Beef Birria and Bean Enchiladas
Tender beef birria and pinto beans rolled in tortillas and topped with a cheese sauce.
Equipment
- blender
- 1 9x11 baking dish
Ingredients
For the Adobo Sauce:
- 4 dried ancho chilies
- 6 dried guajillo chilies
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 1 tsp. oregano
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. each cinnamon and ground cloves
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
For the Beef Birria:
- 3½ pounds beef short ribs or chuck roast
- 1 tbsp. vegetable Oil
- ½ tsp. each garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 cup chicken stock
For the Monterey Pepper Jack Cheese Sauce:
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup minced onions
- 2 tbsp. minced garlic
- ½ cup plum tomatoes, seeded and minced
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp. each cumin powder, chili powder, and paprika
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 1½ cups Monterey Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
To Assemble the Enchiladas:
- 10 6 inch flour tortillas
- 1½ cups cooked pinto beans
- 1 cup Monterey Pepper Jack cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- Begin by making the adobo sauce: Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers and then toast them in a cast iron skillet on high heat for a few minutes, until you can smell their aroma.
- In a three quart sauce pan boil the peppers along with two cups of water, for five minutes. Drain the peppers, and then put them in the blender along with two cups of fresh water, the vinegar, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- For the Birra beef taco filling: Dry off the short ribs and sprinkle them with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven on medium heat. Sear the ribs, a few at a time, on all sides. When they're all browned add them all back to the pot along with half the adobo sauce (you can freeze the rest for another use), the chicken stock, the bay leaves and the thyme. Cover the pot and bake them for three hours, or until they're very tender.
- While the beef braises, when it's cooked for two and a half hours, make the Monterey Pepper Jack Cheese Sauce: Heat a skillet on low heat and cook the onions and garlic until they're soft for about ten minutes. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, cream and spices. Simmer ten minutes, or until the sauce thickens up. Remove it from the heat and stir in the cheese.
- To Assemble the Enchiladas: Remove the meat from pot and shred it, discarding the bones and ligaments. Pour the sauce into a measuring cup and discard the fat that rises to the top. In a bowl, mix together a cup and a half of the meat with the beans and a half cup of the sauce. This is the filling. You can freeze the rest of the meat and the rest of the sauce. Then, you can make this again, or my recipes for Birria tacos or egg rolls.
- Fill each tortilla with some of the filling and roll them up. Place them closely together in the baking dish seam side down. Pour the cheese sauce over the tortillas and then sprinkle on the cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve the enchiladas topped with sour cream, tomatoes, and cilantro.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!