Guadalupe Moreno who runs Mi Moreno, a tacos de guisado business in the Bay Area shared this recipe which appeared in New York Times cooking and sounds like a winner. It is perfect in tacos, in a burrito, on top of crisp tostados with lettuce and salsa, inside quesadillas or as a tamal filling. To keep it simple you can use rotisserie chicken but personally I like the idea of poaching the bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts with the veggies to add flavor before the sauce is added; a mirepoix of ingredients! When I make quesadillas I like to use my panini maker which adds a nice grilled texture.
Tinga de Pollo (Chicken with Chipotle and Onions)
Recipe from Guadalupe Moreno, Adapted by Tejal Rao and Judi Graber
Chicken:
- 2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or legs or a combination
- 1/2 medium white onion, cut into chunks
- 1-2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 small carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
Combine the chicken, onion, celery and carrots in a large saucepan and add 4 cups cold water. Add more water if needed to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until the chicken is tender and falling off the bones, about 45 minutes.
Move the chicken to a large cutting board and once the chicken is cool discard the skin and bones. I used my new titantium cutting board; one side for meat and the other side for veggies. Then pull the meat into fine shreds or use two forks. Strain the broth and reserve for something like tamales; I used it to make my Sage Gravy.
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced (I cut it again)
- 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes (felt the chicken was dry so I added more tomatoes)
- 3 chipotles in adobo with sauce (1/3 cup) – to balance the additional tomatoes I added some more sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and I sliced them
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste – the chicken was well-seasoned so I didn’t add any salt or pepper
Condiments: Possibilities are endless; chopped fresh tomatoes, shredded lettuce, pickled jalapenos, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, green pepper, Monterey Jack cheese
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Puree the tomatoes, chipotles and garlic in a blender until smooth. Add to the onions and bring to a boil; reduce to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, 2-3 minutes. I did add more crushed and blended tomatoes as well as a little more adobo sauce.
Add the shredded chicken to the sauce and combine to evenly coat and the chicken is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in your chosen recipe or freeze for later use.
I made my quesadillas with a layer of chicken, then some chopped green peppers and Monterey Jack cheese.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
A similiar, but different recipe, can be found in Mexican Shredded Chicken by recipetineats.com
Judy, I could devour that plate in one sitting. 😋
I almost did! I get a craving for Mexican food every now and then 🙂
I could eat Mexican food once a week! No kidding! 😜
Looks very tasty, even more so, as you’ve used it as a filling for quesadillas. 🙂
Thanks Ronit – I use beef, bean and cheese as fillings and now this chicken kind of rounds things out and gives me three choices to satisfy everyone 🙂
So simple but SO promising in taste > a recipe to be tried and to be passed along!
Yes, simple and so many ways to use it 🙂
Nice and simple. Chipotle chile peppers are the bomb!
I love the smokey flavor the chipotles impart in a recipe 🙂
I like the idea of using the bone-in, skin-on chicken but hubby hates bones!! So shredded chook it is! Sounds delish!
cheers
sherry
I don’t like the skin and never eat it but sometimes its nice to keep on to add some fat. I’m using the broth to make my gravy ahead of time for Thanksgiving 🙂