Beef Brisket Quesabirria Tacos.
Arguably the pinnacle of the taco family (possibly tied with al pastor), the quesabirria taco is the perfect marriage of everything good about comfort food. It's crisp, it's tangy, it's tart, it's got heat, it's got comfort with the Chihuahua cheese, and the dipping sauce is the best on the planet.
See it made.
Arguably the pinnacle of the taco family (possibly tied with al pastor), the quesabirria taco is the perfect marriage of everything good about comfort food. It's crisp, it's tangy, it's tart, it's got heat, it's got comfort with the Chihuahua cheese, and the dipping sauce is the best on the planet.
Ingredients
for the chile colorado sauce
- 4 oz dried red Hatch chile pods, stemmed, seeded
- 2 oz dried guajillo chile pods, stemmed, seeded
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded
- 1 Tablespoon Casa M Spice Co® Chain Reaction® Add
- 2 teaspoons cumin seed, lightly toasted, ground
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chile, ground
- 1 medium onions, coarse dice
- 2 oz garlic cloves, coarse dice
- 1 Tablespoon manteca
- 1 Tablespoon better than bouillon chicken bouillon
- 2 cups reserved broth from soaking the chiles
- 1 bay leaf, dried
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
for the raost
- 4 pound beef roast (we use brisket, but any slow cook roast works, beef, pork, goat, or lamb)
- all of the sauce from above
for the tacos
- 12 corn tortillas
- 8 oz chihuahua cheese, shredded
- chopped white or red onion
- sautéed string onions
- cilantro leaves
- fresh lime wedges
- fresh salsa roja
- fresh salsa verde
- roasted habanero salsa
Method
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01
Make the Sauce
Stem the chiles, then lightly toast them on a griddle or in a cast iron skillet until you start to smell their fragrance.
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02
Remove them from the heat immediately to a bowl with a lid.
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03
Barely cover them in boiling water from a kettle.
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04
Put the lid on and let sit for about 30 minutes.
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05
Drain the water into another bowl and reserve it.
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06
Combine all the other ingredients for the sauce with the soaked red chiles into a Thermomix, Vitamix, or other blender or food processor that can purée well.
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07
Purée well until the mix is very smooth. It’ll be quite thick at this point and that’s where the reserved soaking liquid comes in.
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08
Add the reserved chile broth (optionally with a bit more chicken boullion) to get it to a “thick soup” consistency.
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09
Cook the Roast
If the roast won’t fit into your Instant Pot, cut it. If it’ll fit whole, leave it whole.
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10
Add to the insert of your Instant pot and pour the chile colorado sauce over the top of the roast
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11
Make sure you respect the “fill line” on your Instant Pot since we’ll be pressure cooking the roast.
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12
Set the Instant Pot up to high pressure cook for 1 hour. 90 minutes if it’s bone-in.
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13
Let the pressure release naturally until it opens easily.
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14
Separate your roast from the sauce.
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15
Pull any fat cap pieces from the roast before shredding the roast gently.
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16
Set the shredded beef aside. Discard the fat.
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17
Let the sauce cool until you can efficently skim the rendered fat off the top into a bowl for taco assembly.
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18
DON’T toss the rendeded fat!
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19
The sauce now becomes your “dipping” au jus for serving the tacos (not to mention ladleing it over the top of your rice and other delicious uses).
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20
Mis en Place
When you’re ready to assemble the tacos, get everything ready to roll in advance. They come together quite quickly.
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21
To have the full quesabirria taco experience, you need to work on a large griddle—the kind that covers 2-4 burners.
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22
Set it over medium to medium-high heat.
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23
Get your salsas made and ready in bowls.
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24
Cut up your onions, wedge your limes, and pluck your cilantro leaves.
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25
If you’re offering sauteed onions, get them on the plancha first.
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26
Cook and Assemble the Tacos
Add just enough of the reserved rendered fat to coat the plancha surface, then add the shredded beef to the plancha.
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27
Let the meat cook undisturbed until it just begins to brown underneath. Stir to bring uncrusted meat in contact with the griddle, then reduce the heat to its lowest setting.
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28
On the griddle lay out a single layer of 4 to 6 tortillas, first dipping each one about 1/3 into the reserved rendered fat, then rubbing the torilla around on the griddle to ensure that its entire bottom is lightly coated with fat.
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29
You’ll know you’re doing it right if the tortillas will turn red from the chile infused rendered fat.
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30
Flip them once, let them brown a little.
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31
Immediately top with the shredded Chihuahua cheese
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32
Add some of the meat, splashed with a little of the reserved broth on the plancha before adding.
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33
Sprinkle lightly with onions and cilantro.
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34
When the tortilla just starts to brown a little and crisp (don’t wait too long), fold them over and transfer to a warm plate or taco stand/server.
From Mike's Notebook
Dip each tortilla only about a third of the way into the rendered fat — fully submerging it makes the tortilla greasy and soggy instead of getting that crispy, red-stained shell.
When the brisket comes out of the Instant Pot, let it rest in the separated sauce for 10 minutes before shredding so it reabsorbs moisture and stays juicy on the plancha.
Splash the shredded meat with the chile colorado au jus directly on the hot griddle right before folding the taco — that quick sizzle caramelizes the sauce onto the meat instead of just making it wet.
Nutrition
Estimated · 1 serving · calculated from the ingredient list, not lab-tested.
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