Easy Birria Quesa Tacos con Consommé (Instant Pot Recipe!)

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Like most of you, I’ve seen recipes for birria tacos pop up everywhere in the last few months. I’ve been tempted to make them, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to gauge the deliciousness of any given recipe if I never tasted a birria taco before. I’ve now tasted many-a-birria-taco at this point and researched recipes and techniques from every possible corner on the Internet and watched every possible travel show that has featured this taco. And I learned one thing: there are many variations out there.

There are constant themes, however. With every birria base, there is a dried chili. There is some acidic component. And you will always find garlic in the aromatics.

Some birria recipes include ginger, cinnamon, cloves, or bouillon cubes. I’ve passed on those for this recipe and opted to use a bunch of garlic, onion, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves.

As for the dried chili, almost every recipe I’ve found uses guajillo. Some recipes also use ancho. In this recipe, I use pasilla, which is a little bit hotter than an ancho but has deeper, fruitier notes.

As for my acid, I’ve opted for tomatoes since they sweeten as they cook and can help break down the meat and thicken the sauce nicely.

This recipe serves about 2-4 people. Watch how I make this on Instagram.

Equipment

• Instant Pot

• Chef’s knife (I swear by this knife. It’s so sharp and it’s only 10 bucks)

• Cutting board

• Tongs

• Large bowl

• A big ol’ spatula

• Non-stick frying pan or cast iron pan

• Immersion blender or blender

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Easy Birria Quesa Tacos con Consommé (Instant Pot Recipe!)

Ingredients

Birria and consommé

• 1.5-2 pounds of boneless beef chuck roast (look for a piece with the most marbling/fat)
• Enough beef stock to reach the max limit of your Instant Pot, minimum 2 cups
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 2 roma tomatoes, quartered
• 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 dried guajillo peppers
• 2 dried pasilla peppers
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt + more to taste
• 1 teaspoon of pepper + more to taste

Consommé toppings

• Handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, diced

Quesa Tacos

• Corn tortillas
• 12 ounces of Oaxaca cheese (substitution: shredded mozzarella)
• 2 limes cut into wedges for serving

Preparation

1. Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the guajillo and pasilla peppers.
2. Salt and pepper both sides of the beef chuck and cut into large pieces (about 3 inches wide).
3. Add the de-seeded peppers, beef chuck, quartered onion and tomatoes, bay leaves, Mexican oregano, and beef stock to the Instant Pot.
4. Close the Instant Pot lid and set on high pressure for 30 minutes.
5. As the birria is cooking, prepare the cheese for the tacos. Unravel the Oaxaca cheese and roughly shred into small pieces with your hands.
6. After the 30 minutes is up on the Instant Pot, do a quick release on the pressure valve, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam.
7. Remove bay leaves from the pot and discard.
8. Remove beef from the pot and place on cutting board. Shred beef and then roughly mince with your knife. Salt beef to taste. Set aside in a bowl.
9. If using an immersion blender, blend what is left inside of the pot until smooth. If using a regular blender, add contents of the pot to the blender and top with lid, leaving top center opening exposed to release steam but covered with a towel and your hand. Carefully, blend until smooth. Taste for salt. Return liquid to pot. This is your consommé.
10. Heat your pan over medium high heat.
11. With your tongs, take one corn tortilla and dunk in the pot of consommé and quickly add it directly to the hot pan.
12. Add cheese, then beef to the tortilla. Ladle a small amount of the consommé (about 3 tablespoons) onto the beef. Let cook for about 1 minute before folding the tortilla in half and pressing down with your spatula. Let cook for about 2 minutes each side.
13. To serve, add consommé to a small bowl and top with chopped cilantro and onions. Plate tacos with lime wedges.
14. Eat your taco by first dunking it into the consommé and squeezing a little lime wedge. Pat yourself on the back and enjoy!