Chicken Birria Tacos

Homemade chicken birria tacos will seriously up your taco night game. As much as we love a quick Mexican dinner, birria is special. Traditionally made with long-simmered goat, lamb or beef, chicken thighs also make great birria tacos. Slow-cooked in a spiced sauce until tender and pulling apart, the meat is tucked inside corn tortillas that have been soaked in the flavorful cooking broth and griddled in a cast-iron skillet, almost like a quesadilla. To gild the lily, the finished tacos come with a sidecar of broth so you can dip them as you eat, rendering each bite juicy and delicious.

Don’t be intimidated. Even though birria chicken tacos take a while to cook, they’re actually simple to make. The ingredients list is mainly spices, all of which can easily be found at most supermarkets. Once you blend the seasonings into a sauce, most of the hands-on work is done. You’ll marinade the chicken in the sauce to infuse it flavor, then simmer it on the stovetop until it’s falling apart. As with any favorite slow-cooker recipes and long braises, time pays dividends in taste.

What is birria?

Birria is a traditional stew from Jalisco, Mexico, a state on the country’s Pacific coast. Birria is classically made with goat or lamb meat and served as a celebratory dish for special occasions. The secret is in the aromatic red chile sauce, which pulls triple duty: first as a marinade, then as a cooking broth, and finally as a dipping sauce. Tacos de birria—typically beef birria stuffed inside dipped corn tortillas, served with a side of consommé—originated with food trucks and taco stands in Mexico. Now you’ll find it all across the United States. Birria tacos with melty cheese are called quesatacos or quesabirria.

Ingredients for Chicken Birria Tacos

• Dried guajillo chiles: These mild red chiles have a sweet, smoky flavor. Make sure to remove the stems. If you prefer less heat, you can also shake out the seeds.
• Dried pasilla chiles: Dark and wrinkled like raisins, pasilla chiles have an earthy taste with chocolate notes. If you can’t find pasilla or guajillo chiles, substitute another type of chile. Look for fatter, brownish-red varieties; skinny red chiles are hotter and less nuanced.
• Hot water: It’s crucial to soak dried chiles to rehydrate them. The soaking water absorbs chile flavor and serves as the base of the marinade.
• White onion: Some of the onions go into the marinade sauce, the rest go into the cooking liquid.
• Plum tomato: Fresh tomato adds sweetness and juice.
• Garlic: You can’t make a delicious stew without zippy fresh garlic!
• Chicken bouillon granules: Bouillon is a shortcut to savory broth flavor.
• Herbs and spices: There’s nothing too obscure when it comes to seasonings, just whole peppercorns, dried thyme, cumin seeds, salt, pepper, bay leaves and dried Mexican oregano, which is a bit more citrusy than Italian oregano. If you can’t find it, swap in marjoram.
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs: Use breasts and thighs for a mix of light and dark meat, or use all thighs for the richest flavor.
• Corn tortillas: With their warm, grain flavor, corn tortillas are traditional for birria tacos. You get bonus points for making corn tortillas from scratch.
• Shredded Oaxaca cheese or other melting cheese: To serve cheesy birria chicken tacos food truck-style, top them with shredded Oaxaca cheese. Some good alternatives are mozzarella and Monterey Jack.
• Toppings: Chopped onion, chopped cilantro, sliced radishes and lime wedges add a bright finishing touch.

Directions

Step 1: Soak the chiles

In a large bowl, combine the dried chiles and hot water. Let them stand for 30 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: For more flavor, toast the chiles in a cast-iron pan for a minute or two before soaking. The heat brings out the oils and awakens a smoky taste.

Step 2: Make the sauce

In a blender, combine one onion half, the tomato, garlic, bouillon, peppercorns, thyme, oregano, cumin and soaked chiles in their soaking liquid. Puree them until the mixture is smooth. Strain it through a fine sieve.

