Slow Cooker Birria

Slow Cooker Birria is a great way to get all the flavors in a birria with very little effort! There is very little prep involved, and you set it and forget it while the slow cooker or crock pot does all the work!

You can enjoy the Birria as a meat stew with simple garnishes or use the meat in various dishes like Quesabirria Tacos, Birria Quesadillas, or my favorite, Birria Tamales! 

Simple ingredients come together in this dish to create a rich and satisfying Birria de res. This soup or stew originated in the Mexican state of Jalisco and is usually served for special occasions. Traditionally, it was made with goat meat, but in this recipe, I use a combination of beef chuck roast and short ribs instead. 

I'm using the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper for this recipe because I love that I can complete all the steps of the recipe in one appliance; however, you can use any slower cooker and use a pan on the stove to sear the meat.

If you don't have a pressure cooker to quickly PC the sauce ingredients, then you can either let them slow cook in with the beef or simmer them on the stove before blending the birria sauce in a blender. You can find the detailed directions in the Variations Section of this recipe article. 

Suggested Kitchen Tools for Birria Stew

• Blender or Food Processor or Immersion Blender
• Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker

Ingredients & Substitutions

Birria ingredients are simple and can usually be found at most grocery stores in the US. You can also customize the ingredients to suit your preferences best.

Meat

I use a combination of chuck roast and beef short ribs in this recipe, but you could use all chuck roast or all short ribs, if you prefer. You want about 3-4 pounds of meat total. 

Other options for the meat are:

• Goat
• Lamb
• Brisket- will need a longer slow cook time
• Stew Meat

Base your slow cooking time on the cut of meat you are using. For example, you may want to either cut up the brisket into smaller pieces or increase the slow cook time to 10-12 hours for brisket.

You can also change it up and use chicken instead of beef if you would like. I would use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, but breasts would also work. You would want to reduce your slow cooking time when using chicken.

Adobo Sauce

Although there aren't any visible vegetables in the finished stew, they are in the blended sauce.

In the birria sauce, there are assorted dried peppers, carrots, garlic, onion, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro stems. Feel free to change or add vegetables to the sauce based on your preference. 

Below are the sauce ingredients and their purpose in the dish with some suggested substitutions if you need to modify the ingredients

• Carrots: help to balance out the birria by adding a touch of sweetness and it also thickens the sauce a bit. You can omit the carrot if desired, but you may need to balance the spices and thicken the sauce with tomato paste. 
• Peppers: The dried chilies I use are ancho chiles and guajillo peppers. I like the balance of smokiness and heat from this combination, but if you want a spicier birria you can add in arbol chiles or any other peppers you love. I remove the stem and seeds from the dried chilies, but you can add in the seeds for more heat. 
• Onions: I use sweet onions in this recipe, because that is what I always have on hand, but a white onion or yellow onion would also work fine. You can omit the onion without making any other changes to the recipe.
• Tomatoes: I use fire-roasted tomatoes in a can as a shortcut, but you can also roast fresh tomatoes if you prefer. Whole, unroasted, fresh tomatoes can also be used. Omitting the tomatoes will change the flavor and texture of the birria, but will not affect cooking time.
• Garlic: ​A whole bulb or about 12 cloves of peeled whole garlic. Feel free to increase or decrease the garlic based on your personal preference.
• Cinnamon: I use ground cinnamon, but you can slow cook with a cinnamon stick and omit it from the sauce if you prefer. You can omit the cinnamon if you prefer, but it will change the overall balance of the dish.
• Mexican Oregano: If you can't find it, just skip it. The flavor is very different from Italian Oregano and I don't recommend substituting this ingredient. It's better to omit it.
• Black Pepper: I used ground black pepper, but whole peppercorns can also be used. You will want to use between ½-1 Tablespoon of whole peppercorns as a substitute and they will be blended into the sauce.

Liquids

Broth

I use beef broth (stock is fine) in this recipe since it is a beef dish, but you can use plain water or a combination of water and broth if you prefer. You could also use a little beer or even wine in place of the broth, but I wouldn't use more than ½ cup or you might throw the balance of the dish off too much.

Personally, if I were to use wine I would use a white wine instead of red because I think it would go better with the other flavors of the dish. A dry Riesling would be my choice. 

​Vinegar

I use just a little bit of vinegar when I blend the birria sauce and find it helps cut through the richness of the dish by adding a nice balance of acid. 

I use red wine vinegar. Apple Cider vinegar or plain white vinegar will also work fine. You could also use some lime juice or lemon juice instead. 

Garnishes

Typical garnishes for birria stew are diced white onions, fresh cilantro leaves, and freshly squeezed lime wedges.

This rounds out the eating experience and provides balance and texture. Don't forget the flour or corn tortillas for dipping!

How to Make Slow Cooker Birria

Slow Cooker Birria is so easy to make and it is pretty much hands off! It's great to serve as a stew or use the shredded beef for tacos and the sauce for dipping!

