Do you need a recipe for next Taco Tuesday? I've got you covered with these Crock-Pot Birria Tacos.
Have you tried Birria before? If you haven’t, now is the time!
Pork shoulder slow cooked in a delicious chile consumé until fall-off-the-bone tender, crispy corn tortilla, and ooey gooey melty cheese.
It doesn’t get much better than that folks. Birria Tacos take a bit of time to construct after being slow-cooked but the outcome is so worth the effort.
- Servings- 20 small tacos
- Cook Time- 10-12 hours
Crock- Pot Birria Tacos Ingredient Notes:
- Boston Butt or Pork Shoulder- preferably a bone-in roast. Bone-in results in a more flavorful and more tender roast.
- Corn Tortillas
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Shredded Monterey Cheese
- Onion- chopped
- Garlic- minced
- Cilantro
- Lime Wedges
- Water
For Spices Rub:
- Salt
- Oregano
- Onion Powder
- Olive Oil
For Consumé:
- Beef Stock
- Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce-chipotles in adobo sauce are smoked and dried jalapenos packed in a sauce of tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, and spices. The flavor is smoky, tangy, a bit sweet, and quite spicy.
- Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Pepper
- Bay Leaves
- Cumin
- Coriander Seeds
- All-Spice
- Cinnamon
- Ground Ginger
- Apple Cider Vinegar
How to Serve Birria Tacos:
- Serve Slow-Cooker Birria Tacos immediately with a side of leftover consommé for dipping.
- Top tacos with a bit of cilantro.
How to Make Crock-Pot Birria Tacos:
- Prep Meat- In a small bowl, mix together all spice-rub ingredients and rub all over Boston Butt. Place meat in slow cooker with the fat cap facing up.
- Prep Sauce & Slow Cook- Add all sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture in to slow cooker over meat. Add in minced garlic and 1 cup chopped onion. Pour water over everything. Set slow-cooker to low for at least 10 hours.
- Fry Meat-
- Once slow-cooker is done, remove meat with tongs and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Save all slow-cooker sauce, you will need it to fry meat and tortillas (plus some for dipping).
- Remove bone and use 2 forks to shred meat.
- Working in batches, fry shredded meat by placing a single layer of meat in a skillet over high heat. Pour ½ cup of sauce from the slow cooker over meat. Allow to fry undisturbed for 4 minutes until the bottoms of the meat are crispy. Once crispy, stir meat and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Set shredded crispy meat aside.
- Fry Tortillas & Construct-
- Dip a corn tortilla in slow-cooker sauce. Fry tortilla in same skillet for 30 seconds on each side over high heat.
- Sprinkle some shredded cheese, crispy meat, and chopped onion on one side of tortilla, fold, and continue frying until cheese is melty.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top tacos with cilantro and thank the taco-gods.
Leftovers:
- Store- Birria Tacos and meat can be store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Leftover sauce can also be stored in the refrigerator. If sauce is stored in the refrigerator, a fat layer will form on top of it. This is totally normal, and will melt once reheated. Birria meat and sauce can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat- to reheat tacos, heat oven to 350F. Place tacos on a baking sheet, and pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Sauce can be reheated in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer and stir for 3-5 minutes until warmed through.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes You Will Love:
- (The Best) Crock-Pot Carnitas- Juicy, crispy pulled pork with notes of citrus and garlic. And with the Crock-Pot doing 90% of the work for you, these are both the best and the easiest make at home Carnitas for all of your taco needs.
- Creamy Chipotle Shrimp
- Queso & Rice Stuffed Poblano Peppers
If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and review in the recipe card below! Your feedback is incredibly valuable. Follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for more delicious recipes, travel inspiration, and behind-the-scenes content.
Recipe
Crock-Pot Birria Tacos
Pork shoulder slow cooked in a delicious chile consumé until fall-off-the-bone tender, crispy corn tortilla, and ooey gooey melty cheese.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker/ Crock Pot
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Blender
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Tongs
- Large Skillet
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 4 lb Boston butt
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded mozzarella
- Shredded Monterey cheese
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- Cilantro
- Lime wedges
For spice rub:
- 2 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
For Sauce:
- 4 cups beef stock
- 7 oz chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon all spice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ACV
Instructions
- Prep Meat- In a small bowl, mix together all spice-rub ingredients and rub all over Boston Butt. Place meat in slow cooker with the fat cap facing up.
- Prep Sauce & Slow Cook- Add all sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture in to slow cooker over meat. Add in minced garlic and 1 cup chopped onion. Pour water over everything. Set slow-cooker to low for at least 10 hours.
- Fry Meat- Once slow-cooker is done, remove meat with tongs and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Save all slow-cooker sauce, you will need it to fry meat and tortillas (plus some for dipping). Remove bone and use 2 forks to shred meat. Working in batches, fry shredded meat by placing a single layer of meat in a skillet over high heat. Pour ½ cup of sauce from the slow cooker over meat. Allow to fry undisturbed for 4 minutes until the bottoms of the meat are crispy. Once crispy, stir meat and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Set shredded crispy meat aside.
- Fry Tortillas & Construct- Dip a corn tortilla in slow-cooker sauce. Fry tortilla in same skillet for 30 seconds on each side over high heat. Sprinkle some shredded cheese, crispy meat, and chopped onion on one side of tortilla, fold, and continue frying until cheese is melty. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top tacos with cilantro.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
Jazzmine Duff says
made this recipe. it was amazing! I ended up not adding the water, there wasn't enough room in my crockpot. my only issue I had, which I tend to have with any crockpot recipe, was the sauce was too thin, and I tried to skim the top to get rid of grease but it didn't help much. I dipped my shells in the liquid but they didn't soak the sauce, just any grease. I'm going to refrigerate it though and make more tacos tomorrow and get rid of the fat that solidifies. the meat was so flavorful. this definitely hit the spot after trying these tacos at a restaurant last week.
Must Love Garlic says
Thank you so much for sharing! I hope your next day tacos were just as delicious!
JosieMarie says
These came out great! I skipped the water entirely and still had plenty of leftover sauce to use for rice and Ramen. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Must Love Garlic says
Thank you so much, Josie!
Bethany says
I make these at least once a month! My friends always invite themselves over when I tell them what I'm making. Everyone absolutely loves them. I don't do my in the slow cooker, I do it on the stove in a Dutch oven. I also give the meat a good browning before adding the sauce to the pot. I also do not ad water. Having it with homemade guacamole is AMAZING!
Corvin says
These turned out very well. We used flour tortillas instead of corn but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Like the best elements of tacos and grilled cheese!
Must Love Garlic says
Thank you so much for sharing, Corvin!