Birria Quesadillas recipe is made of flavorful shredded beef and gooey sandwiched cheese between two crisp, buttery golden tortillas. They are a savory, smokey, and cheesy dish that combines beef marinated in chiles and traditional quesadillas.
Are you excited about learning the homemade Birria recipe?
In this recipe, you will learn everything you need to prepare this recipe using the easiest method.
What is Birria Quesadillas?
Birria is a Mexican meat stew pronounced as Bee-Ri-Uh. It uses lamb meat and an assortment of chiles in a chile-laden broth that yields tender and flavorful meat.
It is cooked low and slow to form a flavorful consomé and super tender and juicy meat.
In addition, the Birria Quesadilla recipe uses chuck roast instead of goat meat or lamb meat which is marinated in that saucy stock until it is fork tender.
However, the birria recipe is not spicy, but you can add your favorite peppers if you want to add heat
This recipe is a perfect meal for serving a crowd for game day appetizers or the main course for a family dinner.
It is also perfect for movie nights, weeknight meals, Sunday dinners, and even events like birthdays or holiday dinners!
How To Make Birria Quesadillas
In this section, we will discuss, in detail, the ingredients needed for Birria Quesadillas and how to prepare them.
Equipment Needed
- Pressure Cooker
- Medium Saucepan
- Large Fry Pan
- Large Pot/ Dutch Oven
Ingredients Needed For Birria
- 2 pounds Chuck Roast
- 2 Dried Guajillo Chile Pods
- 2 Dried Ancho Chile Pods
- 2 Chipotle Chiles in Adobo
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon of cumin powder
- 1 clove
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of Vegetable oil
- 12 corn tortillas taco size
- 2 cups of Oaxaca or Mozzarella cheese Shredded
Ingredients Needed for Quesabirria
- 2 tablespoons of Oil
- 1 tablespoon of Butter
- 12 Flour tortillas burrito size
- ½ cup Mexican blend cheese
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese
- Cilantro
Ingredients Notes
- Chiles: The combination of chile de arbol, ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, and canned chipotle peppers in adobo helps it become smoky and sweet, with just a bit of spiciness.
- Aromatics: Use Onion, garlic, bay leaves, and cloves to give the birria a deep, complex flavor.
- Cinnamon Stick adds so much flavor and richness!
- A can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and Tomato paste helps give it a rich taste that goes so well with the seasonings and aromatics!
- Beef stock helps the liquid base of your broth and the foundation of the beef flavor.
Instructions On How To Prepare The Birria
- Soak the Ancho and Guajillo chiles in boiling water for 20 minutes.
- Remove the seeds from the chiles once cooled down and reserve the soaking water.
- Add salt and pepper to your chuck roast and roast it on a cast iron skillet or hot pan for about 2 minutes on each side, then set aside and let it rest.
- Using the same skillet, add the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, onions, tomatoes, cumin, salt, bay leaf, clove, and oregano and cook until onions are translucent
- Add the garlic cloves and cook until fragrant for about 1 minute
- Add the soaked Ancho and Guajillo chiles and cook for 1 more minute
- Then add the chipotle chiles with adobo with 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 be added to your blender.
- Blend on low speed to create a marinade, then add the vinegar and blend well
- Cut the chuck roast into 5 to 6 chunks and add them to your instant pot
- Add the blended spices and chiles, making sure to cover all the meat with the marinade
- Set instant pot to high pressure and cook for 45 minutes
- Allow it to cook again for 10-15 minutes of natural pressure release. Then do a quick release of the remaining pressure
- Remove the beef and separate it from the au jus or caldo that has been created in the instant pot
- Reserve the juices from cooking to dip your tortillas or be added to the meat when served
- Quesabirrias
- Dip the corn tortillas in the beef broth that you have reserved, then 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.
- You can serve it with a side of birria consome (broth) and garnish with cilantro and onions.
Instructions On How To Prepare The Quesadillas
- Melt butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Dip the tortilla into the reserved juices from the pot and place it into the pan.
- Add ½ cup Mexican Blend Cheese Mixture and ½ cup Mozzarella
- Add about 1 cup of the shredded beef to the cheese and place the second tortilla on top.
- Flip over in the pan and allow the second side to crisp.
- Remove from pan and enjoy with traditional warm birria broth!
You can also serve it with Mexican Spaghetti, refried beans, tortillas chips, and freshly chopped cilantro
Cooking Information
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 1 hr 30 mins
Serving: 6
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 782kcal
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Protein: 48g
- Fat: 42g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Cholesterol: 133 mg
- Sodium: 2274mg
- Potassium: 1573mg
- Fiber: 15g
- Sugar: 20g
- Vitamin A: 6871 IU
- Vitamin C: 20mg
- Calcium: 281mg
- Iron: 11mg
Expert Tips
- You can use corn If you don’t want to use flour tortillas.
- If the tortillas feel stiff, you can warm flour tortillas in the microwave on a damp paper towel.
- You can also use Oaxaca cheese instead of using a Mexican blend and mozzarella,
- You can use this recipe with goat, lamb, veal, or mutton instead of chuck roast.
- You can make the birria a day or two ahead to save time; then, you can just make the quesadillas and warm up the broth for dipping.
Conclusion
Birria Quesadillas is a Mexican dish made of lamb or goat meat and an assortment of chiles in a chile-laden broth that yields tender and flavorful meat.
It is cooked low and slow to form a flavorful consomé and super tender and juicy meat.
It is a perfect meal for serving a crowd or for game day appetizers, or the main course for a family dinner.
Birria Quesadillas is also perfect for movie nights, weeknight meals, Sunday dinners, and even events like birthdays or holiday dinners!
However, to make a perfect Birria Quesadillas, we have highlighted the equipment, ingredients, and simple steps to make this meal.
We have also given tips on how to make the preparation and ingredient substitution easier for you.
We hope that you have fun trying this fun.
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