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    Home » Recipes » Latin » Instant Pot Birria Tacos

    Published: Jun 9, 2021 · Modified: Nov 24, 2022 by Cari · This post may contain affiliate links. · 1 Comment

    Instant Pot Birria Tacos

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    Birria tacos took social media by storm in 2020 and I needed them in my life ASAP. No one was offering them locally at the time so I started research. I found a few white-washed recipes, but the best recipes I found were from Latin bloggers who shared their recipes in Spanish.

    I gathered information, tested recipes and this is the Birria Taco recipe I came up with.

    instant pot birria tacos

    What exactly is birria?

    Birria is a Mexican meat stew that is normally made with goat or lamb meat, but in the US beef birria has become very popular. The stew is cooked slow and low for several hours to ensure the meat is very tender. The flavors are complex combining allspice, cinnamon, onions, tomatoes, herbs and spicy peppers.

    Birria can be prepared into tacos, quesadillas and even birria ramen. Birria tacos and quesadillas are typically served with, diced cilantro and onion, lime wedges and a side of the beef consommé so you can dip your tacos into.

    Instant pot vs. stove top

    Some of the recipes I read called for the birria meat to cook for 3-4 hours. A few other recipes called for the birria to cook about 2 hours in a pressure cooker. While that's fine, I don't have that kind of time. Setting my Instant Pot to the Meat/Stew" setting for 45 minutes at high pressure yielded melt-in-your-mouth beef that was perfect.

    instant pot birria tacos

    Ingredients

    • Boneless Chuck Roast
    • Beef Shank
    • Vegetable Oil
    • Salt
    • Black Pepper
    • Ground Cumin
    • Dried Ancho Chiles
    • Dried Guajillo Chiles
    • Dried Arbol Chiles
    • Chipotle Pepper
    • Black Peppercorns
    • Cloves
    • Allspice
    • Dried Thyme
    • Dried Oregano
    • Bay Leaves
    • Ground Ginger
    • Cinnamon Stick
    • Garlic
    • Onion
    • Red Tomatoes
    • Vinegar white or apple cider
    • Water
    • White Corn Taco Tortillas
    • Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese
    instant pot birria tacos

    Instructions to make Instant Pot Birria Tacos

    • Start by trimming the fat from your meat and cutting your beef into large chunks. then season your beef with 1 ½ tablespoon of salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of cumin.
    • Set your Instant Pot to sauté and add your vegetable oil to the pot. Once your pot is hot, add your beef and sear the meat on all sides, be sure not to burn it. You're not trying to cook the meat through, just get a nice sear.
    • Turn off the Instant Pot and add to your seared meat the chiles, chipotle pepper, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, bay leaves, ginger, tomatoes, garlic, onion, water, vinegar, 1 ½ tablespoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of cumin.
    • Place the lid on your Instant Pot and set it to meat/stew for 45 minutes with high pressure.
    • Once the Instant-pot has stopped cooking, allow for the steam to release. Carefully open the lid and gently remove beef and place it on a dish. Using two forks shred the beef and remove any overly fatty pieces.
    • Before adding the beef back into the broth. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cinnamon, bay leaves, chiles, pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and if possible the cloves and peppercorns. Place all of these ingredients into a blender with about ½ cup of the consommé from the instant pot and blend until everything is completely smooth.
    • Add the pureed sauce back into the Instant Pot and gently combine until the consommé and sauce are well incorporated. Then, add your shredded beef back in and set the Instant Pot to the "Keep Warm" setting.
    • Start preparing your tacos by warming your tortillas. Lightly dip your tortilla into the consommé and place the tortilla in a sauté pan at medium heat.
    • Add about 2-3 tablespoons of cheese to your warmed tortilla. Then, using tongs grab about ¼ cup of beef and place it on top of the cheese, gently fold over the tortilla and allow for the cheese to melt. Repeat this process until you have the desired amount of tacos
    • Top your tacos with minced onion and cilantro. Serve your tacos with about ½ cup of consommé

    What cuts of meat to use for Birria?

    For this recipe, I combined two pounds of chuck roast and 2 pounds of beef shank. Flank and short rib also work well for this recipe.

    Variations

    Looking for more traditional lamb birria? Swap out the beef for 4 pounds of lamb shanks.

