Authentic Quesabirria Recipe (Birria Tacos) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between birria tacos and quesabirria tacos? ›

Preparation and variations

Quesabirria is "a cross between a taco and a quesadilla." It comprises a corn tortilla with either mozzarella or Chihuahua cheese melted with stewed meat. The meat is often beef – commonly brisket – in contrast to birria, which is traditionally made with goat.

Chunks of meat are stewed in a flavorful broth with spices. The dish is traditionally made using goat meat, but it is also commonly made with beef, veal, lamb or pork. In the United States, you can expect birria to be made with beef, specifically with chuck roast.

Birria sauce is made by blending dried chiles, Mexican oregano, cloves, garlic, cumin, and a few other spices together. The final result is a smooth, rich, and spicy sauce perfect for flavoring meats and other proteins. It's one of those recipes that you really need to taste to understand.

To get crispy corn tortillas for birria tacos, you can follow these tips: Double Tortillas:Use two tortillas per taco. This helps to strengthen the structure and prevents the tortillas from becoming soggy. Heat them together on a griddle or skillet.

In short, corn tortillas are the way to go for your birria tacos. If you really like flour tortillas you can use them too, but in that case you'll be eating a birria burrito and you experience will be different.

Birria (Spanish: [ˈbirja]) is a meat stew or soup made from goat, beef, lamb, mutton, or chicken. The meat is marinated in an adobo made of vinegar, dried chiles, garlic, and herbs and spices (including cumin, bay leaves, and thyme) before being cooked in a broth (Spanish: consomé).

A combination of two meats creates the best balance of tender texture from chuck roast and succulence from short ribs. The beef's slow-cooked flavor comes from the adobo sauce.

Birria tacos feature tortillas filled with the stew's tender, juicy meat. The tortillas are dipped in the thin layer of fat that floats to the top of the birria, then filled with meat and thrown on the griddle, giving them their Instagram-worthy look and addictively crispy exterior.

The key to a good birria taco is the meat, which can be made with a variety of options like beef, pork, or chicken. However, the traditional option is goat meat. The spices used in birria can also vary but typically include chili peppers, garlic, cumin, and oregano.

How do you make sure birria tacos don't go soggy? Fresh tortillas are an important trick in avoiding sogginess as they absorb less moisture. Make sure not to add too much sauce before frying too, as it will weaken the structure.

What is birria broth called? ›

For this recipe, I use beef. Cooked slowly in a rich and spicy consomé—a deeply flavorful red broth made with dried Mexican chiles, herbs, spices, and aromatics—the meat becomes tender and is served shredded in the consomé.

The most crucial thing to remember when making the sauce is not to overboil the chilies, which turns them bitter. According to Zepeda, this is the most common mistake people make when preparing birria. Another mistake to avoid: Don't throw away your cilantro stems!

If you use store bought tortillas you need to warm them up before folding them into a taco. Also, if you are serving your birria with a lot of broth, your tortilla might come apart, you might want to try using two, but I can almost bet you encountered the problem because the tortilla was not warm enough.

Birria tacos look red because they are dipped in the consommé spiced with red chiles and tomatoes. Dipping them in it and then pan-frying them gives them that glorious deep red color.

Next, add the beef broth and the spices and bring the mixture to a boil. Finally, reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes or until it has thickened to your desired consistency. Once the sauce is ready, you can make birria tacos or any other dish that calls for berry sauce.

Birria tacos feature tortillas filled with the stew's tender, juicy meat. The tortillas are dipped in the thin layer of fat that floats to the top of the birria, then filled with meat and thrown on the griddle, giving them their Instagram-worthy look and addictively crispy exterior.

As I explain below, there are endless variations of birria to be found nowadays around different regions in Mexico, made with various kinds of meat, cooking methods, signature blends of seasonings, consistencies of consommés (broths), and more.

These delicious tacos are made with tender, slow-cooked meat and a flavorful blend of spices, all served up on a crispy corn tortilla.

But it is very different from the tacos you are used to because the filling is wrapped in grilled cheese instead of a tortilla: The QuesaTaco. Think of a taco without a tortilla; yes, we said “without a tortilla”. It sounds easy and much too basic to be a brilliant idea. But that is what makes it genius.