As the weather warms, my menus tend to go from simmered to steamed and from protein to produce. It’s partially because my body craves rich foods less, but it’s also a practical matter of keeping the apartment cool. Still, there are times when I crave some melty tender meat and these braised chicken tacos fill that need without taking the kind of apartment heating time a whole pork butt would require.
The braising liquid gets it’s sweet, earthy flavor from caramelized onions and a puree of dried ancho and guajillo chiles. It’s similar to the red sauce you’d find on an enchilada, only sweeter and with more flavor, thanks to the onions and tomatoes. The chicken cooks until you can easily shred it with a fork, this creates a matrix of tender chicken fibers that the sauce can cling to.
With street tacos, the meat is where it’s at, with the tortilla serving as a way to get it into your mouth. Condiments are filler at best, and at worst they can be a way to cover up the questionable nature of the meat. These chicken taco’s don’t need any condiments, in fact I could have eaten the chicken with a fork sin tortilla. I did want a little more richness though, so I sliced up some avocado and snuck them in. Flavor aside, if you close your eyes and take a bite, you could be fooled into thinking you were eating pork belly.
If you have some leftover chicken just add another can of chopped tomatoes and a can of your favorite beans for a chicken chili. This also freezes well so you can make a bunch ahead of time and freeze it in serving sized portions so you can have braised chicken tacos all summer long without having to run your air conditioning full blast.
Units
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 small onions (thinly sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 dried ancho chilies (stems and seeds removed)
- 3 dried guajillo chiles (stems and seeds removed)
- 14 ounces whole stewed tomatoes (chopped)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- salt (to taste)
- corn tortillas
Instructions
- Generously salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil to a large heavy bottomed pot and heat until the oil is very hot. Brown the chicken in batches, leaving room between the pieces of chicken so they turn a golden brown on one side before flipping. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and repeat.
- Turn down the heat to medium low, add the onions and garlic to the pot, and cover with a lid for 10 minutes. When you remove the lid, the onions should be wilted and cooking in their own juices. Use a wooden paddle to scrape up all the browned bits (a.k.a. chicken flavor) from the pan, then turn up the heat to medium high to burn off the liquid. When most of the liquid has evaporated, turn the heat back down and stir and continue to caramelize the onions until they are brown and glossy (another 20-30 minutes).
- Meanwhile, tear up the chiles into small flat pieces and place them in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast in a 350 degree oven until they are fragrant, but be careful not to burn them as they will become bitter. Transfer the roasted peppers to a bowl and cover them with very hot water. Once the peppers are soft, transfer them to a food processor or blender adding in about 1/2 cup of the water they were soaking in along with the can of tomatoes. Puree the peppers and tomatoes until they form a smooth sauce.
- When the onions are done caramelizing add the pepper puree, along with the chicken, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, partially cover with a lid and cook until the chicken falls apart when prodded with a fork (about 1 1/2 hours).
- When the chicken is done, remove the bay leaf an cinnamon sticks, then use 2 forks to shred the meat. Taste the sauce and add salt to taste. Serve with sliced avocados, fresh cilantro, lime wedges and tortillas.
Notes
Hardik Kheskani says
tried the recipe last night, it was amazing – the whole apt smelled of these chillies. just need to add little more tomate/tomato-sauce. i added tomatoes to the blender with chillies since i didn’t have tomato sauce, but that mix was just super deadly — full of aroma and flavor! will definitely repeat! thanks for the beautiful recipe and great instructions – was my first time making shredded chicken.
Hardik Kheskani says
I did 2/3 for onion and tomate paste and 1lb chicken – it turned out to be amazing!
Guest says
Da Bomb. My wife made this (I helped with my eyes). The next day we used it for enchilada meat, which I thought was actually a bit better, the sweetness of the onion really popped.
Dustin Headley says
My wife made the meat into enchiladas. I was very happy until I was sad it was all gone.
Tami S. says
Hi Marc, I am trying out your recipe right now but ran into a problem with my wonky stove. The lowest setting doesn’t appear to be anywhere near hot enough for the final hour and a half. I live on the gulf coast in hurricane land where we can have only electric stoves. Any idea of the temperature for the last stretch? I have a thermometer to check. Thanks in advance!
Marc Matsumoto says
I’m not sure what the temperature should be, but it should just barely be simmering (steady stream of small bubbles coming up, not still, not boiling). Hope that helps.
Tami S. says
I figured it out. Thanks for taking the time to answer…super nice of you. Your recipe made me a total rock star for the past two days. My boyfriend actually gave me a back massage without me asking!! SO DELICIOUS! I’m glad I made as much as I did. Had breakfast tacos this morning. Braised chicken, eggs, avocado and cilantro! So tasty!!!
Dom says
I made this today (although I had to adapt it a bit) and I have to say it was absolutely amazing!! I didn’t have a cinnamon stick so I used powdered instead and I used dried chipotle chilies instead of the guajillo. I didn’t have any lemons either so I replaced the lemon juice with sherry vinegar for a bit of acidity. I also added some ground cumin, sweet smoked paprika and dried oregano for some extra spice. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!!!
CodieD says
I really loved these chicken tacos and will be making them again. The flavor of the smoked peppers and caramelized onions was so yummy! I added a couple of links of smoked chorizo from our local butcher, but I’m not sure it really needed it. I made some fresh pico to go with it and your salsa verde just in case. I loved the verde on my eggs this morning! Thank you for sharing this recipe.