TamalesHardFree

Mucbipollo (Pibipollo)

Name: Mucbipollo (Pibipollo)
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 270 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 kg Chicken breast; 500 g Pork shoulder; 1 kg Nixtamalised masa harina; 200 g Lard; 6 hojas grandes Banana leaves; 50 g Achiote paste; 4 Ancho chilli; 3 Mulato chilli (dried); 8 Allspice berries; 1 tsp Cumin; 4 Cloves; 6 cloves Garlic; 1 White onion; 2 sprigs Epazote; 1 tbsp Salt

270 min (90 prep + 180 cook) Hard 8 servings Yucatán

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 26 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

Giant Yucatecan tamal of chicken and pork in black recado, cooked underground for Day of the Dead.

About this recipe

Mucbipollo is the ritual tamal of the Yucatecan Maya, a giant parcel filled with chicken and pork in black recado, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked underground in the pib - the traditional Maya earth oven. Prepared once a year for Hanal Pixán, the Yucatecan Day of the Dead, it is the most sacred offering of the peninsula's entire culinary tradition.

History & Origin

Mucbipollo - whose name in Mayan means 'tamal cooked in a pit' - is far more than a dish: it is the spiritual centrepiece of Hanal Pixán, the Maya Day of the Dead celebrated on 31 October and 1–2 November throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. The word pib, which gives its name to the underground oven, is of pre-Hispanic Maya origin and refers to the pit dug in the earth where volcanic stones are heated red-hot, and upon which the banana-leaf-wrapped tamal rests, covered with sacks and earth so that the steam slowly cooks it over three or four hours. The tradition of cooking food underground predates the Spanish conquest and appears in the Popol Vuh and the Maya codices. When the Spanish arrived in Yucatán in the 16th century, they found that the Maya were already preparing pibtes - ritual tamales - as offerings to the gods of the underworld. With religious syncretism, this offering merged with the Catholic Day of the Dead, giving rise to Hanal Pixán (literally 'food of the souls' in Mayan), one of Mexico's most important living cultural expressions. The filling of mucbipollo varies by family and municipality: the dough is made from nixtamalised masa harina kneaded with lard and stock from the black recado - a paste of charred chillies, spices and achiote - and filled with chicken and pork pieces cooked in that same dark, intense sauce. The result is a tamal that can reach 30 to 40 centimetres and weigh more than two kilograms, enough to feed an entire family during the offering. Today, although pib earth ovens are rare in cities, many Yucatecan families seek out gardens and patios to keep this tradition alive, and in inland villages communities organise communal fires where dozens of mucbipolllos are cooked together on 31 October. INAH and the Yucatán government have declared Hanal Pixán an intangible cultural heritage of the state, recognising mucbipollo as a symbol of living Maya identity.

Estimated cost

£15.50

Total cost

£1.94

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

580

Calories

32g

Protein

52g

Carbohydrates

28g

Fat

Fibre

720mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Cook the chicken and pork together in water with garlic, onion, salt and a sprig of epazote until tender (45 minutes). Reserve the stock. Shred the meat into large pieces.
💡 Keep the stock - it's the flavour base for the entire recipe.
2
Make the recado negro: toast the ancho, mulato and chilhuacle chillies on a dry comal until almost black (without burning). Soak in hot water for 20 minutes. Blend with achiote, roasted garlic, allspice, cumin, cloves and a little stock.
3
Fry the recado negro in a tablespoon of hot lard for 10 minutes. Add the shredded meat, mix well and cook for a further 10 minutes. Season with salt. The filling should be moist but not runny.
💡 A good recado negro is the key to authentic mucbipollo.
4
Make the dough: mix the masa harina with melted lard, salt and enough warm stock to achieve a soft, pliable dough like modelling clay. Add a few spoonfuls of recado negro for colour and flavour.
5
Soften the banana leaves by passing them over an open flame until pliable. Lay a cross of large leaves on a clean surface.
6
Spread a 1 cm layer of dough over the leaves to form a large rectangle. Place the filling in the centre. Cover with another layer of dough and close the leaves, wrapping like a large parcel. Tie with strips of banana leaf.
💡 A tight seal is essential so no soil enters during pib cooking.
7
Traditional pib cooking: heat volcanic stones in an earth pit, place the mucbipollo on top, cover with leaves, damp sacking and earth. Cook 3–4 hours. Alternative: bake at 180°C covered in foil for 2 hours 30 minutes.
8
Carefully remove from the oven or pib. Open the leaves at the table and cut into portions. Serve hot with salsa xnipec and freshly made tortillas.