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This instant pot birria recipe uses a jar of birria sauce and is a legit cheat code to birria taco nights. You'll be so glad you used this instead of following a time-consuming birria recipe that has a lot of ingredients.
Many more traditional birria recipes call for a specific blend of dried chiles that can be hard to find even in the most diverse cities. Instead of going on a wild goose chase to find obscure chiles, use one of these convenient sauces and be certain you'll end up with a recipe that the whole family will love.
While my other beef birria recipe was streamlined and called for fewer ingredients than a traditional birria mexican beef stew, this recipe is even MORE simplified by using jarred birria sauce. There are several of these pre-made birria sauces on the market now and many can be found on amazon, but I was shocked to find this cooking sauce at target.
Traditional birria has other ingredients like bay leaves, apple cider vinegar, a cinnamon stick and a few types of dried chiles, like ancho chiles and dried guajillo peppers. Depending on the brand of sauce you use, you may need to add more salt or even some garlic cloves to the pot, but of the two sauces I've tried, the flavor was there.
This delicious birria recipe takes the traditional mexican stew and makes it super easy to make during a busy work week. I love this recipe, because once you have the stew done you can use it to make so many other dishes.
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🛒Ingredients
Use a clear shot of the ingredients for this recipe, prepped, and labeled if necessary. Insert the ingredients into the list below, omitting quantities.
- beef chuck roast OR beef short ribs
- birria cooking sauce
- beef broth
- white onion
- cilantro
- fresh limes
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
Cut the chuck roast into large chunks and season with salt and pepper. Add the birria cooking sauce and chuck roast to a zipper bag and let marinate overnight. Pour one cup of beef broth or water into the instant pot then add the marinated meat. Cover and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally. Garnish with lime wedges, diced onion and cilantro. Serve the birria broth on the side if you plan on making beef tacos.
To make the birria in a slow cooker, pour all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours or until the meat is tender and can be easily shredded.
👩🏾🍳Substitutions
- Birria sauce - instead of using premade birria sauce, you can make my other birria recipe. You can also find birria cooking sauce on Amazon. This is the brand I tried with great results
- Beef broth- use chicken broth or mix up your own beef broth using better than boullion.
- Chuck roast - birria is sometimes made with goat meat. You can use beef shank, tri-tip or beef ribs. A combination or beef bones and chuck meat is a nice combination because the bone adds lots of flavor and body to the sauce.
- Vegan - I have some family members who are vegan and this plant based birria made with oyster mushrooms and jackfruit looks almost like the real thing. Check out the plant based birria recipe video if you have a mixed crowd.
📝What can I make with birria meat?
- Quesabirria tacos - to make instant pot birria tacos add a generous portion of the cooked meat and some oaxaca cheese to corn tortillas. Cook on a griddle until the taco is crispy and the cheese is melted. Serve the cooking liquid on the side to dip the tacos in.
- Shredded beef burritos - add lettuce, tomato, rice and guacamole to large flour tortillas and roll up.
- Beef Nachos - Top tortilla chips with the shredded meat and cheese, then pop in the oven until the cheese melts.
- Birria ramen- Just add a little of this Mexican meat stew to a cup of your favorite ramen.
- Birria Bucatini- This Birria pasta recipe is one of my favorite ways to make a little bit of birria go a long way. This savory Mexican stew makes the perfect large skillet meal.
- Birria Fries- These nacho fries would be delicious topped with the birria meat instead of chorizo.
- Birria Pizza- this may very well become your go-to pizza night recipe. Use the reduced cooking liquid as the sauce for extra flavor.
If you can't find the jarred birria sauce, check out this simple instant pot birria recipe with a few more ingredients.
🍳Equipment
I used a 6 quart instant pot electric pressure cooker for this recipe. If you plan on making a double quantity of this recipe you may want to use a larger 10 quart capacity cooker.
🎥Video
❄️Can you freeze birria meat?
Yes you can! Just portion out the meat and some of the sauce into quart-sized freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. You can leave them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you want to have this juicy tender meat again, just defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat the meat and sauce over medium high heat in a pot on the stove top until it reaches
👩🏾🍳Pro tip
Let your pressure cooker release naturally for at least 10 minutes before opening the lid. I typically don't use the quick release until the pressure has come down on it's own for at least 10 minutes. This way the valve doesn't splatter the stew all over the kitchen.
💭Food safety
Let the birria come to room temperature before covering and storing it in the refrigerator. Store it in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid.
📖Printable Recipe Card
3 Ingredient Birria Recipe
Equipment
- 1 electric pressure cooker I used a 6qt instant pot for this recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup beef broth
- 12 ounces birria sauce
Optional Garnishes
- 1 each lime cut into wedges
- ¼ cup white onion
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into large chunks and season with salt and pepper. Add the birria cooking sauce and chuck roast to a zipper bag and let marinate overnight.3 pounds chuck roast, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 12 ounces birria sauce
- Pour one cup of beef broth or water into the instant pot then add the marinated meat. Cover and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.1 cup beef broth
- Let the pressure release naturally. Garnish with lime wedges, diced onion and cilantro. Serve the birria broth on the side if you plan on making beef tacos.1 each lime, ¼ cup white onion, 2 Tablespoons cilantro
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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