From Our Kitchen to Yours: Chicken Tinga Tacos

Ingredients

Chicken Tinga

• 1 whole chicken, (or chicken thighs)
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• ½ white onion, diced
• 1 bulb garlic, cut in half
• 1 carrot, peeled
• kosher salt
• adobo sauce, canned or homemade

Adobo Sauce

• 4 New Mexico chiles,
• 4 California Chiles
• 2 Chiles del Arbol
• oregano (dried or fresh)
• cumin
• 4-5 garlic cloves

Cabbage Coleslaw

• ¼ cabbage, red or green
• lime
• kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• celery seed
• cilantro
• sliced radish, cotija cheese, and crema or sour cream for garnish

Handmade Tortillas

• 2 cups Maiz de Harina (corn flour)
• 1 Tbsp. lard or butter (optional)
• 1 ½ to 2 cups warm water
• dash kosher salt

Chef’s Tip: The night before cooking this dish, generously season the chicken with kosher salt and leave uncovered in the refrigerator to cure overnight. The next day, bring the meat to room temperature by removing it from the fridge about two hours prior to cooking.

Recipe Preparation

Chicken

Step 1: Halve the Chicken

I prefer using the whole chicken because of the rich depth from creating a stock while cooking the meal, which really translates to the final product. I remove the back of the chicken (save it for making stock) and cut the bird in half.

You can spatchcock the chicken, halve it, or even keep it whole, but allow for more time for an uncut bird to cook. This recipe will also work with boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, which will decrease the cook time. If you choose to use boneless, skinless chicken, you may want to substitute water for chicken broth.

Step 2: Sear the Meat

Heat a dutch oven on high heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil.  When the oil is hot, add the halved chicken, skin side down, and cook about 10 minutes until the skin begins to turn golden brown. Use tongs to move the chicken, searing the breast and the thigh evenly.  

As the meat sears, start your adobo sauce (recipe below).

Step 3: Add Vegetables & Liquid

Once the skin is golden brown and fragrant, add the onion, carrot, and bay leaves and stir. Add about ¼ cup of water or broth and cover on low heat until the onions begin to soften.

Add enough adobo sauce to generously cover the chicken, then mix to combine thoroughly with the other liquid in the pot.  Finally, add enough water so that the meat is about ¾ submerged in the liquid.  

*If you’re using the boneless/skinless cuts I recommend using a 50/50 mixture of chicken broth to water.

Step 4: Simmer

If using a whole chicken, cover and cook on low heat for about 2 hours, or until the meat is easily removed from the bone.  Once done, remove the chicken from the stock, remove and discard the bones, then shred the meat.

*You may also cook the chicken until it shreds itself in the pot, but you will need to beware of small bones that may get mixed into the meat.

Adobo Sauce

Step 1: Seed & Toast the Chiles

Seed the chiles and discard seeds (I’d recommend wearing plastic gloves) and heat a dry skillet on the stove.  

Toss the seeded chiles in the skillet, toasting them, 2-5 minutes.  Make sure to turn on your range hood during this step as the smoke from these chiles can burn your eyes

Step 2: Season & Simmer

Add the toasted chiles to a medium saucepan with the garlic, oregano and cumin, then add enough water (or chicken broth) to submerged the chiles.  

Simmer covered on medium heat, until the garlic and the chiles are tender.

Step 3: Blend & Taste

Add the cooked chiles to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Add chile water to adjust the texture as necessary. 

The sauce should be slightly bitter. Add salt if necessary to adjust the bitterness and allow the flavors to bloom.  

*To adjust the spiciness of your dish, add more or less chiles del arbol.

Tortillas

Step 1: Mix, Knead, and Chill

1. Add the masa harina (corn flour) to a large mixing bowl and stir in salt. 
2. Slowly pour about a quarter of the warm water into the flour until it becomes slightly doughy. 
3. Microwave the lard or butter until it is warm and liquid (10 seconds or so) and integrate into the dough. 
4. Slowly add the rest of the water and knead the dough for about ten minutes. 

If the dough seems too dry (crumbly) add a little bit more water. If it gets too sticky or wet, add a little bit more flour until the dough is smooth, not sticky and rebounds slightly when you press it with your finger.  Once the dough is the desired consistency, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour

Step 2: Press & Form

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and break off pieces, rolling into balls between your palms. Each ball should be 30 grams (use a kitchen scale) or about the size of a golf ball. 

To make the tortillas, cut a ziplock bag along the seams and place it in the tortilla press. Set a ball into the center of the press between the ziplock and press the tortilla.

Step 3: Cook

Once the tortillas are pressed, set them aside.  Grill them on a comal or griddle, or fry them in oil in a shallow skillet.

Cabbage Coleslaw

1. Core the cabbage, (I like to use a half and half red and green cabbage), thinly slice into ribbons, and put into a large bowl.
2. Season with cilantro, salt, and celery seed. 
3. Squeeze the juice of one lime, rice vinegar and olive oil over the cabbage. 
4. Using your hands, mix the slaw together, squeezing the cabbage as you mix (this allows the cabbage to release some water and absorb flavor.)

You can also add a little mayonnaise to add some creaminess to the slaw if you like.  Once the slaw is tossed, refrigerate until serving.

Assembly

Once all of the components are ready, grill or fry up those tortillas until golden and crispy! Then add some chicken, top with coleslaw and garnish with sliced radish, crumbled cotija cheese and crema for garnish. Enjoy!