Traditional

Birria de Pollo

Name: Birria de Pollo
Prep time: 42 min
Cook time: 1 h 18 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 10 tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 6 Guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded; 2 Ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded; 2 Chiles de árbol; 3 Roma tomatoes; 5 Garlic cloves; 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar; 1/2 stick Mexican cinnamon (canela); 2 Whole cloves; 1 tsp Ground cumin; 1 tsp Mexican oregano; 3 lb Bone-in chicken thighs; 4 cups Chicken stock; 2 Bay leaves; 1/2 White onion, halved; to taste Salt; 10 Corn tortillas; 1/2 White onion, minced; 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped; 2 limes Lime wedges

Chicken thighs braised in a guajillo-ancho consomé heady with canela, clove, and a splash of vinegar — birria logic applied to the bird. Tortillas get dipped in the chile-stained fat, griddled crisp, and served with a cup of consomé for dunking.

Time: 2 hr
Heat
Yield: 10 tacos
Region: Jalisco

Ingredients

Adobo de chiles

Braise

To build

Per-100g nutrition (12 ingredients verified)

Ingredient	kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs
Roma tomatoes	24	0.7 g	0.3 g	4.7 g
Garlic cloves	100	0 g	0 g	20 g
Apple cider vinegar	33	0 g	0 g	0 g
Whole cloves	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Ground cumin	500	0 g	0 g	50 g
Mexican oregano	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Bone-in chicken thighs	196	15.2 g	15.2 g	0 g
Chicken stock	8	1.6 g	0 g	0.4 g
Bay leaves	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Salt	0	0 g	0 g	1330 g
Corn tortillas	188	3.1 g	1.6 g	40.6 g
Cilantro, chopped	23	2.1 g	0.5 g	3.7 g

Values are per 100 g of the listed ingredient. Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central (snapshot 2026-09-11). Ingredients without a verified match are omitted.

Method

Toast the guajillos, anchos, and árbol on a dry comal until fragrant, then soak in hot water until pliable.
Blend the soaked chiles with the tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, canela, cloves, cumin, oregano, and a splash of soaking liquid until velvet-smooth, then strain.
Season the thighs, combine them in a heavy pot with the adobo, stock, bay leaves, and onion, and simmer covered until the meat falls off the bone.
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Pull and shred the chicken, discarding skin and bones, and skim the brick-red fat from the surface of the consomé into a shallow dish.
Dip each tortilla through the chile fat, lay it on a hot comal, fill with chicken, fold, and griddle until crisp and stained red on both sides.
Serve the tacos with minced onion, cilantro, lime, and hot cups of consomé for dunking.