Birria In The Instant Pot Recipe + Quesabirria Tacos (with VIDEO)

Beef Birria is sweeping the internet as the new taco sensation, but can we shorten this 8-hour cooking session with the help of our Instant Pot? Absolutely! It's juicy, beef birria taco time (in half the time), with this authentic recipe from the Urban Cowgirl Kitchen.

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Utilizing the Instant Pot's high pressure cooking, we've cut this recipe time down to 2 hours with absolutely no flavor loss. Our juicy tender meat is indistinguishable from longer cooking methods. We're using the Instant Pot 6-quart Pressure Cooker, which you can view here.

How To Make Birria in the Instant Pot

Sear the Beef

This process will begin by searing the chuck roast in a cast-iron skillet or large dutch oven over medium high heat to create that delicious brown crust. The browned meat will richly flavor the final dipping sauce so don't skip this important step.

Add the Spices and Vegetables

Next, you will place the seared chuck roast in the Instant Pot and add the garlic cloves, tomato paste, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, whole spices, bouillon, and chopped vegetables.

For the bouillon, I prefer to use Mexican brands such as Knorr for the beef and tomato bouillon. These are found at Mexican grocery stores as well as online here.

Add the Dried Chiles

A combination of several dried chiles is added to the traditional dish, which we include in the Instant Pot version. Dried guajillo peppers, which are mild, tangy, and have a rich smoky flavor are included, along with pasilla peppers (aka chile negro), which resemble large raisins and have a slightly more aggressive flavor.

To prepare the chiles, you must cut the stems off with scissors and remove the seeds. I use gloves to protect my hands while snipping the chiles into small pieces and shaking the seeds down the sink.

Cover with Water

1 1/2 quarts is usually the amount of water needed to cover this recipe with a 3-4 lb. chuck roast. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice.

Seal the Instant Pot and Set for 2 Hours

Seal the Instant Pot making sure the pressure valve is set to sealed. Set for 2 hours. Now is a good time to shred the Oaxaca cheese, and chop the cilantro and white onion for the quesabirria tacos.

For the birria broth, discard the spices and strain the broth into a large glass bowl.

It is easy to separate the fat from the broth by chilling in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. The fat will rise to the surface and create a raft that can be removed and stored separately for frying the corn tortillas in (when making quesabirria tacos).

For continuing on to make birria tacos, the broth should be kept warm in a large pot for ladling out into individual dipping bowls.

If the dish is to be served as bowls of birria de res stew, add the shredded beef back into this liquid and serve bowls to all your guests.

Instructions for Instant Pot Birria Tacos

Birria tacos or quesabirria, is made in a large skillet or a griddle... I'm using my Blackstone Griddle which I have become fully obsessed with! It will make a ton of birria tacos all at once. If you want to check it out here is a link.

Spoon some of the fat reserved from the broth onto the griddle and place a corn tortilla down.

Top the tortilla with cheese, birria meat, cilantro, and onion, and fold over. Cook 1-2 minutes over medium heat, and then flip and repeat on the other side.

Serve with small bowls of birria broth for dipping.

This delicious birria recipe will be one the whole family enjoys!

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Instant Pot Birria Recipe (For Tacos with VIDEO)

This delicious Instant Pot birria recipe is made in 2 hours, without sacrificing any of that beefy, juicy flavor. Quesabirria tacos in 2 hours with this authentic recipe.

Course Beef

Cuisine Tex Mex

Keyword birria, birria tacos, instant pot, pressure cooker

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Additional Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 704kcal

Author Sarah Penrod

Ingredients

• 3-4 pound chuck roast see note
• 2 T. oil
• Kosher salt
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• 3 beef bouillon cubes or teaspoons
• 1 knorr tomato cube tomato bouillon
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 allspice berries
• 6 black peppercorns or 1 t. freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 7 guajillo peppers destemmed and deseeded
• 3 chile negro can substitute guajillo
• 2 roma tomatoes. Chopped
• 1 tomatillo chopped
• ½ white onion chopped
• 4 garlic cloves smashed
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 ½ quarts water
• 1 t. kosher salt
• To prepare tacos:
• Oil for frying the tortillas in a pan
• Corn tortillas
• 3 c. Oaxaca Cheese shredded (or Mexican blend in a bag works too)
• ½ white onion small dice
• Cilantro freshly chopped
• Additional limes for seasoning and serving with the tacos

Instructions

• To Sear the Chuck Roast:  Over medium high heat, heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the oil to the pan. 
• Sprinkle the chuck roast with kosher salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder liberally on all sides. 
• When the oil in the pan is hot and glistening add the chuck roast to the pan, sear 4-6 minutes (until golden brown) and then flip the roast and repeat on the other side. Take the seared roast and place it in the Instapot. 
• Adding the other ingredients to the Instapot: On top of the chuck roast, add beef and tomato bullion. Add diced onion, tomato, tomatillo, smashed garlic, all of the spices, and tomato paste. 
• For the dried chiles: Cut the stem off of each chile with scissors. Using the scissors split open the chile, removing the seeds which can make the broth taste bitter. Discard the seeds and stems. Cut the chile skins into 2-inch pieces and add to the Instapot. If chile negro cannot be found, you may substitute additional guajillo chiles which are usually easy to find. Substitute any mild chiles you enjoy for different flavor combinations 
• Add 1 ½ quarts water (should cover the meat), juice of one lime, and 1 t. kosher salt.  
• Place the lid on the Instapot and secure. Set the Instapot for 2 hours.  
• After cooking, vent the steam from the Instapot. When it is safe the Instapot will allow you to open it but beware of additional hot steam. Let the stew cool slightly. 
• Using tongs, transfer the cooked chuck roast meat to a bowl and shred the meat with 2 forks. 
• Carefully pour the broth through a pasta strainer into a medium pot, removing all of the cooked vegetables and spices. Season the broth with additional lime juice or salt if needed.  
• After tacos are made each portion should be served with some of this delicious broth for dipping the tacos into. Each portion of the broth should be served hot, topped with fresh white onion, and cilantro. You don’t have to measure, just eyeball it.
• To prepare the tacos you will need a hot griddle or large non-stick skillet heated over medium heat. Add 1-2 T. oil to grease the pan. Dip a corn tortilla into the broth and then lay on the hot skillet.  
• On the tortilla add shredded cheese, some of the shredded meat, and if you like a sprinkling of diced white onion and cilantro. Fold the corn tortilla in half with your spatula and fry on each side 1-2 minutes, until seared. (They don’t get crunchy, but they do get a bit crisp.)  
• Serve 3 tacos and a cup of broth per serving. 

Video

Notes

This recipe may be made with a 2-pound chuck roast but results in very little meat for all that effort. When using a 2-pound chuck roast go ahead and use the exact same recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 793mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g