- We Learned to Cook
Quesabirria Tacos
Quesabirria Tacos are crispy, delicious gifts from the gods of Mexican food. Much of their bold flavor comes from guajillo chiles, whole cloves and Mexican cinnamon. Grab ahold of one, dip it in our flavorful consommé and then wonder why you haven't tried this recipe sooner!
This is one of our favorites. EVERYONE in the house loves Quesabirria Taco night, which is rare for our family, since we have some picky eaters.
We learned about this dish from the owner of our favorite Mexican Restaurant in Texas...a little gem called Mi Casa. It's a small, family-owned place that has been making birria beef for a long, long time and have now introduced various spin-offs of traditional Quesabirria Tacos including birria burritos, birria nachos and birria quesadillas.
As much as we wanted to, we didn't dare ask what made these tacos so tasty. Most restaurateurs are fairly guarded about their recipes—and for good reason. So, we set about trying to recreate this fantastic Mexican meal on our own.
Most Quesabirria Tacos are made using chuck roast which works extremely well. We've also had good luck with tri-tip, shoulder roast and rump roast. Just make sure to trim off any excess fat before cooking.
One of the great things about Quesabirria Tacos, is their variety and depth of flavor. The ingredients blend perfectly to form a robust, unique taste. But the individual flavors aren't lost among the whole. You can still pick out hints of clove, cinnamon, cumin and more.
Another fun thing about Quesabirria Tacos is the beautiful consommé, which is made by combining the birria broth with finely chopped cilantro and onions. Now consommé is typically known as a soup, but we're using it in this recipe like aus jus in a French Dip sandwich...a Mexican dip if you will.
We've experimented with various kinds of dried chiles including, arbol chiles, ancho chiles and New Mexico chiles, but we always come back to our favorite—guajillo chiles. The flavor just seems more on point to the taste we're looking for. Of course, it's totally a personal preference thing, so if your tastebuds like a different type of chile, please feel free to use your favorite.
Our recipe calls for these to be finished off in a frying pan. We soak the tortillas in the birria broth, then fry them in oil. If you're trying to be more healthy or you just don't do fried food, these tacos are great on a regular fresh tortilla. If you want to get creative, you could even finish these tacos in the air fryer as another option.
What we like about this recipe!
Nicole - Texture is a big thing for me when cooking and I love the crunch of the fried tortilla coupled with the rich, soft blend of birria beef and cheese. It's a match made in birria heaven.
Mike - I love that we actually got close to the flavor of the Quesabirria Tacos from our favorite restaurant. The dish itself is amazing, but I'm happier about the journey we took and the things we learned trying to recreate these beautiful tacos.
Quesabirria Taco 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 stick Mexican Cinnamon
● 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
How to make Quesabirria Tacos.
Preparation of Ingredients:
De-seed 8 guajillo chilies.
Peel and dice one onion.
Remove the top of a garlic bulb and peel off some of the outer skin.
Cut beef into large pieces.
Grind cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cloves, and oregano into a fine powder.
Cooking the Birria:
In a large pot, combine beef, guajillo chilies, diced onion, garlic, bay leaves, ground spice mix, salt, beef broth, and water. Cook on high heat for approximately 30 minutes.
In a blender, blend quartered Roma tomatoes.
Remove guajillo chilies, onion, peeled garlic, and a cup of broth. Blend with tomatoes until smooth.
Strain the sauce and return to the pot. Continue cooking for 3 hours on low-medium heat, stirring every 30 minutes with the lid slightly covering the pot.
Taco Preparation:
Once meat is tender, remove from pot and let cool.
Finely chop the remaining onion.
Cut limes into eight pieces.
Finely chop half the cilantro, remove stems from the other half. Set aside.
Shred cheese.
Shred beef with two forks.
Skim oil from broth, dip tortillas in oil, add cheese and beef, then cook in a pan with oil until golden brown. Fold and repeat for all tacos.
Consommé:
Mix a cup of broth with chopped cilantro and diced onions to make a flavorful consommé.
Serving Tacos:
Garnish tacos with cilantro leaves, lime wedges, and diced onions. Serve with consommé for dipping. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
This recipe calls for chuck roast, but you can use tri-tip, shoulder roast or rump roast. Just make sure to trim off any excess fat before cooking.
If you're looking to make this dish a little healthier you can skip the pan frying portion to finish off the tacos. They turn out great in a regular, fresh tortilla.
Our instructions recommend using grated Oaxaca cheese, but you can use Mozzarella, Asadero or even Monterey Jack.
We use a stone mortar and pestle set to grind our spices because, well, it's kind of fun. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, just use a small blender like a Magic Bullet or Ninja. Both work great.
Roma tomatoes blend perfectly in Quesabirria Tacos, but you can use most other types of tomatoes as well.
We like guajillo chiles but they can be substituted with arbol chiles, ancho chiles or New Mexico chiles.
FAQs
What should I serve with Quesabirria Tacos? These handheld delights are a meal on their own, but you can also pair them with tortilla chips, refried beans, Mexican rice, Mexican street corn, salad, etc.
Can I store the leftovers in the refrigerator? Yes, but don't assemble the tacos with the tortillas. We recommend storing the birria beef by itself and then making the tacos again when you're ready. The beef will last 3-4 days refrigerated in an air-tight container.
Can you make this dish in the slow cooker? Absolutely! You'll want to boil all the ingredients for 20 minutes before you place them in the food processor. Once pureed, pour the sauce over the beef and cook on low for 8-9 hours. Then, simply assemble the tacos as described in the directions above.
