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–+ servings

Birria Quesadillas Tacos

These wonderful birria quesadilla tacos are so good. They’re rich in meaty flavor, along with cheese and chiles, and they come with a flavorful dipping sauce you’ll love too.
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Cook Time 4 hours
Course Main
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pounds pot roast beef
  • 8 cups water
  • 5 pounds beef shanks or beef bones with marrow
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 onions
  • Whole head of garlic plus 8 garlic cloves
  • 5 guajillo chiles
  • 5 ancho chiles
  • 2 pasilla chiles
  • 3 or 4 chiles de arbol optional because they’re spicy!
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried ginger or 2 inches peeled fresh ginger
  • 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon or a 1-inch stick
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves or 5 whole ones
  • 1 cup cooking liquid from chiles
  • 1 canned chipotle pepper
  • 3 or 4 Roma tomatoes
  • Salt to taste
  • 24 corn tortillas
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro
  • Lime wedges
  • 4 cups shredded chihuahua cheese or similar melting cheese

Instructions
 

  • Cut the beef into small chunks and put in a pot with the beef shanks and 8 cups of water (or more to cover).
  • Add a halved onion, 8 garlic cloves, a tablespoon of salt and 4 bay leaves, and simmer gently.
  • Meanwhile, you can make the sauce. Discard the veins and seeds from the dried chiles and rinse.
  • Put the chiles in a pot and add water to cover.
  • Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Put some water in another pan and boil the tomatoes in there until soft.
  • Put the softened chiles in a blender with the herbs, spices, vinegar, ½ an onion, 8 garlic cloves, tomatoes, a 1 cup of cooking liquid from the chiles.
  • Blend to a puree, adding more liquid if necessary.
  • Pour this sauce into the pot with the meat in it, straining it through a sieve.
  • Cook the meat mixture for another 3 to 3½ hours or until the meat is tender.
  • Take the meat out of the broth and shred.
  • Discard any chunks of fat from the meat.
  • Skim the liquid fat that’s rendered to the top of the stew and put in a dish.
  • Dip about ⅓ of a corn tortilla into the rendered beef fat you just put in the dish and then put it on a hot griddle.
  • Swish it around a bit so the beef fat spreads.
  • Add some of the beef mixture and some cheese to the tortilla and fold over.
  • Cook until crisp on one side, then flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side too.
  • Repeat until you’ve used all the tortillas and all the meat and cheese.
  • Put some of the beef broth and meat in a small bowl and serve this as a dipping sauce for the tacos.
Keyword Birria Quesadillas Tacos
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