Birria Quesatacos
WHAT YOU NEED
- 3 pounds boneless chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 dried guajillo chiles
- 4 dried ancho chiles
- Water as needed
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 to 2 cups beef broth
- 2 packages Cacique® Oaxaca, shredded
- Ranchero Queso Fresco, for garnish
- 1 cup diced onion, for garnish
- 1 cup chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Lime wedges, for garnish
- Equipment needed: Dutch Oven or Large Pot, Medium Pot, Large Skillet or Flat Griddle Pan, Blender Mesh Wire Strainer
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Cut the onion in half, then cut one half into quarters and dice the remaining for garnish. Cut beef into medium size pieces then season with salt and pepper. Place a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. When hot, add beef to pot and sear on all sides. Add the quartered onions to the pot and cook two minutes more. Remove Dutch oven from heat and set aside while you make the sauce.
- For the sauce: Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chile peppers. In a medium pot, add the chiles, tomatoes, the cooked quartered onions, cloves of garlic, and bay leaf. Pour in about 4 cups of water to cover all ingredients. Place on stove over medium-high heat and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Add dried oregano, cumin seeds, dried thyme, and salt and peppercorns. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.
- Strain the contents of the sauce pot into a large wire-mesh strainer over a large bowl, reserve the broth for blending. Place contents into a blender, discarding the bay leaf. Add 2 cups of the reserved broth from the sauce into the blender, 1 cup of beef broth and blend until smooth.
- Place the Dutch oven pot with the beef back on the stove at medium heat. Pour the contents of the blender over the beef, you can add more beef broth if the sauce does not cover the beef. Bring to a simmer, then cover and lower heat. Simmer until meat is tender for about 2.5 hours. Turn off heat, remove beef from the sauce, and shred meat with forks. Reserve the sauce for serving.
- Spray a large skillet or flat griddle pan with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Place a handful of shredded Oaxaca to form your “tortilla”, with a large spatula you can form a round shape and flip when golden brown. Should be enough to make 12 cheese “tortillas”.
- Top with shredded birria, crumbled Queso Fresco, chopped onion and cilantro.
- Serve warm with a small bowl of the birria stew for dipping.
