Slow Cooker Birria de Res

A bowl of savory slow cooker birria stew topped with diced onions, fresh cilantro, and lime slices, set against a rich red broth. The dish is served in a brown ceramic bowl on a textured maroon surface.

5 from 3 votes

A few minutes of preparation and several hours of slow simmering with herbs and spices renders the beef fall-apart tender and creates a hearty, flavorful broth that can be eaten as a stew or used as a base for any number of dishes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Total Time8 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Cinco de Mayo, crockpot, easy, keto, low carb, party food

Servings: people

Author: Marissa Stevens

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless chuck roast cut into 8-10 large chunks
1 pound bone-in beef short ribs (recipe note #2)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
2 teaspoons dried oregano ideally Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons fine sea salt divided, plus more to taste
4 cups beef broth or beef bone broth (see recipe note #2)
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, divided
6 Guajillo chiles
2 Ancho chiles
1 medium white onion coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
2 dried bay leaves

Optional Garnishes

finely diced white onion
chopped cilantro
lime wedges

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. (for toasting chiles, see recipe note #1)
Place chuck roast and short ribs in a large slow cooker and season evenly with pepper, oregano, cumin, coriander and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Pour beef broth and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar over meat. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or until beef is pull apart tender. While the beef begins to cook, move on to the next step (you'll be adding this mixture to the slow cooker as soon as possible).
Clean Guajillo and Ancho chiles with a clean, damp cloth or damp paper towel. With kitchen scissors, cut off and discard the stems and shake out and discard any loose seeds. Arrange chiles on a baking sheet in a single layer and place in preheated oven. Toast chiles until puffed and fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. With kitchen scissors, cut each chile lengthwise and remove and discard remaining seeds. (It's okay if the chiles break into small pieces - you'll be blending them anyway.)
Transfer toasted chiles to a medium saucepan. Add onion, garlic, remaining 2 tablespoon of vinegar, remaining teaspoon of salt and enough water to cover (about 3 cups). Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and cover; simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
To make red chile sauce, transfer saucepan contents (including liquid) to blender and cover with a folded kitchen cloth (instead of the lid because the contents will be quite warm or use an immersion blender). Start to blend on the lowest setting and gradually increase the speed; blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if desired.
Remove slow cooker lid and pour red chile sauce through a fine mash strainer over beef, use wooden spoon to stir and press against strainer to extract as much liquid from mixture as possible. Discard solids left in strainer. Add bay leaves and stir well to combine. Cover slow cooker and continue cooking beef until fall apart tender. (5 hours or more should remain.) Discard bay leaves and allow to cool slightly.
When the meat has cooled slightly, carefully transfer from the braising liquid to a large bowl. Shred the meat using two forks, discarding any large chunks of fat.
Skim fat off of the slow cooker juices.
To serve as a stew, serve shredded meat with broth in bowls. Garnish with finely chopped white onion, chopped cilantro and lime wedges if desired. (See recipe notes and post above for other serving suggestions.)

Video

Notes

You can toast your chiles in a skillet on the stove top, but know that it's easy to burn them which can make the chiles and your whole dish bitter. I've found that toasting them in the oven is easier and more reliable.
Bone-in short ribs create a richer broth, but you can also use a larger (4 to 5 pound) boneless chuck roast, bone-in chuck roast OR add 1 pound of beef bones OR use commercial beef bone broth.

Nutrition

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