Mise En Place (Prep)

• Peel the garlic and leave the cloves whole
• Quarter the onion
• Cut the ends off of the carrot and break it in half, if needed. No need to peel it.
• Cut the tips off the cilantro stems and discard. Cut the remaining stems just below where the leaves are. You will use the stems in the sauce and the leaves as garnish
• Cut the stems off of the dried peppers and remove the seeds (for more spice, leave the seeds in the peppers)

Make the Adobo Sauce

The easiest way to make the Adobo Sauce is to pressure cook the ingredients and blend them in a blender. However, if you don't have a pressure cooker, you can refer to the section below for variations of how to make the sauce using different kitchen equipment.

Add all of the prepped vegetables to the pot of your pressure cooker (I use the Ninja Foodi, but an Instant Pot works the same), add the can of tomatoes, spices, cilantro stems and 1 cup of beef broth.

Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. When the time is up, immediately release the pressure. Let the ingredients cool in the pot or transfer to the blender or a large bowl to cool.

I use the Ninja Foodi to sear the meat and slow-cook everything. Then I transfer the ingredients to the blender and clean the pot for the next step, which I do while the sauce ingredients are cooling.

Add vinegar to the sauce ingredients before blending. Once the sauce ingredients are cool, blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender.

Making the Birria Stew

Heat the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi (or a large pan on the stove) on high sear/sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the oil and let it heat for 3-5 minutes.

Season the beef with salt and pepper and cut the chuck roast in half.

When the oil is hot, sear the meat on all sides for 2-3 minutes per side.

Deglaze the pot with 1 cup of beef broth and scrape the bottom to remove any stuck-on bits from searing. Add the remaining 2 cups of beef broth.

Pour the blended adobo sauce over the meat and broth. You don't need to stir. Slow cook on high for 6-8 hours or until your meat is fall-apart tender.

When I made this recipe in the Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker Pro, it was done in 6 hours.

When the meat is tender, break it up in the broth into chunks and remove the short rib bones. You can shred the beef as much as you like, but I enjoy chunks of the beef in my stew so I only break it up a little bit.

Let it sit in the broth for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve the Birria

Ladle the stew into a bowl and garnish with diced onions, fresh cilantro leaves, and squeezed fresh lime juice.

Serve with warm tortillas and Enjoy!

Variations in Cooking Methods

Birria can be made in so many different ways and, while slow cooking is my preference for the best flavor, if you are short on time pressure cooking from start to finish is a great option. Here are the instructions.

Pressure Cooker Birria

The ingredients will remain the same, but the process is slightly different since we don't want to add thicker adobo sauce before pressure cooking.

Directions:

• Season the meat on all sides and cut the chuck roast into 4" chunks for quicker cooking.
• Sear the seasoned meat in heated oil in the inner pot of your pressure cooker.
• Deglaze with 1 cup of beef broth and scrape off any stuck-on bits that might impede pressure cooking.
• Add the remaining ingredients: seasoning blend, peppers, carrot, onion, garlic, and cilantro stems.
• Pressure Cook on high for 30 minutes with a full natural release.
• Remove the meat from the pot and shred it into the size you want in your stew. I like to keep larger chunks.
• Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender or food processor and allow to cool. You can also use an immersion blender to blend the sauce.
• Once the sauce ingredients are blended, return them to the pot along with the shredded beef and the remaining 3 cups of beef broth. Simmer until warm.
• Serve & Enjoy!

Stove Top Birria

The only ingredient change when making the Birria stove top is to add more beef broth. This can be done at the end so that you control how thick or brothy you want your stew.

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large stock pot until hot.
• Cut the beef chuck roast into large chunks.
• Season the meat with salt and pepper and sear it in the hot oil on all sides.
• Add in 4 cups of beef stock and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any bits of fond.
• Add in the remaining ingredients and bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 60 minutes or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
• Remove the meat and set aside to shred.
• Use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients in the pot or transfer to a blender (when cool) and blend until smooth.
• Add the sauce and the shredded beef to the pot and then add another beef broth to achieve the stew consistency you like.
• Warm and serve with desired garnishes.

Storage & Reheating Instructions

How to Store Leftover Birria

Always store the birria meat in any leftover liquid (broth) for the best outcome when reheating.

Refrigeration

Store the leftover birria in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Freezer

Before freezing it is very important that the birria is cold, so I recommend refrigerating the leftovers overnight before freezing them.

If the food is warm when packaged for freezing, steam can be produced inside the container or freezer bag, resulting in ice crystals forming.

Store the birria in an airtight container or bag that is the correct size for the amount of leftovers.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

How to Reheat Birria Stew

Slow Cooker

Place refrigerated or frozen birria in the slower cooker and cook on high for about 30-60 minutes if it is refrigerated and about 60-90 minutes from frozen.

You can also reheat from refrigerated or frozen on low, but the time will be longer.

Stove Top

Heat any leftover stew in a pot on the stove using low heat until it reaches 165℉/74℃. Add more beef broth, if needed.

From frozen, add about 1 cup of beef broth and simmer on low until thawed and heated to 165℉/74℃.

More Great Recipes!

Here are some great Mexican-inspired recipes to put on your list to make!