Pressure Cooker Birria de Pollo Recipe
This flavorful chicken birria features tender chicken thighs simmered with roasted chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and warm Mexican spices for a rich, deeply savory sauce.
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Ingredients
Chicken Thighs
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil - for searing
- 3 pounds skin on bone-in chicken thighs - don't remove those skins!
- 1 onion - sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 8 ounces lager beer - see Ingredients Notes in post
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth - another cup for the red chile sauce
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt and fresh ground pepper
- garnishes - avocado, cotija, lime wedges, chicharrón - as desired
Red Chiles Mixture
- 2 large tomatoes - halved top to bottom
- 1 medium onion - cut in quarters
- 1 bulb garlic with loose outer layers removed - slice off the top to expose cloves
- 5 dried guajillo chiles - see Notes below for total quantity of red chiles!
- 3 dried pasilla chiles
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil - to drizzle
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
Chicken
- Either on the IP "sear" setting or on medium-high on stovetop model, sear all chicken thighs, and set aside.
- Using the fat from the chicken, add onion, garlic, and ground cumin. Sauté until fragrant (2-3 minutes).
- De-glaze with the beer, scraping to loosen browned bits.
- Add chicken broth, oregano, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine
- Add chicken back to the pot. Bring to "High" pressure, and cook 20 minutes. Do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before releasing remaining pressure.
- Gently remove chicken pieces from pot, and don't lose the skins! Fish out the whole spices and bay leaves.
Red Chile Sauce
- While the chicken cooks, roast the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 400℉/204℃.
- Arrange halved tomatoes, quartered onion, and garlic bulb on sheet pan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
- Roast 20 to 25 minutes until tomatoes collapse and onion shows a bit of browning. Turn off the oven, and add the chiles. Toast 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the oven.
- Add the vegetables and chiles to a high-powered blender with the cup of chicken broth. Purée on high until smooth. NOTE: If your blender cannot achieve a smooth texture, you can push it through a strainer.
To Finish
- Remove the chicken from the bones in chunks or shred as desired, setting aside the skins. Add chicken back into the pot, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the puréed mixture into the pot with the chicken. Taste for seasoning. Simmer while preparing the chicharrón.
- Bring a comal or cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Place the chicken skin pieces on the hot comal, and let them sizzle until crisp. Rough chop, slice, or leave whole as desired.
- Serve the finished birria de pollo with rice and garnishes as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
DON'T REMOVE those chicken skins! They are an integral part of this recipe for the chicharrón garnish.
You'll want a total of about 3 ounces (85 g) of dried red chiles.
To prep red chiles - Use kitchen shears to snip off the stem, then make a lengthwise cut and shake out the seeds.
I am not sure this is even "healthyish." I consider it a splurge meal, but we do those occasionally!
Nutrition
Calories: 576kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 39g
NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and/or star rating! Email us with any questions: tamara@beyondmeresustenance.com