Traditional

Pollo Pibil

Name: Pollo Pibil
Prep time: 1 h 24 min
Cook time: 2 h 36 min
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 12 tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 3 lb Bone-in chicken thighs; 3 tbsp Achiote paste; 3/4 cup Sour orange juice (or half orange, half lime); 6 Garlic cloves; 1 tsp Mexican oregano; 1/2 tsp Ground allspice; 1/2 tsp Black pepper; 2 tsp Salt; 2 large Banana leaves, thawed; 1 White onion, sliced; 12 Corn tortillas; 1 cup Pickled red onion (cebolla encurtida); to taste Habanero salsa; 1/2 cup Cilantro leaves

Chicken thighs slathered in sour-orange achiote recado, wrapped in charred banana leaves, and oven-steamed low and slow until they collapse — the Yucatecan pit classic, minus the pit. Pickled red onion and habanero salsa are non-negotiable.

Time: 4 hr
Heat
Yield: 12 tacos
Region: Yucatán

Ingredients

Recado rojo

To wrap and build

Per-100g nutrition (11 ingredients verified)

Ingredient	kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs
Bone-in chicken thighs	196	15.2 g	15.2 g	0 g
Achiote paste	0	0 g	0 g	90.9 g
Garlic cloves	100	0 g	0 g	20 g
Mexican oregano	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Ground allspice	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Black pepper	0	0 g	0 g	167 g
Salt	0	0 g	0 g	1330 g
Corn tortillas	188	3.1 g	1.6 g	40.6 g
Pickled red onion (cebolla encurtida)	36	0 g	0 g	7.1 g
Habanero salsa	48	3.2 g	0 g	9.7 g
Cilantro leaves	0	0 g	0 g	0 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

Blend the achiote paste with the sour orange juice, garlic, oregano, allspice, pepper, and salt into a loose, brick-red recado.
Slather the chicken in the recado and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour — overnight is even better.
Pass the banana leaves over an open flame until glossy and pliable, then line a Dutch oven with them, leaving a long overhang.
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Nestle in the chicken with the sliced onion and every drop of marinade, fold the leaves over to seal the packet, and cover with the lid.
Bake at 300°F until the chicken shreds at the touch of a fork and the juices run deep orange.
Shred the meat into its own juices, discarding skin and bones, and taste for salt.
Warm the tortillas on a comal and top each taco with pibil, pickled red onion, cilantro, and habanero salsa.