The Chef-Approved Trick For Crispy Quesadillas And Melty Cheese

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Quesadillas are among the most comforting dishes from around the globe for a multitude of reasons; most notably, they require just two ingredients, making them an easy snack to whip up when your kitchen isn't fully stocked. However, that doesn't mean that this Mexican staple is easy to perfect. In fact, it's quite simple to make a bad quesadilla that's sad, soggy, and not at all crispy. According to Claudette Zepeda, chef and author of "Cooking the Borderlands," medium-low heat and patience are your best friends when it comes to making restaurant-worthy quesadillas.

Zepeda notes that quesadillas are among the quicker Mexican staples to make, but her method for the best-textured quesadillas — ones that are both crispy and full of melty cheese — requires a bit of extra time. Her technique allows for a beautiful chicharron de queso, or a cheese crisp, to form. "I first like to crisp up the cheese straight on the griddle then add the tortilla as it begins browning," Zepeda says. Not only does this contribute to the crispiness, but it ensures that the tortilla itself doesn't get overcooked.

Once the cheese is nice and crispy, she lifts the whole thing up by sliding a spatula underneath the cheese and folding the whole tortilla in half. "Then, [use] the fat rendered from the cheese to cook the tortilla on both sides," she continues. It might not be your average microwave quesadilla, but we can assure you that this technique will leave you with the ultimate quesadillas you'll be making again and again.

If you make quesadillas at your house on the regular, you probably have a go-to tortilla and cheese combo. Whether you prefer corn or flour, cheddar or a 5-cheese blend, there are endless options at the grocery store. However, if you're trying to whip up a batch of authentic Mexican quesadillas, you might want to reconsider that bag of shredded cheese. After all, choosing the wrong cheese is a mistake that can ruin quesadillas.

Depending on where you are in Mexico, you'll find quesadillas made with both corn and wheat flour tortillas. And if you want to prepare a really authentic dish, try making homemade tortillas. When it comes to cheese, traditional quesadillas are made with Mexican cheeses like Oaxaca or Chihuahua. Both of these cheeses melt really well, but will provide slightly different flavors. Oaxaca is a bit more buttery, while Chihuahua is saltier and tastes similar to cheddar. While these might not be the easiest cheeses to find in your daily supermarket, if you have a Mexican market near you, you'll have better luck. Once you swap out average ingredients for authentic ones, you'll never go back.