Beef Queso Birria Tacos Without Dried Chilies

In Jalisco, Birria Tacos are a traditional dish but originally made with lamb meat. Now, Birria Tacos have become such a popular, Instagramable dish that is all the rage! Birria Tacos are traditionally made with Ancho Chiles, Guajillo Chiles or Chiles de Arbol. I know for some of you it is difficult to get your hands on them, so I made my version of Birria Tacos that anyone can make!

My go to tacos have always been Carnitas, Pork in Salsa Verde, and even Pineapple Braised Chicken Tacos! A tough lamb meat for this style cooking is tough to find, and lately more and more people have been using meat to make Birria Tacos. This is SO flavorful and adding the melted cheese at the end makes the dish. This dish actually was mistakenly made when someone dropped the taco into the stew and cooked it anyway. The recipe blew up after that and the rest is history!

Cook the meat. Place all of the content in your pressure cooker, stir, cover, and pressure cook on high for 1 hour and let it naturally release. Alternatively, you can cook in a slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

Separate the meat and the liquid. Open your pressure cooker/slow cooker and with a spoon, take out the fatty liquid that is on the surface of the stew and place about ½ cup into a bowl – We will need this to cook the tortillas. With tongs, take out the meat and place on a plate or shallow bowl and shred. Place the rest of the liquid in small separate bowls.

Make the tacos. Spray a medium pan on medium heat with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop some fatty liquid with a spoon and place about 1-2 tablespoons in the pan. Place the tortilla on the pan and cook on both sides, making sure the liquid gets on both sides. This will make the tortillas become soggy but don’t worry, the longer you cook the more crispy they become. On one side of the tortilla, place the meat and cheese and then fold the tortilla over to form a taco. Flip the taco to the other side and keep flipping until the taco becomes crispy.

Serve. Serve the tacos with a bowl of the stew and garnish with cilantro.