Name: Pork Birria Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 3-4 pounds pork shoulder or butt, cut into 2 inch pieces; 1 large red onion, diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 cup water plus 1 chicken bouillon or 1.5 teaspoons vegetable umami (I used Yondu); ½ teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano; 4 whole cloves, crushed; 2 bay leaves; 1 (8 oz) bag of shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese; 8-10 corn tortillas; Chopped cilantro, for garnish

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These Pork Birria Tacos dish has pork butt, vegetable umami, onion, garlic, mozzarella and corn tortillas.

Birria Tacos were traditionally made with lamb meat but have rapidly become more popular in the US and has developed a new twist. The “new Birria Tacos” are now made with all kinds of meat. They are cooked using the pork fat and served with the stew that the meat was cooked in. These tacos are so tasty and I used vegetable umami by Yondu which gave the dish a flavorful savory kick, although you can totally use chicken bouillon instead.

This recipe was an inspiration from my Instant Pot Birria Tacos. Another great recipe to try it my Carne Asada Street Taco Recipe.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
Pork Birria Tacos
Food safety

Ingredients

Pork Shoulder
Red Onion
Garlic
Cumin
Yondu or bouillon cube
Onion Powder
Mexican Oregano
Whole Cloves
Bay leaves
Mozzarella
Corn Tortillas
Cilantro

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Heat a cup of water and stir in the vegetable umami or chicken bouillon until dissolved and well combined. Set aside.

Cook the meat. Place the pork, onion, garlic, cumin, onion powder, oregano, crushed cloves, water/bouillon or umami mixture, and bay leaves in your pressure cooker, stir, cover, and pressure cook on high for 1 hour and let it naturally release. Alternatively, you can cook in a slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

Separate the meat and the liquid. Open your pressure cooker/slow cooker and with a spoon, take out the fatty liquid that is on the surface of the stew and place about ½ cup into a bowl. Reserve the fatty liquid to cook the tacos. With tongs, take out the meat and place on a plate or shallow bowl and shred. Place the rest of the liquid in small separate bowls.

Make the tacos. Spray a medium pan on medium heat with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop some fatty liquid with a spoon and place about 1-2 tablespoons in the pan. Place the tortilla on the pan and cook on both sides, making sure the liquid gets on both sides. The tortillas will turn soggy. The longer you cook the more crispy they become. Place the meat and cheese on the tortilla and fold to form a taco. Flip the taco to the other side until the taco becomes crispy, about 3 more minutes.

Serve. Serve the tacos with a bowl of the stew and garnish with cilantro.

Hint: Make sure to pressure cook the full time and let it naturally release.

Substitutions

Pork: You can use any tough pork cut meat, like pork shoulder or pork butt. These shred very well.

Onion: I used red onion for this recipe, although you can use yellow or white. The red onion is the more traditional onion to use though.

Garlic: For best quality results, use fresh garlic. You can always use garlic from the jar although it is less fresh that way.

Cilantro: Some people have a love/hate relationship with cilantro. I love adding cilantro into the filling of the zucchini as it gives it such a nice kick. You could always use chopped green onion or scallions if you prefer.

Cheese: You will need a cheese that melts easily, like mozzarella cheese. In Mexico, the traditional cheese used for melting (like quesadillas) is Oaxaca cheese. This type of cheese can be more difficult to find, so mozzarella cheese can do the trick.

Tortillas: You can buy store-bought tortillas or try making my Vegan Flour Tortillas. If you have a gas stovetop, I like to place the tortillas directly on the burner and warm them there so give them a nice char.

Variations

Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.

Spicy - add chopped jalapeno or chili powder.
Deluxe - add guacamole and use corn or flour tortilla.
Kid friendly - add crushed tortilla chips.

Check out this MEXICAN PICADILLO on my site as well.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.

I love using my Instant Pot to cook tough meats like this.

Storage

This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top tip

Use an I love using my Instant Pot to cook tough meats. You can also use a dutch oven.