Cola Braised Beef Birria Tacos - This delish gluten friendly recipe for slow braised brisket tacos with a rich and flavorful broth for dipping is "set-it and forget-it" easy. The flavor from the Coca Cola provides a nice caramel like sweetness to the dish that is addictive!
Tacos are one of those foods that are great for just about any meal, and any time of year, especially in the Season Two Taste household. Brisket is one of our favorite cuts of beef also, combine that with the convenience of a slow cooker brisket recipe, and this one is a real winner.
Our slow cooker chicken enchilada recipe has been so popular, that we wanted to share some more Mexican crock pot love with y'all. If you're looking for the perfect beverage to pair with these yummy tacos, try our hibiscus margarita mocktails.
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Why You'll Love Cola Braised Birria
- Simple and Convenient - The vast majority of this recipe is passive simmering in the slow cooker. Even the knife work is quick and easy, since the sauce is pureed in the blender.
- Versatility - The meat in this recipe can be used as the protein for just about any Mexican specialty, (burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, etc.).
- Fun and Tasty to Eat - Birria is kind of like the Mexican equivalent of the French dip sandwich. You not only have crisp cheese wrapped corn tortillas filled with succulent beef, but also a sumptuous broth to dip them in.
- Gluten Friendly - None of the ingredients in this recipe contain gluten. With a few simple substitutions, (see below), you can make it completely gluten free.
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Newest Recipe!
Easy Creamy Cheesy Mashed Potatoes!
Nothing beats the creamy texture of this easy cheesy mashed potatoes recipe! Whether you are making Christmas dinner or pork chops during the week, this delicious side dish is the ultimate comfort food.
Ingredients
- Beef Brisket - We love the rich flavor from brisket that results from it's unique fat to lean ratio. This recipe can also be made with beef chuck roast if that's what you have or prefer.
- Roasted Green Chilies - Here in Colorado, we throw these guys into just about anything. The mild heat and roasted flavor is great here. You can use frozen, fresh, or canned, depending on what is available in your area. If you want to use fresh, look for Anaheims or poblanos. Instructions for roasting and peeling them can be found in our chicken enchilada post.
- Yellow Onion, Tomato, and Garlic - These are the only fresh ingredients that you'll need to use a knife for, and chopping them into large pieces only, as they will get blended anyway.
- Dried Red Chiles - Guajillo, Ancho, or chile Colorado are all fantastic, very mild heat, a beautiful dried fruit smoky sweetness. You can substitute a high quality chili powder if you cannot find dry chilies, or if you would prefer not to use them.
- Spices/Herbs - Coriander, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and black peppercorns.
- Tomato Paste - Not only does this contribute to the tomato sweetness, but it also give some body to the beef broth/sauce.
- Ingredients not Shown - Apple cider vinegar, shredded Mexican style cheese, corn tortillas, Coca Cola, (Mexican type is ideal since it contains cane sugar versus corn syrup), and any garnishes you would like.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One - Assembling & Broth
Combine spices, dried chilies, water, and vinegar.
Add the tomatoes, green chilies, and onion.
Step Two and Three - Heat Broth & Sear Brisket
Bring the broth to a boil and turn off to cool slightly.
Season and sear the brisket in a hot skillet.
Step Four - Blend the Braising Liquid
Put the contents of the saucepan into your blender, (NOTE: remove the cinnamon sticks before blending).
Pulsing the blender carefully on the lowest setting, and then increasing the speed until fully pureed.
Step Five - Assemble the Braise
Add the seared meat and the sauce to the slow cooker.
Add the Coke, close the lid, and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours.
Step Six - Preparing Meat
Using tongs, remove the brisket and let it rest for about 15 minutes to relax and soften up. Pour the finished broth into another container.
Chop or shred the finished beef.
Step Seven - Prepare Tacos
In a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat, sprinkle some shredded cheese in roughly the same shape and size as the tortilla.
Once the cheese has started to melt and brown a little around the edges, quickly dip a corn tortilla in the broth and lay it on top.
Top the tortilla with some beef, cilantro, and a little more cheese.
Using an offset spatula, fold the taco over and remove from the pan, repeating this process for each taco.
Step Eight - Optional garnishes & Service
Nice garnishes to serve either in or with the tacos: sliced radishes, cilantro, avocado, diced tomato, and lime wedges.
Serve with a bowl of the broth for dipping.
Helpful Hint
Control of heat is very important when making these "crisped cheese" tacos. Make sure to use a heavy bottomed pan, so that the heat will remain relatively constant. When you toss the shredded cheese into the pan, it should start to melt quickly, but not burn or ooze. If this is happening, the pan is too hot. Scrape it out, and reduce the heat.
Substitutions
This recipe is able to suit several dietary considerations. Here's the basic instructions.
- Gluten Free - These tacos are already "gluten friendly", meaning that the ingredients do not contain gluten in them inherently. The corn tortillas and the beef base do not guarantee that they are gluten free because they are processed alongside gluten containing products. Either substituting those products for gluten free ones, or omitting them entirely would make this celiac safe.
- Dairy Free - The only dairy in this recipe is the cheese, so either use a plant based cheese of your choice, or eat them without cheese.
Variations
Use this recipe as a template that you can vary to suit your tastes!
- Spicy - You can add more green chiles to the braise to increase the heat slightly, or go all out and toss in your favorite hot pepper, (habaneros, serranos, ghost, you get the idea!).
- Other Formats - Just use the beef to make melty quesadillas, nachos, burritos....
