🌮 Crispy Birria Quesadillas with Consommé

Serves: 6–8
Prep time: 30–40 minutes
Cooking time: 3–4 hours
Total time: About 4 hours
Difficulty: Medium

What you’re making

These quesadillas are made with tender, shredded beef braised in a rich chile-and-spice broth. The beef is tucked into tortillas with plenty of melted cheese, then the tortillas are fried in the flavorful birria fat until deeply golden and crispy.

They’re served with consommé — the strained, intensely flavorful birria broth — for dipping.

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🥩 Ingredients

For the Birria

• 2½–3 lb (1.1–1.4 kg) beef chuck roast
• 1 lb (450 g) beef short ribs, preferably bone-in
• 4–5 dried guajillo chiles
• 2–3 dried ancho chiles
• 2 dried árbol chiles, optional for extra heat
• 1 large white onion, roughly chopped
• 5–6 garlic cloves
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 3–4 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 cup water, as needed
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the Quesadillas

• 12–16 corn tortillas
• 3–4 cups shredded Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella
• 2 cups shredded birria beef
• Reserved birria fat from the broth
• Finely chopped white onion
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges

For Serving

• Birria consommé
• Diced white onion
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime
• Sliced jalapeños, optional
• Salsa, optional

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Step 1: Prepare the dried chiles 🌶️

Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo and ancho chiles.

For the árbol chiles, remove the stems but keep some seeds if you want the birria spicy.

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.

Toast the chiles for approximately 20–30 seconds per side.

Don’t burn them. Burnt chiles will make your consommé bitter.

Once fragrant, transfer them to a bowl and cover them with hot water.

Let them soak for 15–20 minutes until completely softened.

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Step 2: Make the chile sauce

While the chiles are soaking, roast your tomatoes.

Place the tomatoes in a hot skillet or under a broiler until they become softened and slightly charred.

Add the softened chiles to a blender along with:

• roasted tomatoes
• onion
• garlic
• apple cider vinegar
• oregano
• cumin
• coriander
• cinnamon
• cloves
• black peppercorns
• about 1 cup of beef broth

Blend until completely smooth.

You want a thick, dark red chile sauce.

If it’s too thick to blend, add a little more broth.

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Step 3: Prepare the beef

Cut the chuck roast into large chunks.

Pat the beef dry with paper towels.

Season generously with salt.

Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

Add the vegetable oil.

When hot, place the beef into the pot.

Sear the pieces for about 2–4 minutes per side.

You’re not trying to cook the beef through.

You’re creating a deep brown crust.

This is important because that browning adds a lot of flavor to the final birria.

Once browned, remove the beef and set it aside.

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Step 4: Combine everything

Lower the heat to medium.

Pour your blended chile sauce into the same pot.

Stir and scrape the bottom of the pot to release all those browned bits.

Return the beef to the pot.

Add:

• beef short ribs
• remaining beef broth
• bay leaves

The liquid should come roughly halfway to two-thirds of the way up the meat.

If necessary, add some water or additional broth.

Bring everything to a gentle simmer.

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Step 5: Slowly cook the birria

Cover the pot with a lid.

Place it in a 325°F (165°C) oven.

Cook for approximately 3–3½ hours.

Alternatively, you can simmer it gently on the stovetop for around the same amount of time.

The beef is ready when it is extremely tender and easily falls apart when pressed with a fork.

Don’t rush this stage.

The longer, gentle cooking allows the connective tissue in the beef to break down and gives you that juicy, shreddable texture.

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Step 6: Separate the beef and consommé

Carefully remove the beef from the broth.

Remove the bones and bay leaves.

Using two forks, shred the beef into small pieces.

Now look at the surface of your broth.

You’ll see a layer of red-orange fat floating on top.

This is precious.

Don’t throw it away.

Skim the fat into a separate bowl.

You’ll use this flavorful birria fat to fry your quesadillas.

For the consommé:

Taste the broth.

Add additional salt if necessary.

If you want a cleaner consommé, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer.

Your finished consommé should be:

deep red + savory + slightly spicy + aromatic + rich.

Keep it hot.

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Step 7: Prepare your toppings

Finely chop:

• white onion
• cilantro

Cut several limes into wedges.

Place everything near your cooking area so you can assemble the quesadillas quickly.

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Step 8: Prepare the tortillas

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.

Take one corn tortilla.

Lightly dip one side into the red birria fat.

Don’t completely soak it.

You just want a thin coating.

Place the tortilla fat-side down in the hot skillet.

You should immediately hear a gentle sizzle.

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Step 9: Add the cheese

Sprinkle a generous layer of Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella over half of the tortilla.

Add approximately ⅓ cup shredded birria beef.

Top with a little more cheese.

The extra cheese helps everything stick together.

Fold the tortilla over.

Press it down gently with your spatula.

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Step 10: Make it CRISPY 🔥

Cook the quesadilla for approximately 2–3 minutes on the first side.

Don’t move it too much.

You want the tortilla to develop a deep golden-red crust.

When the bottom is crispy, carefully flip it.

Cook another 2–3 minutes.

If the pan looks dry, add another small amount of birria fat around the edges.

Continue cooking until:

• the tortilla is crisp
• the cheese is completely melted
• the beef is hot
• the outside is golden and slightly crunchy

Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

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Step 11: Cut the quesadillas

Transfer the crispy quesadillas to a cutting board.

Let them sit for about 1 minute.

Cut each quesadilla into halves or thirds.

You should see:

crispy tortilla → melted cheese → juicy shredded birria → melted cheese → crispy tortilla

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Step 12: Build the consommé

Pour the hot consommé into small bowls.

Top each bowl with:

• finely diced white onion
• chopped cilantro

Add a squeeze of fresh lime.

For extra heat, add a little chopped jalapeño or your favorite salsa.

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Step 13: Serve 🌮🔥

Place 2–3 crispy birria quesadilla pieces on each plate.

Serve immediately with a bowl of hot consommé.

The proper way to eat them:

1. Pick up a crispy quesadilla.
2. Dip it deeply into the consommé.
3. Let the broth soak slightly into the crispy tortilla.
4. Take a bite.
5. Add a squeeze of lime.
6. Repeat. 😄

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⭐ Tips for the BEST birria quesadillas

Use beef with some fat.
Chuck roast and short ribs work particularly well because the fat and connective tissue keep the meat juicy.

Don’t burn the dried chiles.
A quick toast is enough. Burnt chiles can make the entire sauce bitter.

Don’t discard the birria fat.
This is what gives the quesadillas their signature red, crispy exterior and incredible flavor.

Use plenty of cheese.
Oaxaca cheese is traditional and melts beautifully. Mozzarella is an easy substitute.

Make the beef ahead of time if possible.
Birria often tastes even better after sitting overnight because the flavors have more time to develop.

Keep the consommé hot.
The contrast between the crispy quesadilla and hot, rich broth is what makes the dish so good.

🔥 The final result

You want deeply crispy, red-golden tortillas, stretchy melted cheese, juicy shredded beef, and a rich chile consommé that’s spicy enough to be exciting but balanced enough to drink by the spoonful.