Chicken Birria Tacos Recipe
Chicken birria tacos are a Mexican dish made with slow-cooked and shredded chicken that is served in warm corn tortillas.
Equipment
- 1 Non-stick pan or cast iron skillet
- 1 large dutch oven or pot
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 knife
- 1 Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 2 roma tomatoes quartered
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 dried chiles de arbol or more if you like spicy
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon neutral high-heat cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 16 corn tortillas
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 1 cup shredded Mexican melting cheese like Monterey jack
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place a medium-sized pot over high heat and add the cooking oil. Once it’s hot, add onion, tomatoes, garlic, guajillo chiles, arbol chiles and bay leaves. Stir for a few minutes until everything starts to soften up.
- Add the chicken and all of the spices to the pot. Stir everything together, then add enough chicken broth to cover up the chicken. Bring this mixture up to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, use a fork to shred the chicken directly in the pot. Once it’s shredded up, add another cup of chicken broth if needed and bring it back to a simmer for about 10 minutes. This will help infuse all of those flavors into your tacos.
- Warm up your corn tortillas on a hot skillet or comal to assemble the tacos. Place two tablespoons of chicken birria onto each tortilla and top with cheese, onion and cilantro. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- When shredding the chicken, make sure to scrape all the meat bits off the bone and discard the bones.
- If using store-bought tacos shells, you don’t need to preheat them on a skillet or comal fill.
- The filling can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just warm it up before assembling the tacos.
