Crock Pot Quesabirria

My favorite dish to order at Mexican restaurants is quesabirria.  Quesabirra are basically quesadillas made with birria stew as the filling, then soaked in the birria sauce and grilled.  So delicious!

I made these once before and loved the filling, but the grilling was infuriating and a real struggle.  I started wondering if there was an easier way.

So I decided to make it much easier.  The birria went to the crockpot for hands-off all day cooking and the grilling ditched the skillet in favor of a panini press or foreman grill.

The resulting quesabirria are just as delicious and grilled to perfection - this is now my go to method!

Sunday Funday

Tortillas

• Bacon and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas by Food Lust People Love
• Baked Vegetable Chimichanga by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Enchiladas by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crock Pot Quesabirria by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Gluten Free Sweet Potato Tortillas by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Shrimp Tacos with Coleslaw by Making Miracles
• Vegan Samosadillas by Snehas Recipe

Crockpot Short Rib Birria

Adapted from GypsyPlate

Birria Sauce

5 dried New Mexico Chilis + water to cover

1 onion, peeled and diced

5 large roma tomatoes, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoon coriander powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 cup water

3 ½ pounds boneless beef short ribs

Cut the stems off the chilis and slit down the side to remove seeds.  Roughly chop.  Place in the bowl of a food processor.  Add just enough water to submerge the pieces and set aside for 15 minutes to soften.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the short ribs to the food processor.  Blend until smooth.

Pour half the sauce into a crockpot.  Add the short ribs and pour the remaining sauce on top.

Cover and cook for 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low.

Before serving, remove the meat and shred.  Add back into the sauce to serve as stew or see below for quesabirrias.

Quesabirria

Adapted from The Big Man’s World

1 recipe Crockpot Short Rib Birria Stew (above)

12 homemade half corn, half flour tortillas

3 cups Queso Quesadilla or other melty cheese

Nonstick spray, optional

Heat a Foreman grill or panini grill to high heat and spray lightly with nonstick spray.

Dip a tortilla into the birria broth.  Top with a generous sprinkling of cheese and birria meat.  Fold over and place in the grill.  Grill for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortilla is toasted.  Serve with a bowl of consomme (birria broth) for dipping.