Carne Picada Quesadillas

I can’t recall ever coming across beef labeled “carne picada” at the store before. I don’t know if this was something new for this Kroger, new marketing or trying to make more money off cheaper cuts – but I bought into it. Admit it, Carne Picada Quesadillas sounds better than (probably) Chuck Roast Bits Quesadillas. Was wanting to do a marinated steak Mexican dish anyway – so I did it. Can’t help my love for the cuisine.

Recipe warning up front – I didn’t measure out anything. I just splashed and dashed until I thought it looked right. You’re gonna hate me for the measurement guides, but this was a post-work, last-minute venture.

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Recipe

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The Prep Table

Like I mentioned above, I had this meat in the fridge ready to get made and I chose a weekday for it. That usually means I have little time – and that I’m hungry and impatient. But it also makes for a good post for those looking for quick and easy recipes like we all are. So I got home from work, let the dog out and went into the kitchen.

I thought I’d whip up a quick marinade – so I threw the meat in a bag with some orange juice, a little bit of lemon juice, some emergency-jar-garlic, and what I had left of some pickled jalapeños. Mixed it around in the bag and let it quick-marinade for an hour (Like I said, impatient and hungry).

After about an hour or so, grabbed up the ingredients and went out to the Blackstone. I’ve been meaning to do a Philly cheesesteak Blackstone post – this would’ve been a good candidate. Add that to the upcoming list: Spam, and Philly cheesesteak.

This is going to be pretty fast and furious. Quesadillas, so we’re just doing meat and cheese. Let’s get it warmed up!

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The Process

That marinade made this a cooking delight. The sizzle and pop when it hit the Blackstone, not to mention the aroma after a minute or so of cooking. While it normally doesn’t make for an appetizing photo, I’m telling you it was delightful.

Now it’s just time to get everything laid out. I had two cheese bags left over and a pile of tortillas. I never really buy the large burrito style, but I always end up wanting the large burrito style. So I had these soft taco ones, brought the Taco trays out to hold them, and we should be good.

For those in the Blackstone game, that wire shelf is the most aggravating purchase. I do not recommend it at all. You can see where it attaches in the back – right over my drip catch. For the smaller Blackstones like mine, we’re over probably 40% of the cooking surface. Sure, it held these tortillas just fine, but get yourself a side table/cart. Even the shelf on mine sucks. If MrsForensicBBQ would stop piling shit on, up, and around the prep table, it’d get more use ?

Update: Threw that shelf away. Good riddance.

This process is pretty simple. Brown each side of the tortilla, make it pliable so it won’t tear on ya. For this case, I sprinkled down one cheese flavor, scooped some meat, a bit of onion, and then the other cheese. Since we’re folding it in half, only do this on half the tortilla. Otherwise you’re throwing a tortilla on top, now we’re in that uncomfortable place where “is it a sandwich?” Stay away from that.

Let’s see how it turned out!

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The Result

My usual two sided Blackstone method – one side to cook, one to warm. The meat was already cooked on the left side – so we’re low temp to keep it hot. The right side we’re making these quesadillas, so give a nice coat of oil and get them things cooked.

I used Taco trays to keep these things ready. We’re going to wrap these and make lunches for the week, but lets see what we got.

Melty cheese, charred meat from that Blackstone – crispy tortilla. It’s magic. Let’s get it on a plate.

Quick post-work quesadillas. Turned out great, awesome beef flavor. Citrusy marinade was fantastic and everything really worked well.

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The Recipe