If you want a taco that will knock your socks off, then you need to make these Quesabirria Tacos. Filled with delicious tender birria meat and gooey melted cheese. To top it off, the outside of the corn tortillas are pan seared making it crispy and full of so much flavor.
If you know anything about me at all it's this — tacos are my love language. On average, I eat Mexican food at least twice a week. We have a taco food truck in our area that serves THE best Quesbirria Tacos. I drool every time I eat them. I knew I had to try my hand at making them myself and I must say — they are out of this world amazing.
Another great taco recipe to try are these Cheesy Taco Pockets made using canned biscuits. These are great for little hands!
What are Quesabirria Tacos
These tacos are a Mexican dish that was created in Tijuana. These large tortillas are filled with shredded birria beef and Oaxaca cheese and then cooked in a pan on the stove until the cheese is melted and the outside is crispy.
For the best birria recipe, you only need one pan and one pot. There is minimal prep involved and it is a recipe that is budget-friendly.
How to Make This Birria Taco Recipe
For the taco meat, you will need the following ingredients —
- 3 pounds chuck roast — (You can also use short ribs, beef shank, goat meat, or whatever kind of meat you get from your local grocery store)
- 8 dried guajillo chilies
- 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered.
- 1 whole garlic bulb — no need to separate the garlic gloves
- 1 white onion, quartered.
- 1 tsp whole cumin
- 1 tsp whole coriander
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- tsp whole peppercorns
- 4-5 whole cloves
- 4 cups beef broth
4 cups water - Bay leaf (you need 3)
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
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 chunks. Grind together cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cloves, and oregano until it's a fine powder. You can use a spice grinder for this or you can do it the old-fashioned way with a mortar and pestle.
Cooking the Meat
In a large pot or a large Dutch oven, put the beef, guajillo peppers, chopped onion, garlic, bay leaves, the ground spice mix, some salt, beef broth, and water. Cook this on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes. Of course, you can also do this in an instant pot or a slow cooker. Slow-cooked beef always shreds very easily.
In a blender or a food processor, 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 Birria stew in the pot. Continue cooking for 3 hours on medium heat, with the lid slightly covering the pot and stirring every 30 minutes.
Prepare the Ingredients
When the meat is very tender, take it out of the pot, put it in a large bowl, and let it cool a bit. Then shred the beef using two forks. Set the shredded meat aside.
Finely chop the remaining onion and cut the limes into eight pieces. Set those aside.
Chop half of the cilantro finely and remove the stems from the other half. Set this cilantro aside.
Shred the cheese.
Remove the oil that's floating on top of the broth with a spoon and put it on a plate. The oil you remove from the top of the stew will be used with the tortillas.
Dip your corn tortillas in this oil and then add cheese and the shredded beef to each of the warm tortillas. If you are not a fan of corn, you can always use flour tortillas.
In a pan with a bit of olive oil, cook the tacos on medium heat. After about a minute, fold them in half on top of the melty cheese.
Cook the folded tacos for another minute on each side until they're golden brown. Repeat for all the tacos.
For the Birria Broth
For the Birria broth, you will need the reserved cooking liquid from the taco meat, ½ white onion, finely chopped, and ¼ cup chopped cilantro.
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 as a dipping sauce and a squeeze of lime juice for your next taco night. If you have any leftover Birria meat, store it in an airtight container until you are ready to use it for more tacos.
For More Mexican Inspired Dishes, Check These Out
- Quick and Easy Taco Soup
- Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Tacos
- Taco Bell CrunchWrap
- 15 Minute Shrimp Tacos Recipe
Quesabirria Tacos
These Quesabirria tacos are the best tacos you will ever eat. Minimal ingredients and easy to prepare.
Ingredients
For the Birria:
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- 8 dried guajillo chilies
- 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered.
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- 1 white onion, quartered.
- 1 tsp whole cumin
- 1 tsp whole coriander
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp whole peppercorns
- 4-5 whole cloves
- 4 cups beef broth
- 4 cups water
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
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 Grated Oaxaca cheese
- 2 tbsp cilantro
- ½ white onion, finely chopped.
- Lime 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.
Cut the limes into eight pieces.
Chop half of the cilantro finely and remove the stems from the other half. Set this cilantro aside.
Shred your cheese.
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 they're 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: 781mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 38g