Introducing the Quick Chicken Birria Tacos – An Authentic Mexican Dish Made Easy
Birria tacos have exploded in popularity over the last few years, taking the internet and food lovers by storm. Their incredible flavors, textures, and colors make them an irresistible sensory experience.
However, traditional beef birria tacos require hours of slow braising meat in a rich, aromatic broth called consommé. This leisurely cooking extracts maximum flavor while producing meat so tender it falls apart with the slightest pull.
As delicious as traditional birria tacos are, few home cooks can spare 3-4 hours to prepare them. I’ve developed an easy weeknight version – Quick Chicken Birria Tacos.
They capture the essence of the iconic Mexican street food in under 30 minutes using a flavor-packed adobo marinade and conveniently roasted chicken from the grocery store deli.
Keep reading to learn all my tips for making these tacos quickly and deliciously. You’ll also find my step-by-step recipe detailing how to prepare the savory, shredded chicken filling, easy adobo marinade sauce, and perfectly pan-fry the tacos for a crispy exterior with melted cheese oozing out. After just one bite of these incredible tacos, you’ll never bother with beef birria again!
The Brilliant Birria Marinade Sauce Shortcut
Authentic beef birria gets its rich, complex flavor from long braising in a chile-based broth called consommé. Typically, the consommé is made by slowly simmering ancho and guajillo-dried chiles with tomatoes, garlic, and Mexican spices like cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and clove.
This long cooking extraction process gives the meat and broth an astounding depth of flavor. However, on a busy weeknight, there’s no way most home cooks can find 4+ hours for simmering chiles!
That’s why the key to these quick chicken birria tacos is an ingenious flavor shortcut – transforming store-bought adobo sauce into a simple but packed-with-flavor marinade.
Adobo sauce is a Mexican cooking staple consisting of chiles, garlic, vinegar, spices, and oil blended into a smooth, tangy marinade. It’s commonly used to infuse flavors into meats before grilling or roasting quickly.
By whisking chipotle adobo sauce with tomato paste, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon, you easily emulate the flavors in traditional beef birria. Then, reduce it with cornstarch to create a rich, clingy sauce perfect for marinating and frying.
This brilliant hack lets you achieve depth and complexity without the hours of simmering from scratch. It’s an ingenious flavor shortcut that makes quick chicken birria possible without compromising taste!
Secrets to the Best Birria Chicken Filling
Traditional beef birria features extremely tender, fall-apart meat after hours of low-and-slow braising. While our quick chicken birria tacos don’t have that luxury, you can still achieve deliciously moist, flavorful chicken with a few simple tricks.
First, choose fully cooked, shredded rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli section rather than grilling your own. In just 2 minutes, you have tender, perfectly seasoned meat ready for your tacos!
Next, generously coat the shredded chicken with the flavor-packed adobo marinade. Allow it to soak in at least 5 minutes before filling your tacos. This step infuses the meat with spices and an umami dimension lacking in plain roasted chicken.
Finally, deliberately over-stuff your tortillas with the well-seasoned chicken. Birria tacos should burst with fillings! Don’t be shy about mounding that flavorful meat high. This guarantees you get moist chicken in every bite instead of dry, bland mouthfuls of tortilla.
Using pre-cooked chicken and a strongly flavored marinade, you easily mimic the texture and taste of long braised meats. This clever shortcut makes whipping up crave-able chicken birria on a weeknight breeze!
The Keys to Perfectly Fried Birria Tacos
The crowning touch that makes birria tacos extraordinary is frying the stuffed tortillas in the flavorful adobo-tomato sauce. This genius technique crisps up the tortillas for a delightful contrast against the tender chicken filling. It also infuses them with rich, savory flavor in every bite.
Achieving beautifully fried birria shells is easier than you think with just a few key tips:
Use the Right Pan: Cast iron skillets are ideal for frying as they distribute heat evenly. This allows the tortillas to be crisp and brown without burning. For easy cleanup, non-stick skillets also work well.
Don’t Skimp on Oil: Be generous with adding oil to your pan. Frying leeches moisture from the tortillas, so ample oil ensures they fry up crispy, not soggy and pale.
Work in Small Batches: Frying more than 2 tacos simultaneously lowers the pan’s temperature too much. So work in batches for even cooking.
Fry Flipping Halfway: Allow tacos to fry for about 1 minute per side. Flipping halfway ensures both sides are evenly crisp, and the cheese melts.
Let Rest Before Biting: It’s hard to resist immediately devouring these tacos right off the pan! But allowing them to rest 30 seconds helps set the fillings so they don’t ooze out with that first bite.
Follow these simple guidelines to earn rave reviews for your fried birria shells!
The Complete Quick Chicken Birria Tacos Recipe
With all my tips and tricks fresh in your mind, you’re ready to wow your family with incredible weeknight birria tacos. Just refer to my complete recipe below outlining how to prepare the flavorful adobo sauce and shredded chicken filling and fry the tacos to golden perfection.
Trust me, after one bite of these flavor-packed tacos, you’ll never bother with the traditional version again!
Ingredients (Makes 4 Tacos):
Adobo Sauce Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2-3 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- -1 tablespoon corn starch
Chicken Filling:
Shredded meat from 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups)
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 8 oz. shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Corn tortillas
- Lime wedges (for serving)
Instructions For Cooking
1. Prepare the Adobo Marinade:
- Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Whisk in water, tomato paste, adobo sauce, cumin, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened to a rich sauce consistency.
- Reserve 1/3 of the sauce in a small bowl for frying the tacos later.
2. Prepare the Chicken:
- Place shredded rotisserie chicken in a mixing bowl. Pour remaining 2/3 marinade over top and toss to coat thoroughly.
- Let sit for at least 5 minutes for flavors to penetrate the chicken.
3. Fry the Tacos:
- Heat 1 Tbsp canola oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Working one at a time, dip corn tortillas in reserved adobo sauce, coating both sides. Add to a hot skillet and cook for 1 minute per side until crispy and brown.
- Immediately top the fried tortilla with a generous spoonful of chicken, cheese, onions, and cilantro.
- Fold the tortilla in half using a spatula, enclosing the fillings. Allow to rest for 1 minute before serving.
- Serve with lime wedges, and enjoy!
Make tonight’s taco night with my quick and mouthwatering Chicken Birria Tacos! Loaded with spiced shredded chicken, gooey melted cheese, and crispy fried shells, they are weeknight Mexican food at its finest.
This simplified preparation packs all the incredible flavors you love from traditional beef birria in under 30 minutes. With just a few simple ingredients and clever shortcuts, I’ve made this iconic street food doable for busy home cooks without losing any wow factor.
One bite of these incredible tacos is all you’ll need to declare Tuesdays obsolete. From here on out, every night can be taco night, thanks to my easy chicken birria recipe!
Now, impress your family with exotic tacos that taste like you spent all day over a bubbling pot of chiles and spices. But we’ll keep it our secret that these only required a quick marinade and a wrist flip.
Explore another delicious recipe (Chicken Burrito Bowls Recipe) that pairs wonderfully with our recent culinary discussions.
