Birria Quesa Tacos
These birria quesa tacos are beyond delicious! Each crispy taco is filled with tender and juicy braised beef and melty cheese. It's a cross between a taco and a quesadilla, which is why they are called quesa tacos. The best part is dipping the taco into the savory consommé.
Ingredients
- 3 lb chuck roast
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, whole
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano (or regular)
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp cumin
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 pasilla chili pods
- 4 New Mexico chili pods
- 8 oz Oaxaca cheese
- Pepper
- 25 Corn tortillas
Optional Toppings
- White onion
- Cilantro
- Cotija cheese
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Cut the chuck roast into large chunks (do not trim off any fat on the meat), about the same size as the short ribs. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear all sides of the meat on high heat and do not crowd the meat, each piece needs space, sear the meat in batches. Set all of the meat aside on a plate.
- Tear out the seeds in the chili pods and add them to a bowl. Cover the chili pods with boiling water and soak for 20 minutes.
- Over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan used to sear the meat. To the pan add the onions and garlic cloves, sauté for 3 minutes.
- To a blender add the fire roasted tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, Mexican oregano, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and brown sugar. Add the softened chilis (discard the water). Blend until smooth.
- To the pot strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer, using a spoon to scrape it so it goes through. Add in the beef broth, bay leaves and meat.
- Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven, cook for 3 hours.
- Remove the pan from the oven and take out the meat. Do NOT stir the sauce. Shred the meat with two forks.
- *You MUST have a layer of grease fat at the top of the pan to lay the tortilla in or else it won’t fry or work for this method, if you don’t have any fat then use oil in your pan and don’t dip it in the sauce it will just get soggy*
- Dip the tortilla in the very top layer of grease left in the pan. Lay the tortilla on a nonstick hot pan. Cook one minute then flip, add the Oaxaca cheese then the meat and sandwich like a quesadilla, continue cooking until the cheese has melted and the tortilla starts to harden on the sides.
- After using up all the grease in the pan, ladle the consommé into individual little bowls, top with diced onion and cilantro. The consommé is for dipping the birria taco in.
Notes
Meat: The meat should be a dark golden color and have crisp bits around the seared edges, if it doesn’t then the meat wasn’t seared at a high enough temperature or the pan was crowded. Each pieces of meat needs a bubble of space around it to sear properly or else it will just release steam and moisture.
Tortilla: The tortilla will not fry if you do not have any grease on the top of the consommé. Skip this and fry it with some oil if this is your situation. Making sure to sear the fatty sides of the short ribs really well helps release fat.
Cheese: If you don't have oaxaca, use a mixture of jack cheese and mozzarella.
Instant Pot Instructions: Sear the meat in batches, with some oil in the bottom. Set aside. Make the sauce the same way. Add all the liquid to the instant pot with the meat and bay leaves. Secure the lid. Cook for 45 minutes, quick vent. Take all the meat out and shred. Use a gravy separator to separate the broth from the fat (pour the fat into a shallow bowl). Assemble the birria tacos as normal.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
25Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 218Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 111mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 17g
This information comes from online calculators. Although moderncrumb.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.