What are guajillo and ancho chiles, and can you skip them?

They are dried Mexican chiles, usually found in the Hispanic foods aisle, that give birria broth its brick-red color and smoky depth once toasted and soaked. If they are not available, skip the toasting and soaking and blend 1/4 cup of chili powder, ancho chili powder if you have it, with 2 cups of the broth and the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, cumin, oregano and cloves instead.

What do you do with leftover birria soup?

Dip corn tortillas in the reserved red fat, fill them with the shredded beef and Monterey Jack, fold and crisp them in a skillet, and serve with a cup of the hot broth on the side for dunking, birria-style tacos.

Can you make a smaller batch of birria soup?

Yes. Use 3 guajillo chiles and 1 ancho chile instead of 6 and 2, halve the rest of the ingredients, and cook it in a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker instead of a 6-quart one.

Crockpot Birria Soup Recipe | Estrogen Left the Chat

Name: Beef Birria-Style Soup
Cook time: 10 h
Total time: 10 h
Yield: 6 servings (about 9 cups)
Ingredients: 6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded (in the Hispanic aisle; no dried chiles? see the swap); 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded; 6 cups (1.4 L) lower-sodium beef broth; 1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, no salt added; 6 garlic cloves, peeled; 2 tbsp cider vinegar; 1 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1/8 tsp ground cloves; 2 1/2 lb (1.13 kg) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut in 4 large pieces; 3/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste; 1 medium onion, quartered; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 bay leaves; 1/2 white onion, finely chopped, to serve; 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, to serve; 2 limes, cut in wedges

Recipe from the soups cookbook

Beef Birria-Style Soup

Save this recipe

Inspired by Mexican birria: beef chuck simmered all day in a brick-red broth of toasted guajillo and ancho chiles with cinnamon and a splash of vinegar. Toasting the dried chiles is the secret, and it takes five minutes.

6 servings (about 9 cups)6-quart slow cookerPrep Worth-It Step: one stovetop step, such as browningLOW 8 to 10 hours · HIGH 5 to 6 hours

Ingredients

6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded (in the Hispanic aisle; no dried chiles? see the swap)
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
6 cups (1.4 L) lower-sodium beef broth
1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, no salt added
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 1/2 lb (1.13 kg) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut in 4 large pieces
3/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 medium onion, quartered
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1/2 white onion, finely chopped, to serve
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, to serve
2 limes, cut in wedges

Method

Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat, 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until fragrant and soft. Do not let them blacken or they turn bitter. Put them in a bowl, cover with 2 cups of the broth, heated, and soak 20 minutes. Worth it: this one step gives the broth its deep color and rich, smoky flavor.
Blend the chiles and their soaking broth with the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, cumin, oregano and cloves until very smooth.
Rub the beef with the salt and put it in the slow cooker with the quartered onion, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Pour the chile sauce over it, through a sieve if you want a silky broth, then add the rest of the broth. Cover and cook until the beef falls apart.
Remove the onion pieces, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Lift out the beef, shred it with two forks and return it to the pot. Spoon some of the red fat off the top into a small bowl and save it for the next-day tacos.

Freezer: Freezes well up to 3 months.

Wake it up: Top each bowl with chopped onion and cilantro and squeeze in plenty of lime.
Next day: Dip corn tortillas in the saved red fat, fill with shredded beef and Monterey Jack, fold and crisp in a skillet for birria-style tacos. Serve with a cup of the hot broth for dunking.
Half batch: Halve everything (3 guajillo and 1 ancho chile) and use a 3- to 4-quart cooker.
Swap: No dried chiles: skip the toasting and soaking and blend 1/4 cup chili powder (ancho chili powder if you have it) with 2 cups of the broth and the other step 2 ingredients.
Serve with: Warm corn tortillas for dipping

Estimated nutrition per serving

Calories: 322
Protein: 46.2 g
Fiber: 4.8 g
Sodium: 853 mg
Carbs: 15.1 g
Fat: 9.6 g
Sat. fat: 3.7 g

This recipe is one of 100 in Easy Slow Cooker Soups and Stews Cookbook, each with a color photo and nutrition facts per serving.

