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Consomé de birria

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Salsa
Also known as: Birria consommé, Consomé

Consomé de birria is the chile-tinted broth left from cooking birria, served in a cup beside the tacos or used for dipping them. Its popularity spread with the Tijuana-style beef birria and quesabirria.

Contents
  1. Description
  2. Tijuana style
  3. Serving
  4. Recipe
  5. Reviews
  6. See also
  7. References

Description

A consomé, in Mexican usage, is broth obtained by cooking meat. In Jalisco, Larousse explains, birria meat is marinated in chile sauce, wrapped in maguey leaves, sealed in a pot with masa and cooked about four hours; the juices are then separated and simmered with roasted, ground tomato to make a tomato-based broth in which the meat is served, topped with onion and oregano. Food Network's guide adds that the braising liquid should be reddish from dried red chiles and is not thickened, which would push it toward mole.

Tijuana style

Food Network attributes Tijuana's beef birria to Guadalupe Zárate, who ran a birria stand there in the 1950s and switched from goat to beef because goat was dearer, adding more liquid. In the United States, birria tacos became popular in Los Angeles in the past decade: tortillas filled with shredded birria are dunked in the red consommé, and quesabirrias add melted cheese.

Serving

Served as soup, shredded meat goes in a bowl with a ladle of consomé, finished with lime, cilantro, white onion and salsa. At taco stands a cup of consomé comes alongside the tacos for dipping or sipping.

Recipe

Makes About 2 liters consomé (with meat for 20 tacos) · Time: Marinate 4 hours; 4 hours cooking

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg beef chuck or goat, in large pieces, plus 500 g beef shank or oxtail
  • 5 guajillo chiles and 3 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 3 chiles de árbol
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 onion
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp cumin seed, 4 cloves, 1 tsp dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 3 plum tomatoes, roasted
  • Salt
  • Chopped onion, cilantro, lime and oregano to serve

Steps

  1. Toast and soak the dried chiles, then blend them with the garlic, onion, vinegar, spices and 1 cup water into an adobo. Season with salt.
  2. Coat the meat with half the adobo and marinate at least 4 hours.
  3. Place the meat in a heavy pot with bay leaves and 2 liters water, cover tightly and simmer gently about 3 1/2 to 4 hours until it falls apart.
  4. Remove the meat. Blend the roasted tomatoes with the remaining adobo, strain into the broth and simmer 20 minutes. Skim off some of the red fat and reserve it for frying tortillas.
  5. Serve the consomé in cups with onion, cilantro, oregano and lime, alongside tacos of the shredded meat.

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "Birria". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  2. "Consomé". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  3. "What Is Birria?". Food Network. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Broths Jalisco cuisine Salsas Salsas and garnishes Tijuana cuisine