onion, peeled, halved
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 stick Mexican cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
  • 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • ½ cup Oaxaca cheese
  • ¼ cup cilantro
  • 12-16 corn tortillas
Instructions
  • Set the Instant Pot to Sauté on High and add oil. While the Instant Pot is heating, generously season meat on all sides with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, sear the meat in batches to avoid overcrowding pot for 5-7 minutes per side until well browned (searing all 6 sides). Remove the meat and set aside, covering with aluminum foil.
  • In the hot fat, add all the dried peppers, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and bay leaves, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, the 2 onion halves, garlic cloves, cinnamon, and oregano. Cover this with enough cold water to cover everything. Cancel the Sauté function and close lid on the Instant Pot. Set to Pressure Cook on High for 5 minutes. When the cooking time is up, quick release the pressure. Carefully remove the lid.
  • Pour the contents of the Instant Pot through a fine strainer (we want to keep the whole spices so you can also line a colander with some cheesecloth). Add everything from the Instant Pot to a high-powered blender with the apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of the beef stock (depending on the size of your blender, you may want to work in batches. This mixture will also be very hot, so you do not want to have the blender over full. Please follow manufacturers guidance on blending hot substances. Blend this for 3-4 minutes until pureed. There should be no chunks at all in this mixture.
  • Clean the insert and place back into Instant Pot. Add the browned meats and pour the pepper mix over it. Then add 2 cups of beef stock. Move the meat around to mix and coat everything.
  • Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and set to Pressure Cook on High for 50 minutes.
  • When the cook time has expired, quick release the pressure. If the meat is not tender enough, feel free to Pressure Cook on High for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the meat to a bowl and shred, adding some of the cooking liquid to keep the meat very moist and flavorful. Taste both the meat and the liquid to check seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.
  • Once the meat is shredded, set a cast iron or sauté pan on Medium-High heat on your stove top. Once heated, add a small amount of avocado or vegetable oil and heat. In batches, dip the corn tortillas in the cooking liquid and place them on pan in a single layer. Add some shredded meat, 1 tablespoon of cooking liquid, some chopped onions and cilantro and some cheese. Fold over once the tortilla has slightly crisped (approx. 1-3 minutes) and cook on both sides, crisping to your desired texture.
  • Serve the tacos immediately with a cup of stew (cooking liquid) for dipping.
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