Birria quesadillas with homemade flour tortillas

Cut the chuck and short ribs into large chunks and coat with coarse salt.

Heat a little oil in a large pot over high heat and sear the meat in batches, three minutes per side; remove and repeat.

Return all the meat and its juices to the pot with one onion, one head of garlic, two roma tomatoes and four bay leaves; cover with four quarts of water.

Bring to a full boil, skim off the foam, reduce to medium low, cover and cook for one hour.

Clean the chiles and soften them in the same broth for three to five minutes; remove them with three cups of the broth and set aside.

In a pan over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until they change color and move them to the blender cup; then toast the crushed cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, thyme, oregano and cumin until fragrant and add them too.

Pulverize the spices, then add the ginger, four bay leaves, seven garlic cloves, a quarter cup of white vinegar, the chiles and the reserved broth, and blend smooth.

Remove the onion and garlic head from the pot, add the birria sauce (strain if needed), mix and taste for salt.

Cover and cook another hour and a half, or until the meat is tender.

For the tortillas, mix six cups of all-purpose flour with two and a half teaspoons of salt, then crumble in half a cup of lard or shortening until it feels like sand.

Pour in hot water slowly, mixing until the flour is hydrated with no dry spots; knead until the sticky dough comes together, without adding more flour.

Divide into even balls sized to the quesadillas wanted, set on foil with a little flour, keep covered and rest at least 20 minutes.

Heat the comal; roll each ball out on a lightly floured counter, up, down and flip, to the size wanted.

Cook each tortilla on the comal until it blisters, then about 30 seconds more; keep in a kitchen towel.

Remove the tender meat from the consomé and shred it; return it to the consomé and skim off the top layer of grease.

On a comal over medium heat, lay down a tortilla-sized layer of queso Oaxaca; as it melts, place a tortilla on top and flip.

Add the birria, squeeze over a little lime juice, top with more cheese, onion and cilantro, cover with a second tortilla and let it come together; cut in half to serve.