Steak Quesadillas
Crispy, buttery steak quesadillas with melty Oaxaca cheese, sautéed onion and jalapeño, and creamy chimichurri for dunking.
Equipment
- 10-inch stainless steel pan
- cutting board and sharp knife
- small bowl
Ingredients
Steak
- 1 1/2 pounds New York strip steak (skirt, flank, or sirloin also work)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper optional
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil for searing
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 jalapeño
Quesadillas
- 4 8-inch flour tortillas or 8 tortillas if you'd like to use two per quesadilla instead of folding them over
- 12 ounces Oaxaca cheese, shredded
- 4 tablespoons Salted butter
Creamy Chimichurri
- 120 grams Sour cream 1/2 cup
- 10 grams Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped about 1/2 cup
- 4 to 5 grams Cilantro, finely chopped 2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 2 tablespoons White vinegar
- 3 cloves Garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- A squeeze of lime, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk all the creamy chimichurri ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate while you prep everything else, the longer it sits the better it tastes
- Pat the steak dry and season generously all over with your spice mix. Let it sit at room temp for 30 minutes, this helps it cook more evenly
- Heat up a 10-inch stainless steel pan for 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Then add in your avocado oil
- Sear the steak 3–4 minutes per side for medium-rare, or 5 minutes each side for closer to medium well. You want a deep crust on the outside. Transfer to a cutting board and rest at least 10 minutes before slicing against the grain
- You can either keep the steak cut into strips, or cut them down further into small cubes
- In the same pan with the leftover steak drippings, sauté the onion and jalapeño for 3–4 minutes until softened, then remove from the pan
- In the pan we are going to build each quesadilla: melt down 1 tablespoon of butter, then add a tortilla, a layer of shredded cheese, sliced steak, the onion-jalapeño mixture, a generous dollop of the creamy chimichurri and a squeeze of lime, the lightest bit more cheese on top, then fold in half (or another tortilla on top if you prefer)
- This should all be done on low-medium heat, until the tortilla is deeply golden and the cheese is fully melted
- Let the quesadilla sit for a minute or two before cutting, otherwise the cheese will run right out. Slice into wedges and serve with a generous amount of the chimichurri sour cream for dunking, with a little extra squeeze of lime on top
Video
Notes
- Steak: I used New York strip because that's what I had on hand, but skirt or flank are equally great picks. Truly any cut you love works here
- Oaxaca cheese: my preferred melt for quesadillas, but low-moisture mozzarella will also get the job done. Avoid pre-shredded if you can, the anti-caking agents really do mess with the melt
- Tortillas: I'm using the medium 8-inch flour tortillas. High quality tortillas, or handmade is always worth it !!
- Parsley: please use flat-leaf parsley for the chimichurri. Curly parsley is too tough and doesn't have the same fresh flavor in my opinion