Not going to lie, I was extremely intimidated about the idea of making Birria tacos. I have seen all the videos online of how delicious they look, and my mouth would water every time. So, I found this super easy crockpot recipe that eliminated any fear I had. It was so simple to make, but it does take all day to make.

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 8 hours

Serving amount: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 lb boneless chuck roast
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 4 dried Guajillo chiles
• 5-6 Chipotle chilis in abodo (canned)
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 32 oz beef stock
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 14.5oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 dry bay leaves
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander (I did not have this, so I used ground curry)
• corn or flour tortillas
• lime wedges
• fresh cilantro
• 3 cups Oaxacan or Italian cheese

Add olive oil to a large pan or cast iron skillet and warm over medium heat. Liberally salt and pepper the chuck roast and add to the pan. Sear on both sides for 5-6 minutes each side. Transfer the beef to the crockpot along with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8 hours (I pulled mine at 7 1/2, as long as the beef is fork tender).

After 8 hours, remove the beef to a large baking sheet and shred with two forks. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick from the crock pot and discard. If you don’t like super spicy, remove a few of the Chipotle peppers for a less spicy taste. Use a high power blender or immersion blender (I used immersion), blend everything together in the crockpot. Remove 1 1/2 – 2 cups of sauce and transfer to a large bowl and add the meat to the large bowl. Mix together to coat the meat well.

To make the process easier, I transfered the sauce from the crockpot into a separate large bowl to make dipping the tortillas easier. Dip each tortilla into sauce and add to large saucepan. Add meat and cheese to one side, along with any extra ingredients (diced onions, cilantro, etc). Fold over and allow taco to fry on each side for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Additional: add sauce into small bowl and serve with tacos for dipping. Drizzle each taco with fresh lime juice for added flavor. I noticed that the thinner the taco, the crispier it would get with frying.

Nutrition Information:

Total fat: 32.6g Saturated Fat: 12.8g Cholesterol: 64mg Sodium: 1640mg Total Carbohydrates: 107.1g Dietary Fiber: 34.9g Total Sugars: 10g Protein: 40.2g Vitamin D: 0mcg Calcium: 1216mg Iron: 40mg Potassium: 2151mg