Equipment
There are a few pieces of equipment that are pretty vital to the success of these cola braised beef birria tacos. You'll need a high quality blender, a slow cooker, as well as a good heavy pan, preferably cast iron.
- Blender - There are tons of blenders available on the market that vary greatly in quality and durability. Make sure that you look at the horsepower of the motor, and whether or not the blades are easily replaceable. As professional chefs, we have to give our highest recommendation to the Vitamix. These are the industry standard, and if they can put up with the abuses inherent in commercial kitchens, they can most certainly perform greatly in yours. We cannot suggest a very low cost blender, as "you get what you pay for" is very true here, but a more affordable option is this KitchenAid one. We have an older model, and it's still working wonderfully.
- Slow Cooker - We use a crock pot slow cooker, as they are tried and true. They are very simply designed, so there's not a lot of bells and whistles to break. I have come to love the Instant Pot brand name for multi cookers that do just about everything if you're looking for more versatility.
- Heavy Bottomed Skillet - You could write a book on the subject of sauté pans, or skillets, of you would prefer. For the purpose of this recipe, a heavy bottomed pan is the ideal candidate. You can't go wrong with Lodge cast iron for affordability and incredible durability. All Clad also is a benchmark favorite. If you are shopping for a pan, feel the weight of it in your hand. It should be heavy, but balanced, and the bulk of the weight should be on the bottom surface.
Storage/Reheating
Store any left over tacos tightly wrapped in the fridge for 2 days at the longest for best quality. To avoid them being soggy, re-heat them in the oven on 400 degrees for 10 minutes. They can also be microwaved for a couple of minutes, but they may be more like enchiladas, as they won't be crisp.
The braised brisket should be stored in the broth so as not to dry it out. When covered tightly and refrigerated, it should remain fresh for up to 5 days.
Chef Tip
We included the braising time for the cola braised brisket tacos meat as a range in this recipe. There is good reason for this. The timing is almost always going to vary. The meat, the cooker, the size and shape of the cuts, as well as multiple other things can be different, and will affect the cooking time. What never will change, though, is the results. Pull the meat out of the cooker when it has started to soften, and is easily chopped or torn apart, whichever you prefer. I always tell all of my students, following timers will not teach you how to cook, learning to recognize the results that you are looking for will.
You absolutely can have the meat cooked and ready for making the tacos! Just cut or shred the meat when it's still warm and store it in a tightly sealed container with some of the braising liquid, in the refrigerator.
More Inspiration
Gluten Free
- Easy Tri-Color Quinoa Roasted Sweet Potato Bake Recipe
- Western North Carolina Style Vinegar BBQ Sauce Recipe
- Easy Oven Roasted Carrots with Parmesan Recipe
- Easy Chicken Cottage/Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Recipe
Cola Braised Beef Birria Tacos
Equipment
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 knife
- 1 Saucepan 4 quart
- 1 Blender
- 1 saute skillet heavy bottom
- 1 slow cooker
- 1 Offset spatula
- 1 tongs
Ingredients
Brisket and Broth
- 2½ lb. beef brisket cut into two pieces
- 1 Tbsp. salt kosher (plus a little for broth to taste)
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil light, high smoke point, and favorless.
- 4 oz. tomato 1 inch chunks
- 4 oz, yellow onion peeled. 1 inch chunks
- 2 oz. roasted green chiles peeled and chopped, (heat level according to taste)
- 1 oz. dry red chiles guajillo, Colorado, ancho
- ½ tsp. coriander
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. oregano Mexican preferred
- 4 each garlic cloves large
- 1 tsp. black peppercorns
- 3 oz. tomato paste
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 cup water
- 1 tsp. beef bouillon Better than bouillon brand preferred
- 2½ cup cola Coke
Tacos
- 20 each corn tortillas
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- 8 oz. shredded cheese to individual preference.
- 1 can non stick pan spray as needed to coat skillet lightly.
Instructions
Brisket and Broth
- Heat a large skillet on stove over high.
- Season brisket on all sides with salt.
- Add veg. oil to pan.
- Once pan is hot enough to make the meat sizzle, place one piece of the brisket in to sear.
- Sear all sides until browned, and repeat this process with the other piece.
- Place meat into slow cooker.
- Combine all remaining ingredients except for cola in saucepan and place on stove over high heat.
- Once the saucepan boils, remove from heat.
- Remove the cinnamon stick from the pan and discard.
- Put everything from the saucepan into the blender and carefully puree until smooth.
- Pour the sauce into the slow cooker with the brisket.
- Add the cola to the slow cooker.
- Cover the cooker and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, until the meat has started to soften.
- Remove the beef separate from the broth, allow to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Chop or shred meat.
Tacos
- Heat a heavy bottomed skillet to medium, (about 4 minutes)
- Spray the inside surface of the pan with a light layer of the pan spray.
- Sprinkle a layer of cheese in the center of the pan approximately the same size and shape of the tortillas.
- Allow the cheese to melt and begin to lightly brown around the edges, (about 2 minutes)
- Using tongs, dip a tortilla into the broth and remove.
- Place the dipped tortilla on top of the melted cheese to adhere to it and heat.
- Place a small heap of brisket in a line in the center, followed by the cilantro and a little more cheese.
- After the cheese has uniformly adhered and crisped on the bottom of the tortilla, (about 3 minutes), fold the taco in half with a metal offset spatula.
- Carefully remove the taco from the pan, repeating this process for each one.
- Serve with desired condiments and/or accompaniments, (see post).
Jason Miller says
Mexican French dip.