Quesabirria Tacos

This is the part of our 2024 project: The Alphabet Challenge. Hosted by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, I thought this would be a fun culinary adventure. We will be posting every two weeks. I hope you follow along...or join in as you can. This should be fun.

Q is for...

• Asian Quinoa Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Butternut Squash Taco Ravioli with Queso Fresco by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

• Cointreau Glazed Orange Quick Bread by Food Lust People Love

• Loaded Quinoa Breakfast Bowl by Jolene’s Recipe Journal

• Quebecoise Pommes Persillade by Palatable Pastime

• Quesabirria Tacos by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Queso Paratha by Magical Ingredients

• Quick Potato Instant Sambar - Without Dal  by Sneha’s Recipe

• Quinoa Crunch Bars by A Messy Kitchen

• Quinoa Paniyaram by Mayuri’s Jikoni

• Sheet Pan Quesadillas by Blogghetti

• Whole Wheat Quinoa Bread by Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Quesabirria is a Mexican dish with origins in Tijuana comprised of birria-style cooked meat folded into a tortilla with melted cheese and served with a side of broth for dipping. Originally, this was made with goat meat, but most people now use beef.

This is my first attempt at making them for myself. I think it went pretty well though R commented that my broth was less red in color and less oily.

Our Quesabirria Journey

Back in 2022, we took a secret food tour of San Francisco's Mission District that introduced us to quesabirria at La Vaca Birria.

Then we stumbled upon a birria food truck in Paso Robles during my fiftieth birthday get-away. Jake says that might be his favorite iteration of this dish. Of course I took that as a personal challenge. I finally got around to making my own version. R had messaged that he would be coming down to grab an old computer for a project...that he would arrive at 6pm. I told him dinner would be ready at 7pm. Nothing gives me more joy than feeding my boys and their friends!

While they took apart the (ancient) Macintosh Plus and cleaned it out, I finished up dinner and set the table. Please note that my rub is not traditional; I wanted to add cocoa powder to mimic the depth of flavor that I love in mole (my three-chile mole).

Ingredients

Birria-Style Beef

• 3 to 4 pounds beef (I used a brisket)

• 1 Tablespoon oil

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 dried ancho chile, seeds and stem removed

• 1 dried guajillo chile, seeds and stem removed

• 1 onion, peeled and quartered

• 3 carrots, cut into 3-inch lengths

• 3 to 4 celery stalks, cut into 3-inch lengths

• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed

• 1 tomato, halved

• 4 cups beef stock

Tacos

• 20 to 24 yellow corn tortillas

• 4 to 5 cups shredded Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese

• oil for the pan

Serving

• Crema Oaxaqueña

• a variety of salsas

• fresh chopped white onions

• fresh chopped cilantro

• fresh lime wedges

Birria-Style Beef

In a small bowl mix together the oregano, cocoa powder, paprikas, cumin, salt, and pepper. Place the brisket on a plate and massage the spice blend evenly into all sides of the beef.

Heat oil in a large lidded pot; I use a Dutch oven. Sear the spiced brisket for about 3 minutes on each surface. Add the remaining ingredient into the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Let the meat braise for 3 to 4 hours.

Remove the meat from braising liquid. Turn the heat up on the liquid and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid is reduced by about a third. In the meantime, use two forks to shred the brisket. Pour some of the braising liquid in to shallow rimmed bowl; pour the rest over the shredded beef until ready to assemble the tacos.

Tacos

Heat a slick of oil on a skillet. Dip two tortillas in the braising liquid and place it on the skillet. Scatter cheese over the tortilla and place shredded beef on one half. Let sizzle until golden brown and melted, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. You can keep the finished tacos warm in the oven on a baking sheet until ready to serve.

Spoon some of the braising liquid into ramekins or small bowls. Serve with Crema Oaxaqueña, a variety of salsas, fresh chopped white onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and fresh lime wedges.

The Alphabet Challenge So Far...

My posts are below with links to everyone else's recipes. I skipped letter 'F' apparently. Enjoy!

• A Reclaimed Æbleskiver Pan + Æbleskiver Bread Pudding

• Börek with a California Twist

• Crab-Stuffed Ravioli

• Dark Chocolate-Juniper Panna Cotta

• Elderflower & Roasted Strawberry Layer Cake

• Aïgo Bouido (Provençal Garlic Soup)

• Halva with Fiori di Sicilia

• I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Saffron-Cardamom Ice Cream

• Bulgogi-Inspired Oven Beef Jerky

• Purple Napa Kimchi

• Lingcod Over Legumes

• Mushrooms in My Cookies? Yep. Candy Cap Cookies.

• Nocino, Italian Green Walnut Liqueur

• How to Shuck Oysters and a Few Serving Ideas

• A Parade of Pickles, Including Pickled Chard Stems