Chicken Birria Tacos – Closet Cooking

Crispy chicken tacos served with a side of a tasty chicken birria sauce for dipping!

Birria de Res con consome, a Mexican style beef stew in a tasty consume, is a favourite of mine and it also works well in chicken form! The idea here is that dark meat chicken, legs, thighs and/or drumsticks, are simmered in a broth seasoned with chilies, herbs and spices. The chicken is cooked with the skin on and bones in and the combination of the dark meat, fat from the skin and the bones infuses the broth with a ton of chicken flavour! The broth is seasoned with dried guajillo, ancho and chipotle chilies along with onions, garlic and spices including cumin! Once the chicken has simmered until tender in the broth you can serve it in the broth over rice or shred the meat and use it in tacos!

The tacos are made with in corn tortillas and the tortillas are fried in the chicken fat or grease, infused with the flavours of the stew, until crispy! The tacos are filled with melted cheese along with the chicken and they are served with the chicken consume on the side to dip into!

Tip: To easily remove the fat from the broth, make the stew the day before, and place it in the fridge overnight. The fat will float on the top and solidify, making it easy to remove! The sign of a good chicken consume broth is if the broth solidifies into a jelly like consistency when chilled in the fridge overnight!

Chicken Birria Tacos

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes Servings: 4

Crispy chicken tacos served with a side of a tasty chicken birra sauce for dipping!

Print Recipe

ingredients

For the chicken birria:

• 2 dried guajillo chilies, stem and seeds removed
• 1 dried ancho chili, stem and seeds removed
• 1 dried chipotle chili, stem and seeds removed
• 1 cup water, just boiled
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 pounds chicken thighs/drumsticks/legs (bone in, skin on)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

For the tacos:

• 12 small corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, sliced

directions

For the chicken birria:

1. Soak the dried chiles in the just boiled water until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat to oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, paprika and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, breaking the tomatoes apart as they simmer.
5. Add the soaked chilies to the sauce, and puree in a food processor or blender or using a stick blender, adding enough of the water that the chiles soaked in as required.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until the skin is golden brown on both sides, about 7-10 minutes per side, before setting the chicken aside.
7. Place the pureed chili sauce in the pan that the chicken was cooked in, mix in the broth, oregano, and bay leaves.
8. Add the chicken, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is falling apart tender, about 45-60 minutes.
9. Mix in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Skim the fat/grease off of the top of the sauce and set aside for the tacos.
11. If making tacos, remove the meat from the bones, shredd and mix in some of the birria sauce.

For the tacos:

12. Heat fat/grease and/or oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
13. Working in batches, add the tortillas, sprinkle on the cheese and chicken birria, and cook until the cheese starts to melt before folding the tortillas over to form tacos.
14. Cook until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.
15. When all of the tacos have been cooked, serve garnished with onion and cilantro with a side of lime pieces for squeezing along with a bowl of the birria sauce to dip the tacos in!

Option: Use 1 chipotle chili in adobo instead of the dried chipotle chili.
Option: Add a pinch of allspice.
Option: Use whole cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves, lightly toast in a skillet before grinding. (Using whole and toasted spices adds a bit more flavour and aroma!)
Option: Feel free to season the chicken skins a bit more!
Tip: Brown the chicken in a separate pan while the sauce simmers.
Option: Instead of making tacos, serve the chicken and sauce over rice, or mashed potatoes, pasta, etc.
Note: If there is not enough fat/grease from the chicken birria to cook the tortillas in, you may need to use some extra oil.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 488, Fat 30g (Saturated 10g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 97mg, Sodium 861mg, Carbs 52g (Fiber 10g, Sugars 8g), Protein 31g

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