    Want quesadillas instead of tacos? Swap your taco tortillas for a larger quesadilla/burrito tortillas

    Storage

    Place leftovers of the beef and consomme in a freezer-safe dish and cool fully. Place the lid on securely and store in the refrigerator for upto 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

    To reheat, defrost the beef in the refrigerator and reheat gently on a stovetop or microwave.

    instant pot birria tacos

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    instant pot beef birria tacos
    Print Recipe
    5 from 5 votes

    Instant Pot Birria Tacos

    Mexican beef birria with rich consommé made in your InstantPot!
    Prep Time20 minutes mins
    Cook Time45 minutes mins
    Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 1225kcal
    Author: Cari

    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs Boneless Chuck Roast
    • 2 lbs Beef Shank
    • 2 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
    • 3 tablespoon Salt separated
    • 1 tablespoon Pepper
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin separated
    • 3 Dried Ancho Chiles
    • 4 Dried Guajillo Chiles
    • 3 Dried Arbol Chiles
    • 1 Chipotle Pepper
    • 5 Black Peppercorns
    • 2 Whole Cloves
    • ¼ teaspoon of Allspice
    • 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
    • 2 Bay Leaves
    • ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
    • 1 Cinnamon Stick
    • 8 Cloves Garlic
    • 1 Large Onion
    • 4 Large Red Tomatoes
    • ¼ cup vinegar white or apple cider
    • 2 cups Water
    • 1 30 count package White Corn Taco Tortillas
    • 2 cups shredded chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese
    • minced cilantro and onion optional

    Instructions

    • Start by trimming the fat from your meat and cutting your beef into large chunks. then season your beef with 1 ½ tablespoon of salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of cumin.
    • Set your Instant Pot to sauté and add your vegetable oil to the pot. Once your pot is hot, add your beef and sear the meat on all sides, be sure not to burn it. You're not trying to cook the meat through, just get a nice sear.
    • Turn off the Instant Pot and add to your seared meat the chiles, chipotle pepper, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, bay leaves, ginger, tomatoes, garlic, onion, water, vinegar, 1 ½ tablespoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of cumin.
    • Place the lid on your Instant Pot and set it to meat/stew for 45 minutes with high pressure.
    • Once the Instant-pot has stopped cooking, allow for the steam to release. Carefully open the lid and gently remove beef and place it on a dish. Using two forks shred the beef and remove any overly fatty pieces.
    • Before adding the beef back into the broth. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cinnamon, bay leaves, chiles, pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and if possible the cloves and peppercorns. Place all of these ingredients into a blender with about ½ cup of the consommé from the instant pot and blend until everything is completely smooth.
    • Add the pureed sauce back into the Instant Pot and gently combine until the consommé and sauce are well incorporated. Then, add your shredded beef back in and set the Instant Pot to the "Keep Warm" setting.
    • Start preparing your tacos by warming your tortillas. Lightly dip your tortilla into the consommé and place the tortilla in a sauté pan at medium heat.
    • Add about 2-3 tablespoons of cheese to your warmed tortilla. Then, using tongs grab about ¼ cup of beef and place it on top of the cheese, gently fold over the tortilla and allow for the cheese to melt. Repeat this process until you have the desired amount of tacos
    • Top your tacos with minced onion and cilantro. Serve your tacos with about ½ cup of consommé

    Notes

    Store your beef and consomme in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for upto 4 days. 
    If you prefer a less spicy birria, carefully remove the seeds from all of the dried chiles before adding them to the Instant-Pot. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 3tacos | Calories: 1225kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 104g | Fat: 74g | Saturated Fat: 40g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 252mg | Sodium: 6604mg | Potassium: 2246mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 9093IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 11mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @FatGirlHedonist or tag #fatgirlhedonist!
    instant pot birria tacos
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    Categories: Latin

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Stacey Schrager says

      July 12, 2022 at 4:54 pm

      I can’t wait to devour these!

      Reply

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    My name is Cari and I'm the person behind FatgirlHedonist.com. I'm born and raised in Miami (Hialeah if you'd like specifics) and proud Latina. I'm a single mom to a very curious toddler. I completed a culinary program in high school that made my love of food blossom, but my career went in a very different direction. No matter what turns my life has taken, cooking, baking and eating have always been three of my favorite activities. I'm lucky enough that I can have this blog as an outlet for those three passions.

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