Smoked Chicken Birria
I’ve made birria in the slow cooker, so I thought Smoked Chicken Birria would kind of be like stepping things up a notch.
You could easily use beef in place of the chicken, as birria is typically made with beef or goat.
But chicken is a perfectly acceptable meat to use, even in traditional recipes.
Enjoy in a bowl with toppings of choice, or in birria tacos, nachos, or quesadillas.
How to make Smoked Chicken Birria
First remove the stems and some seeds from 5 ancho chiles and 5 guajillo chiles.
I just ordered mine from Amazon.
Put them in a large Dutch oven or pot along with 2 1/2 cups chicken broth.
Bring to a boil and let them sit for 20 minutes.
Next add in some garlic, apple cider vinegar, honey, oregano, cumin, ginger, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
And blend that until smooth with an immersion blender.
Or you can transfer to a food processor or blender.
It should be completely blended and smooth just like this.
Place 4 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs into the pot along with a diced onion and 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes.
Give this a toss with tongs until mixed.
Next stop is the smoker or Traeger pellet grill!
Set the smoker or pellet grill to 225 to 250 degrees and place the pot right on the grill grate for 7 to 8 hours.
Mix a few times with tongs and eventually the chicken will start falling apart.
You have several serving options for Smoked Chicken Birria 🙂
The first day I love to enjoy a bowl with pickled red onions, cilantro, sour cream, and warm flour tortillas.
Then use leftovers in tacos, nachos, or whatever my little heart desires.
Have even more leftovers?! Freeze in a covered container for a few months and thaw when ready to enjoy again 🙂
If you like Smoked Chicken Birria, you might also like these recipes…
Blackstone Chicken Birria Tacos
Traeger Chorizo Stuffed Poblanos
Smoked Jalapeno Popper Chicken Bombs
Smoked Fireball Whiskey Ribs
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Smoked Chicken Birria
Equipment
- Traeger/Pellet Grill
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 dried ancho chiles
- 5 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3/4 tablespoon pepper
- 3/4 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3/4 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 cloves garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 onion diced
- 2 10-ounce cans Rotel tomatoes
- Optional toppings: cheese, sour cream, pickled red onions, cilantro, soft tortillas
Instructions
- Remove the chile stems and shake out most of the seeds.
- Put chiles and chicken broth in a large Dutch oven or pot, bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Let soak for 20 minutes.
- Add apple cider vinegar, salt, honey, pepper, cumin, oregano, ginger, garlic, and bay leaves. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.Note: You can also transfer to a blender or food processor.
- Put chicken, onions, and tomatoes into the pot and toss until combined.
- Set pellet grill or smoker to 225 to 250 degrees. Place Dutch oven or pot on grill grate for 7 to 8 hours, tossing a few times with tongs and the chicken will eventually start falling apart.
- Serve in bowls with optional toppings such as cheese, sour cream, pickled red onions, cilantro, and/or soft tortillas.Note: Can also be used for birria tacos, quesadillas, nachos, etc.
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