Friday, April 9, 2021

Quisberro Tacos


 

Hey Family Check this out.The little puddle of fat floating on top of a pot of birria is pure gold, stained red from chiles, and rich with all the concentrated flavors of the original stew. In other words: Don’t waste it! Instead, spoon the fat off the top of the broth and reserve it for crisping tortillas to make quesabirria tacos, pan-fried until crisp, with cheese smushing out of the edges and browning in the pan. You can enjoy the tacos with salsas or hot sauce, but the birria meat and cooking oil are so flavorful that a little cilantro and onion are all you really need.

INGREDIENTS:


2 kg Beef I used shoulder but any stew cut will work. Aim for something quite fatty as lean beef won't render as much... 

1 White Onion 

5 Chili Peppers traditionally dried guajillo is used. (However if you can't find them just use what you can…the flavor... )

1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns 

1 teaspoon  Cinnamon ground 

1 teaspoon Cumin ground 

1 bunch Cilantro 

3 Tomatoes cut in half 

6 cloves Garlic 

60 ml  Olive Oil 

1 tablespoon  Oregano 

DIRECTIONS:


In a blender add toasted chilies (traditionally it is guajillo, but if you can’t find them use whatever you prefer). Also add in a white onion, a tsp of cumin, a tsp of ground cinnamon, a bunch of cilantro, a tablespoon each of black peppercorns and dried oregano, 60 ml each of white vinegar and olive oil. Finally, just blend everything up.


Pour the freshly blended adobo sauce over 2kg of beef cut into large chunks. Then cover and set in the fridge overnight. Pretty simple right? Next day just place in the oven to bake at 160 Celsius for 5-6 hours. Voila, there’s your homemade beef birria!


Separate the beef from the remaining liquid. Shred the beef with a couple forks and set aside. Allow the liquid a half hour so the fat rises to the top of the pot. While this is happening set a pan on medium-high heat. You don’t need to add any oil or other fat to the pan, the soaked tortilla will fry up in the dipped liquid.


Slap that tortilla right on the pan and flip it immediately. On half of it lay down a healthy amount of the beef birria and top with cheese. The traditional cheese here is Oaxaca white cheese which I couldn’t find, so I ended up using Queso Panela. (It’s strange I was able to get this cheese, but not guajillo chilies).


You can shred this cheese, or just chop it up into small pieces, I prefer chopping it as shredding it causes it to kind of disintegrate.


Right after you add the meat and cheese, fold over the tortilla and press it down with a spatula. The tortilla will get nice and crispy and keep most of the insides from falling out when you take a bite.



Traditionally these quesabirria street tacos are served with the beef consommé to dip, however as I am making quesabirria tacos at home I opted to make a simple aguacate fresca. Simply put, I blended some avocados with a bit of water and salt for a refreshing dip. You can add some jalapeno to it if you want to kick the spice up a notch. Of course, you can still dip these in the beef consommé at home if that’s what you prefer!

Enjoy!  Eat Well My Friends!
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1 comment:

SLC said...

This is a sin.
I'll just have to repent after I try this lol.

April 9, 2021 at 9:53 PM

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Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






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