Servings: 10 Tacos
Crock Pot Chicken Birria Tacos Recipe
If you love beef birria tacos, try out this delicious chicken version! While it requires several steps and a decent amount of cooking time, every part of the process is fun and easy! Enjoy them with your friends and family.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 dried ancho chilis
- 2 dried guajillo chilis
- 2 dried arbol chilis
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
For Serving
- Corn Tortillas:
- Mozzarella cheese or oaxaca cheese or asadero cheese
- Cilantro
Instructions
Prepare the Birria Chicken:
- Transfer the dried chili peppers to a saucepan and fill with water. Bring the water to a full boil. Turn off the heat and allow the chilies to soak for at least 10 minutes.
- While the chilis are soaking, toast the spices. Place the black peppercorns, coriander seed, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick in a small skillet and heat over medium heat. Allow the spices to toast for 3-4 minutes, stirring or shaking the skillet frequently to avoid burning. Wrap the spices in cheesecloth and bind the spice sachet with twine.
- Once softened, use a slotted spoon to remove the chiles from the hot water. Allow them to cool enough to handle, then remove the stems and seeds. Transfer the chilies to a high-powered blender along with the chopped onion, garlic, and chicken stock. Blend until smooth.
- Place the boneless chicken thighs in the bottom of your crock pot. Pour the birria sauce through a fine mesh strainer to stain out the pulp. Press on the pulp with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Add the spice sachet to the crock pot along with the cider vinegar, tomato paste, dried oregano, ground cumin, and sea salt. Give everything a big stir.
- Secure the lid on the crock pot and cook on Low heat for 8 hours (recommended) or High heat for 4 hours.
- Once the slow cooking process has finished, use tongs to transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Place the chicken back into the crock pot with the sauce.
Make the Tacos:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough avocado oil to generously coat the surface. Give the skillet a few minutes to heat up.
- Carefully place 2 to 3 corn tortillas in the hot skillet (depending on how much room you have), and sprinkle the surface of the tortilla with grated cheese. Allow the cheese to melt most of the way before adding your desired amount of shredded chicken to half of the tortilla. Use a spatula to fold the tortilla in half. It is easiest to fold the side without the chicken over the side with the shredded chicken. Spoon the crock pot juices (birria sauce) over each taco. Allow the corn tortilla to crisp up for another minute or two before flipping. Continue pan frying and flipping until both sides of the taco have reached your desired level of crisp. Transfer the tacos to a plate and serve immediately for the best results.
- Use a ladle to transfer some of the crock pot juices to a ramekin to be used as consommé for dipping the tacos.
- Repeat this process for the remaining chicken. Dip the crispy tacos into the reserved sauce for the perfect bite. Serve them with your choice of side dishes, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 2Tacos, Calories: 522kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g