Instant Pot Beef Birria Ramen
Whipping Up My Fave Beef Birria Ramen at Home
Every time I find myself at The Taco Spot (where I reside now in Arizona), there’s this one dish I can’t get enough of – Beef Birria Ramen. I mean, it’s the kind of meal you dream about long after the bowl is empty. In this case, the actual Tapatío ramen container! It’s hearty, it’s spicy, it’s everything you want in comfort food. The perfectly cooked beef, the spicy broth, every spoonful is just… wow!
So, obviously, I’ve been itching to bring that magic into my own kitchen. And let’s face it, going out is great but being able to curl up on your own sofa with a bowl of that magical ramen? Being able to cook a ton of it and feed your friends and family? Priceless!
Enter the Instant Pot. This little gadget is a game changer. I gathered all the ingredients, the spices, the beef, and got down to business. Recreating that mouthwatering ramen was a mission. The cooks at The Taco Spot have this dish down to an art, and I was determined to get as close to that perfection as possible.
The Instant Pot made the job a whole lot easier. Cooking the beef till it’s just right and getting those flavors to mix together in a kind of spicy, savory dance – that’s the secret sauce, if you ask me.
That first bite. And oh boy, did it deliver! It was like a cozy hug in a bowl, every spoonful bringing that unmistakable taste of my favorite ramen spot.
Here is the recipe for your enjoyment!
Instant Pot Beef Birria Ramen
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 6 lbs boneless chuck roast cut in chunks, most fat removed
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and quartered
- 1 head of garlic peeled
- 4 dried guajillo chile peppers deseeded and stems removed
- 4 ancho chile peppers deseeded and stems removed
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 7 oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes
- 4 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups beef broth
For the Beef Birria Ramen Tub
- 1 3.8 oz Tapatio Original Ramen Do not use any included packs unless it is it's dried vegetables or you want more heat.
- hot beef broth to top off the ramen in the ramen bowl
- desired amount of Beef Birria with some of its juice
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and once it says 'HOT', add your oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the meat chunks, making sure not to crowd the pot, sear on all sides until browned. Repeat until every piece of meat is browned. Set meat aside on a plate for later.
- While the beef browns, remove stems and deseed the dried chilies. Shake the seeds out of the chile pods. Remember, the more seeds you leave in, the spicier it will be.
- In a skillet, dry toast the chiles, black peppercorns and cinnamon stick over medium heat. Gently shake the skillet to ensure the spices are evenly toasted. This is a couple of minutes and you will begin to smell and aroma coming from the spices.
- Set the Instant Pot on Sauté mode. When it’s hot, add the toasted the spices, onion, garlic cloves, and oregano.
- Pour enough cold water in to cover everything. Let it simmer on Sauté, covered and venting for about 15 minutes. Once done. Shut off the Instant Pot and wait until there is no more steam coming out.
- Pour the contents in the Instant Pot through a mesh strainer.
- Save 1 cup of the liquid and discard the cinnamon stick.
- Add all the solids you just strained, the chipotle peppers in adobo, pureed tomatoes, cumin, and the reserved cup of liquid to a blender. Blend until nice and smooth. Sometimes I forget and I add the 1 cup of liquid to the Instant Pot instead after this step. It's called mommy brain!
- Add the meat, the blended sauce, the bay leaves, apple cider vinegar, and the beef broth into the Instant Pot. Lock the lid and set to high pressure. Cook for 60 minutes. The instant pot will take some time to get to temperature and then the 60 minute countdown begins.
- When time is up, let the Instant Pot naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the venting knob for a quick release of the rest of the pressure.
- Remove the meat from the Birria liquid onto a baking pan and shred with two forks.
- Remove bay leaves from Birria sauce in the Instant Pot.
- Use a large spoon to skim some of the fat off the top of the Birria sauce and into a bowl to use for Birria taco preparation and dipping. I personally like to clean up the sauce and keep it all. I will use it for recipes like the Birria Ramen I linked in this post.
- Now you have delicious Beef Birria ready for you to enjoy in a taco or any other way you'd like to serve it. Technically, the world is your oyster!
To assemble the Beef Birria Ramen
- Open TapatÍo ramen container. Heat about 1 1/2 cups of beef broth in the microwave for 2 minutes in a microwave safe measuring cup or container.
- Add the beef broth to the container and make sure to cover the ramen noodles. Then keep the container tightly closed so the noodles and cook. About 3 minutes.
- After this, give it a stir and add you beef birria, if it's hot. If not, read below.
- If you are making this Beef Birria Ramen from leftover Beef Birria and it's cold, heat desired amount with some of it sauce til piping hot, over 2 minutes, and add to the container.
- Cover again for about 3 minutes. Then make sure the ramen is nice and tender. If not, keep it sealed shut for another couple of minutes.
- And that's it! Enjoy!
