Chicken Birria Tacos
A switch up from the traditional protein, these chicken birria tacos are killer!
Because I rarely check and see if I’ve posted a similar recipe to the one I’m currently posting, I don’t remember if I have yet shared a birria recipe. Nick used to travel to San Diego quite a bit and he had us finding a local place to get birria as soon as he possibly could. We have an amazing taco truck that has the best birria of all the birria I’ve tried to date. But occasionally I like to do chicken instead of beef and, of course, Carlsbad Cravings came through with an amazing recipe. If you ever have problems trying to find the right chile peppers, I highly recommend finding a Hispanic market near you. They almost always will have what you need there and for a super reasonable price too!
What You Need:
For the Chicken:
3 lb. chicken (thighs or breasts)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
For the Adobo Sauce/Consome:
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 yellow onion, chopped
8 cloves minced garlic
6 dried guajillo chiles, seeded
4 dried anchos chiles, seeded
1 chili de arbol, seeded
4 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
4 bay leaves
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
For the Tacos:
12 to 14 corn tortillas
12 oz. Oaxacan cheese or mozzarella
1/2 white onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp. lime juice
Pinch of salt
Directions:
For the Chicken: Season chicken with salt and pepper on each side.
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and sear until deeply browned on both sides and remove to a plate, but don’t clean out the pot.
For the Sauce: Add onions to stockpot and saute over medium high heat until softened.
Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Add remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until peppers are very soft, stirring occasionally.
Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
Add chicken back to stockpot with pureed sauce and cover. Bring to a simmer.
Move stockpot to a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken shreds easily.
Shred chicken and reserve sauce to prepare tacos.
For the Tacos: While chicken cooks, mix together onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Set aside.
Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Lightly dip a tortilla into the sauce and add to skillet. Press down to keep from curling. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until bottom is golden.
Flip over and immediately cover in cheese. Cover and cook until cheese is mostly melted.
Uncover and add chicken to half of the tortilla. Cook until bottom is lightly charred, then fold in half and remove from pan.
Serve with onion and cilantro mixture. and a side of the pureed sauce (consome).
Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings