Birria quesadillas are a savory, smokey and cheesy dish that combines birria meat (beef marinated in chiles) and traditional quesadillas.
Birria
Birria (pronounced Bee-Ri-Uh) is a Mexican meat stew (originally goat), in a chile-laden broth that yields tender and flavorful meat.
Traditionally, birria uses lamb meat and an assortment of chiles. However a piece of chuck roast will do the job just as well.
Birria does not need to be spicy. The level of heat will depend on the chiles that you choose to use and how well you deseed them
My birria recipe is not spicy, but if you want to add heat you can add your favorite peppers.
You can make this recipe in the stove top, your slow cooker or the instant pot. I prefer the ladder because it is quick and the meat is tender in no time.
Tortillas for birria
For this recipe, we are using corn tortillas. Because they are absorb the birria jus much better than flour tortillas but feel free to use the tortillas you like best.
In this recipe, the corn tortillas are dipped in the birria consome, the broth the birria was cooked in, then cheese and shredded beef are folded in and cooked until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese is melty.
To serve, a side of the birria jus with cilantro and onions for dipping is the way to go.
Best cheese for quesabirrias
The best cheese is a good melty cheese. Mozzarella will do the job in a pinch, but if you can find Oaxaca, Asadero or Quesadilla style Mexican cheeses, you can't go wrong with any of them.
Asadero cheese is one of my favorites. It is great for melting and mild in flavor.
Oaxaca is a great cheese as well, it is stringy and very much like a mozzarella.
Birria Quesadillas
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Chuck Roast
- 2 Dried Guajillo Chile Pods
- 2 Dried Ancho Chile Pods
- 2 Chipotle Chiles in Adobo
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 clove
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon destilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 12 corn tortillas taco size
- 2 cups Oaxaca or Mozzarella cheese Shredded
Instructions
For the Birria
- Soak the Ancho and Guajillo chiles in boiling water for 20 minutes. Once cooled down, remove the seeds from the chiles. Reserve the soaking water.
- Add salt and pepper to your chuck roast and sear it on a cast iron skillet or hot pan for about 2 minutes on each side. Set aside and let it rest.
- in the same skillet, add the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, onions, tomatoes, cumin, salt, bay leaf, clove and oregano and cook until onions are transluscent
- Add the garlic cloves and cook until fragrant. About 1 minute
- Add the Ancho and Guajillo chiles and cook for 1 more minute
- Add the chipotle chiles with adobo and 1 cup of the water that was used to soak the chile ancho and guajillo
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down enough to add to your blender and blend on low speed to create a marinade. Add the vinegar and blend well
- Cut the chuck roast in 5-6 chunks and add them to your instant pot
- Add the blended spices and chiles and make sure to cover all the meat with the marinade
- Set instant pot to high pressure and cook for 45 minutes
- Once time is up, allow 10-15 minutes of natural pressure release. After that do a quick release of the remaining pressure
- Remove the beef and separate from the au jus or caldo that has formed in the instant pot
- Reserve the juices from cooking to dip your tortillas or add to the meat when served
Quesabirrias
- Dip the corn tortillas in the beef broth that you have reserved
- Add a scoop of the shredded birria and top with Oaxa cheese (or mozzarella)
- Fold the tortilla in half and cook it on a skillet at medium-high heat until the cheese melts.
- Serve with a side of birria consome (broth) and garnish with cilantro and onions
Candace
Ummm when do you add the vinegar?
Isabel
When blending the chiles to create the marinade. Thanks for catching that, I updated the post.
Savanah Bartz
Is there no other liquid that goes in besides the marinade? I worry about using the Instant Pot without enough liquid.
Isabel
That should be enough but you can also add some chicken/beef broth about 1 cup
Shyla
How about in a slow cooker? Do j need to add broth and do I cook on low for 8 hours??
Isabel
Yes! Until beef is fork tender.
Kat
How much water is used for boiling the Acho and Guajillo chiles?
Isabel
I used about 3/4 cup of the cooking water.
Matthew Wimberley
so you used 3/4 cup of the cooking water, how much do actually use to soak the chiles?
Isabel
Use about 2 cups of water.
Bernardo Adame
Excellent Recipe and instructions!! Here's a little cheat code that I use when I'm strap for time. On the weekends my local Mexican grocery store have both Beef and Goat Barbacoa available. Depending on what I have a taste for, I buy about 2 pounds of this cooked meat and I make sure to get extra broth (2cups) which they don't charge for. Then I make the Birria sauce just like in your recipe. Then I combine the cooked barbacoa with its juice and the Birria sauce in a pot and warm covered on medium low heat for 15 mins. Then I let it sit for 5 mins and then make the Birria tacos!! Depending on the person, some say it tastes better others say it comes out just as good!!