View on Amazon

What makes crockpot birria taste like real birria?

Three things do the work. Toasting the dried guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry skillet for 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until fragrant and soft, is what gives the broth its deep color and smoky flavor; letting them blacken turns them bitter, so watch them closely. The soaked chiles then get blended with fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic, cider vinegar, cumin, oregano and a small amount of ground cloves into a smooth sauce, which is the base of the broth's brightness and heat. Finally, the beef chuck cooks whole with the sauce, broth, a quartered onion, a cinnamon stick and bay leaves until it falls apart, then gets shredded with two forks and returned to the pot so every bite carries the broth it cooked in.

Which chiles do you need, and where do you find them?

The recipe calls for 6 dried guajillo chiles and 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded. Both are usually in the Hispanic foods aisle of a regular grocery store, sold whole and dried rather than ground. Stem and seed them before toasting, then soak the toasted chiles in 2 cups of the beef broth, heated, for 20 minutes before blending; that soak is what softens them enough to purée smooth and carries their flavor straight into the sauce. Buying extra is reasonable, since dried chiles keep well in a sealed bag in the pantry for the next batch.

When does each ingredient go in?

The slow cooker does the long part, and a few minutes of prep set it up:

Before the slow cooker: toast the chiles, soak them 20 minutes in 2 cups of heated broth, then blend with the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, cumin, oregano and cloves into a smooth sauce.
At the start: rub the beef chuck with the salt and put it in the slow cooker with the quartered onion, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Pour the chile sauce over it, through a sieve for a silkier broth if you like, then add the rest of the broth.
At the end: remove the onion pieces, cinnamon stick and bay leaves, lift out the beef and shred it with two forks, then return it to the pot.

How do you wake it up before serving?

Taste the broth once the beef is shredded and back in the pot, since that is the easiest moment to adjust it; the recipe starts with only 3/4 teaspoon of salt plus more to taste, so most bowls need a little more at the table rather than in the pot. Spoon some of the red fat off the top into a small bowl before serving and set it aside rather than stirring it back in. At the table, top each bowl with the chopped white onion and cilantro and squeeze in plenty of fresh lime; the acid from the lime is what cuts through the richness of the broth and wakes up the chile flavor underneath it.

Can you freeze crockpot birria soup?

Yes, this soup freezes well for up to 3 months. There is no dairy or delicate garnish built into the pot itself, so the beef and broth together go into the freezer as they are, without the timing workaround that some creamier soups need. Freeze the reserved red fat separately if you saved it for tacos, since it keeps just as well on its own and is easier to portion out later. To serve again, thaw and reheat the soup on the stove or in the slow cooker until hot, then add the fresh garnishes, chopped onion, cilantro and lime, right before it goes to the table rather than during reheating.

What can you make with the leftovers?

Turn leftover birria into birria-style tacos. Dip corn tortillas in the reserved red fat, which both flavors and lightly fries them, then fill them with the shredded beef and Monterey Jack, fold them over and crisp them in a skillet until the cheese melts and the outside turns golden. Serve them with a cup of the hot broth on the side for dunking the tacos the way the Mexican original does; the broth is rich enough on its own to work as a dip rather than needing anything added to it. This is the kind of leftover that reads as a different meal, not a repeat of the same bowl of soup two nights running.

Smaller batch, no dried chiles, and what to serve with it

For a smaller batch, halve everything, 3 guajillo and 1 ancho chile instead of 6 and 2, and use a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker instead of a 6-quart one. If dried chiles are not something the store carries, skip the toasting and soaking step entirely: blend 1/4 cup of chili powder, ancho chili powder if it is available, with 2 cups of the broth and the rest of the step 2 ingredients, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, cumin, oregano and cloves, and proceed from there. Warm corn tortillas are the simplest side, set out for dipping into the broth the same way the tacos use it.

This is one of 100 recipes in the Easy Slow Cooker Soups and Stews Cookbook, including Slow Cooker French Onion Soup and Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Soup, every one with a color photo, nutrition facts per serving and a freezer note.

Crockpot Birria Soup