Mexican Quesabirria Tacos Recipe
Quesabirria tacos isn’t a traditional Mexican recipe cultivated for centuries, as the dish originated quite recently. However, ever since it was invented, it has taken over the US and parts of Mexico by storm.
What are Quesabirria Tacos vs Birria Tacos?
While many people use it interchangeably, there’s a difference.
Quesabirria is something between a taco and a quesadilla. It’s filled with cheese, folded, and the meat mixed with cheese and grilled. The tortilla is also crunchier as it’s cooked with consome / birria broth.
Birria taco is a simple taco in a soft tortilla, without cheese, and the tortilla is softer as it’s not grilled.
Where Did Quesabirria Tacos Originate?
Opinions about the origin of this type of taco are divided. Some claim that they came from the Cocula, Jalisco, but as they were made with goat meat, they were slightly different. Others say it all started with food trucks in Tijuana before it exploded in Northern California. Both are correct.
Don Guadalupe Zárate moved to Tijuana from Cocula in the late 1950s and opened a street stand. He sold birria de chivo, carne asada and abobada (al pastor). He changed out the goat meat for beef and apparently added more liquid so the meat wouldn’t burn. Through the 80s, birria de res was growing in popularity among a younger crowd, but these tacos didn’t have cheese.
As the tacos became more and more popular in 2015 another food stand was opened called Birrieria Gonzalez that sold birria de res with cheese and consume back in Tijuana and wanted to expand. It wasn’t until 2018 that quesabirria tacos became a viral sensation and from they became popular everywhere in the US and Mexico.
Recipe Pointers For Chilaquiles Verdes Recipe
There are many different types of chile in Mexico. If you can’t find guajillo chiles, you can replace it with serrano.
While originally at the taco trucks and food stands, a grill is used to prepare everything, a frying pan will do just fine.
If you can’t find corn tortillas you can use flour tortillas. There’s a difference in taste and the tortilla will soak less, but your quesabirria tacos will still turn out fine.
If you want your quesabirria tacos to taste slightly spicier, replace half of your Oaxaca cheese with Manchego. Oaxaca cheese is milder, but has a less firm flavor.
Mexican Quesabirria Tacos Recipe
Mexican quesabirria tacos is a new recipe that emerged from Mexican food trucks in California. It features a unique and crunchy twist on known tacos de birria.
Ingredients
For the Birria:
- 3 lbs of chuck roast
- 8 dried guajillo chilies
- 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
- 1 whole garlic
- 1 tsp whole cumin
- 1 white onion
- 1 tsp whole coriander
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp of whole peppercorns
- 4 cups beef broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cups of water
For the Consommé (Birria broth):
- Reserved cooking liquid from the birria
- ½ white onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
For Assembling Tacos:
- 12 corn tortillas
- 12 oz Oaxaca cheese
- 2 tbsp cilantro
- ½ white onion, finely chopped
- 1 lime in wedges
Instructions
- Preparing the Ingredients:
- Remove the seeds from 8 guajillo chilies.
- Peel and chop one of the onions.
- Cut the top off a whole garlic bulb and remove some of the outer skin.
- Cut your beef into large pieces.
- Grind together cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cloves, and oregano until it's a fine powder. - Cooking the Birria:
- In a large pot, put the beef, guajillo chilies, chopped onion, garlic, bay leaves, the ground spice mix, some salt, beef broth, and water. Cook this on high heat for about 30 minutes.
- In a blender, put the quartered Roma tomatoes.
- Remove the guajillo chilies, onion, garlic (after peeling), and about half a cup of the broth. Blend these with the tomatoes until it's smooth.
- Strain this blended sauce and add it back to the broth in the pot. Continue cooking for 3 hours on low-medium heat, with the lid slightly covering the pot and stirring every 30 minutes. - Preparing the Tacos:
- When the meat is very tender, take it out of the pot and let it cool a bit.
- Finely chop the remaining onion.
- Chop half of the cilantro finely and remove the stems from the other half. Set this cilantro aside.
- Shred the beef using two forks.
- Remove the oil that's floating on top of the broth with a spoon and put it on a plate.
- Dip your tortillas in this oil and then add cheese and beef to each tortilla.
- In a pan with a bit of oil, cook the tacos on medium heat. After about a minute, fold them in half.
- Cook the folded tacos for another minute on each side until golden brown. Repeat for all the tacos. - Making the Consommé:
- Take about a cup of the broth and mix it with the finely
chopped cilantro and diced onions in a bowl to create a flavorful consommé. - Serving the Tacos:
- Add cilantro leaves, lime wedges, and the remaining diced onions as garnishes to your tacos.
- Serve your delicious Birria tacos with the consommé for dipping. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 467Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 587mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 38g
