Quesabirria Birria Tacos Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Serves: 4-6 people with sides
Ingredients Needed
- Oil for frying
- 1 yellow or white onion, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.2kgs/2.6lbs beef chuck and beef cheek (can use all chuck), cut into large chunks
- 4 cups/1 litre chicken stock
- 400g/14oz diced tomatoes
- 200g Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce
- 1/4 cup/60ml/2flozs apple cider vinegar
- 2.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 12 mini flour tortillas
- 200g/7ozs shredded mozzarella (I do half mozz, half tasty/cheddar cheese)
- Limes, coriander and white onion to serve
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Set your instant pot to sauté for 15 minutes and once hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of oil and fry the onion until translucent (around 5-6 minutes) adding more oil if needed. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Then add the spice mix (cinnamon, oregano, cumin, cloves and bay leaves) and fry for a minute. Then add the beef chunks and allow to brown turning over to ensure the pieces are browned all over.
Step 2 - Blend the Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce with the tomatoes in a food processor or Thermomix (20 seconds, speed #8) until smooth. Add this mixture along with the chicken stock and apple cider vinegar to the pot. Add salt, sugar and pepper and set to pressure cook on high for 45 minutes. You can also cook this in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low.
Step 3 - Release the pressure and remove the beef from the broth reserving 1/3 cup of broth and discard the bay leaves. At this point you can place the rest of the broth in a container in the fridge or freezer so that the fat starts to separate on top if you make it a day ahead of time. Or you can just skim the fat off the top with a spoon or you can use a pastry brush to just brush the top of the liquid where it will catch the fat.
Step 4 - Take the meat and shred with two forks and mix with the 1/3 cup of broth. Place a large skillet on medium heat. Brush the orange coloured oil on one side of the tortillas and place the tortilla oil side down. Add some beef and cheese on one half of the circle and cook for 1-2 minutes then fold over the tortilla using a spatula. Fry on both sides until crispy and the cheese is melted. Open up each tortilla a little and add a tablespoon or so of coriander and onion. Taste the consome for seasoning adding more if needed and then serve tacos with a bowl of hot consome and a wedge of lime and enjoy!
Personal Note
I've left this for Mr NQN's dinner a few times this week when I went out and he absolutely loves it. He will happily devour three tacos or a big bowl of birria ramen. The other night I went out to dinner with Laura leaving Mr NQN at home. It was a big week where I was out every single night and that's a lot for introverted Mr NQN so I decided to leave him at home with some food and the dogs which is his happy place. I arrived back home around 11pm. The street parking was completely full so I parked in our driveway. I also don't mind driving by myself because I can really crank up the music which Mr NQN doesn't like and I can sing along to my favourite songs.
Mr NQN's office is in the front of the house and at any hour you can find him tapping away at his computer. I could see the light on so he must have been waiting up for me. When I parked I went to the front door he opened it for me. "How did you know I was here?" I said.
"I knew you were here as soon as you pulled up, I could hear your music," he said chuckling. I was surprised because I always thought that your car was a bit of a cone of silence. Sure I've seen people pull up next to me playing music loudly but their windows were always down but apparently even with all the windows up you can definitely hear the music! No wonder people look at me when I pull up to a light!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like birria tacos? Do you play music loudly in the car?