Step 3: Marinate the chicken

Place the chicken in a Dutch oven. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and the remaining onion half. Pour in the strained sauce and 2 cups of cold water. Stir to combine everything. Refrigerate the mixture, covered, for at least two hours or up to 24 hours.

Step 4: Slow-cook the chicken

Place the Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer it, covered, until the chicken is tender and starting to fall apart, 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Step 5: Reduce the sauce

Remove the meat and set it aside. Fish out the onion pieces and bay leaves, and discard them. Continue to simmer the liquid, uncovered, until it’s reduced by half, about 30 minutes.

Step 6: Shred the chicken

Meanwhile, shred the chicken with two forks. When the sauce is reduced by half, return the chicken to the pan and simmer it to reheat it.

Step 7: Prepare the tortillas

Heat a griddle, comal or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Dip a tortilla into the stew pot, thoroughly coating it with the sauce. Place the tortilla onto the hot griddle. Sprinkle with cheese if desired. Cook it until the cheese melts or until the tortilla is fragrant and crisp at the edges. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas.

Step 8: Fill the tacos

Top the tortillas with chicken. Fold the tortilla over to form a taco. Serve them with toppings and a cup of sauce for dipping.

Chicken Birria Tacos Variations

• Play with toppings: While classic toppers like sliced avocado, pico de gallo and minced onion are tasty, go ahead and play with other creative taco toppings. Think cubed roasted potatoes, minced mango, and pickled jalapenos or onions.
• Make it a bowl: Skip the tortillas and serve the birria and sauce over rice or quinoa.
• Use pork: Replace the chicken thighs with cubed pork shoulder. Cook the pork until it shreds easily, which may take slightly longer than chicken.

How to Store Chicken Birria Tacos

Keep leftover chicken birria in its sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The tortillas will keep best if you sauce and heat them just before serving, but if you do have leftover heated tortillas, wrap them in foil and keep them in the fridge. Store all the toppings separately in airtight containers in the fridge.

How long does chicken birria last?

The chicken and sauce will keep for up to four days. Fresh vegetable toppings (like chopped onion or herbs) will be freshest for three to four days. Sauced tortillas should be eaten within one day.

Can you freeze chicken birria taco meat?

Yes, like most stew recipes, both the chicken and sauce freeze very well. Let the chicken cool completely, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container. Freeze the chicken directly in the sauce. Leave an inch of space in the container, as the sauce will expand when frozen. Freeze it for up to three months. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it.

How do you reheat chicken birria tacos?

Reheat chicken birria and its sauce in a saucepan or a stew pot on the stove over medium heat. Simmer it until it’s steaming hot. Prepare fresh tortillas as directed.

Chicken Birria Tacos Tips

How can you make chicken birria tacos less or more spicy?

You can easily adjust the heat of this homemade birria sauce. To make it less spicy, cut the dried peppers in half and shake out the seeds before soaking them. To turn up the spice, add a spicy dried chile to the soaking water; puya and chipotle chiles are good options. In general, the thinner the dried chile, the spicier it will be.

What other ways can you cook the chicken for chicken birria tacos?

You can make slow-cooker chicken birria tacos. To do so, marinate the chicken in the slow cooker liner. The next day, cook it on low for eight hours or until the chicken is tender and easy to shred with a fork. You can also cook the birria in an electric pressure cooker. After the chicken has marinated, transfer it and the marinade to an Instant Pot. Lock the lid and close the pressure-release valve. Pressure-cook the chicken on high for 10 minutes, then allow the pressure to naturally release for five minutes. Quick-release the remaining pressure, then shred the chicken.

What should you serve with chicken birria tacos?

For taco night, serve chicken birria tacos with your favorite toppings, plus a side of something green, like a fresh lettuce salad with cilantro lime dressing and sliced avocado. Chips and guacamole or salsa are tasty accompaniments, too. To make birria tacos part of a bigger meal, serve them alongside a Mexican side dish, such as classic esquites, homemade beans, avocado salad or mango salad.