Dinner
Dutch Oven Birria Tacos
This is our weekend cooking project. We start with a four-pound chuck roast, char the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on the comal until they're blistered and smoky, blend the rehydrated chiles and seasonings into a sauce, and let the whole thing braise in the Dutch oven at 375°F for about three hours until the beef shreds with a fork.
Charring the vegetables on the comal
The comal does the work here. We char two Roma tomatoes, a quarter of a white onion, and six garlic cloves until they're deeply browned and blistered in spots, which is where most of the flavor in the sauce comes from. It's worth taking the time to get real color on them rather than just warming them through.
Into the Dutch oven
The chuck roast goes into the Dutch oven with the blended chile sauce and seasonings, then everything cooks low and slow until the beef is tender enough to pull apart with a fork. As it braises, the cooking liquid becomes a rich consommé that we save for dipping the finished tacos.
Building the tacos
We shred the beef, dip the corn tortillas in the flavorful fat from the top of the consommé, and griddle them on a hot griddle until crisp with shredded beef and cheese inside. A bowl of consommé alongside, plus chopped white onion, cilantro, and lime, is the whole point.
Printable Recipe Card
Dutch Oven Birria Tacos
Ingredients
- 4 lb chuck roast
- 10 dried guajillo chiles
- 5 dried ancho chiles
- 3 dried árbol chiles
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1/4 white onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 bay leaves
- Corn tortillas, for serving
- Shredded cheese, for the tacos
- Chopped white onion, cilantro, and lime, for serving
Instructions
- 1Remove the stems and seeds from the dried guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles. Rehydrate the chiles in hot water until softened, then drain.
- 2Char the Roma tomatoes, white onion, and garlic on the comal until softened and deeply browned or blistered in spots.
- 3Add the rehydrated chiles, charred tomatoes, onion, garlic, beef broth, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, Mexican oregano, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger to a blender. Blend until the sauce is smooth.
- 4Place the chuck roast in the Dutch oven and pour the blended chile sauce over the meat. Add the 3 bay leaves.
- 5Cover the Dutch oven and bake at 375°F for about 3 hours, or until the beef is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
- 6Remove and discard the bay leaves. Remove the beef from the Dutch oven and shred it. Keep the consommé in the Dutch oven and skim some of the flavorful fat from the top for cooking the tortillas.
- 7Dip each corn tortilla lightly into the fat from the consommé and place it on a hot griddle. Add shredded beef and cheese, fold, and cook until the tortilla is crisp and the cheese is melted.
- 8Serve the tacos with consommé for dipping and chopped white onion, cilantro, and lime as desired.
Helpful Tips
Don't rush the charring step — those deeply browned, blistered spots add a lot of flavor to the sauce.
Keep the Dutch oven covered so the roast stays in liquid the whole time.
Save the extra consommé with the leftover beef for reheating and dipping.
Products Used
- Dutch oven
- Comal
- Blender
- Cast iron griddle
