Instant Pot Birria Tacos

A hand dipping a birria taco into the consomme.

5 from 91 votes

Instant Pot Birria Tacos are crunchy and crispy. Made of fried tortillas that are stuffed with cheese and stewed beef. Serve with a bowl of consommé for dipping.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 55

Total Time2 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: tacos

Calories: 503kcal

Author: Maggie Unzueta

Ingredients

For the Chile Sauce:

2 cups water (to rehydrate chiles)
5 chile guajillo
2 ancho chiles
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves
¼ cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon beef bouillon
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups water (for blending)

For the Beef:

2 tablespoon olive oil
3.5 lbs chuck roast
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon beef bouillon
2 cups water

For the Tacos:

2 tablespoon olive oil
12 corn tortillas
4 cups Monterey Jack Cheese shredded

Toppings:

diced onions
chopped cilantro
lime

Instructions

For the Chile Sauce:

Remove the stems from the dried chiles.
Open each of the chiles lengthwise and remove all the seeds and veins.
Repeat with the remaining chiles.
Place in a stock pot and cover with 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Place a lid on the pot, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Discard the water.
Add the rehydrated chiles, cinnamon, garlic, salt and pepper, thyme, cloves, and oregano.
Pour in 4 cups water.
Blend until smooth. Set aside.

For the Beef:

Press the Saute button on the instant pot.
Add 2 tablespoon olive oil.
Cut the beef into large pieces. This will make searing the beef easier.
Season the beef with salt and pepper.
Sear the beef on all sides.
Remove the beef from the instant pot.
Strain the chile sauce into the instant pot.
Discard any remaining bits of chile.
Add the bay leaves, beef bouillon, and 2 cups of water.
Using a spatula, scrape the bottom of the pot. This will release anything stuck at the bottom of the instant pot.
Return the beef to the pot.
Place the lid on the instant pot.
Move the valve to SEALING.
Press PRESSURE COOK.
Set time for 45 minutes.
Once the buzzer beeps, carefully move the valve to VENTING.
After it’s done venting, remove the beef.
Shred the beef.

To Make the Tacos:

Brush oil all over the skillet.
Dip the tortilla in the broth inside the instant pot.
Place the tortilla on the skillet.
Add about 2 tablespoon shredded beef and 2 tablespoon cheese.
Turn over half the tortilla to create the taco.
Press down on the tortilla so the cheese will smush out.
Drizzle some of the broth on top of the taco to help the tortilla get crispier.
Turn the taco. About 2-3 minutes on each side.
Repeat until no more tortillas or beef remains.
Serve with consommé (or broth) and desired toppings.

Video

Notes

Instant Pot Cooking Times:

For 4 lbs of beef, 50 minutes.
For 3 ½ lbs of beef, 45 minutes.

If you are using store bought tortillas, use the tortillas that are in the CENTER of the package, not the ends. The top and the bottom ends of the plastic package form condensation, making the tortillas wet. These wet tortillas will FALL APART when trying to assemble the birria tacos.

To Cut Down on the Cooking Time: Make the sauce ahead of time! You can even FREEZE IT and take it out when needed.

Nutrition