Tinga de Pollo (Chicken with Chipotle and Onions)

Tinga de Pollo (Chicken with Chipotle and Onions)

Guadalupe Moreno runs Mi Morena, a tacos de guisado business in the Bay Area, where a number of saucy fillings and toppings are used to mix and match tacos to order. She shared her recipe for tinga de pollo with Leticia Landa and Caleb Zigas for their cookbook "We Are La Cocina." Ms. Moreno's tinga de pollo works perfectly in tacos and also on top of crisp tostadas with lettuce and salsa, inside quesadillas or as a tamal filling. It’s a great way to use up any leftover cooked chicken (just skip straight to step 2), whether pulled from a roast or poached bird, or grocery-store rotisserie. —Tejal Rao

Yield: 4 servings (about 3 cups)

For the Chicken

2 pounds bone-in chicken legs, breasts or a combination

½ medium white onion

1 celery stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 small carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

For the Sauce

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced

¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes

3 chipotles in adobo with sauce (⅓ cup)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the chicken: Combine the chicken, onion, celery and carrots in a large saucepan and add 4 cups cold water. Add more water if needed to cover the solids. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the chicken is very tender and falling off the bones, about 45 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a bowl. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, then pull the meat into very fine shreds. Strain the broth and reserve for Tamales de Pollo or another use.

While the chicken cooks, make the sauce: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. While the onion cooks, puree the tomatoes, chipotles and garlic in a blender until smooth. Add to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chicken to the sauce and gently fold to evenly coat and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately or cool to room temperature to use a filling for Tamales de Pollo.

TIP: This sauce is delicious. But use your Instant Pot for the chicken: I cooked bone-in thighs with the prescribed veggies and 3 bay leaves under pressure for 12 minutes 5 minutes natural release. Came out perfect. Served the tacos with 1:1 avocado & mango in a vinaigrette with lots of cilantro. Also served with queso casero. Huge hit.

*Easy and good! Instant pot for even easier chicken: half a cup of water, big squeeze of lime juice (acid helps keep chicken tender), chicken in pot for 12 min 5 natural release. Don’t bother with the extra veggies you won’t miss them. You can shred chicken in a stand mixer with with the paddle attachment (after deboning)! Sauce is easy, I noticed tastes best with some acid on the taco - squeeze a lime or similar

*I took the advice of nandu and cooked the chicken right in the sauce, skipping the whole broth step. It was excellent. Because I had a can of tomatoes with twice the volume called for in the recipe, I just doubled the sauce recipe, except for the chipotles -- but it was still quite spicy! And there wasn't excessive sauce, either, perhaps because the chicken breasts (all I had were boneless, skinless) absorbed some. A definite keeper.

*I made this using a rotisserie chicken to make it quicker and it came out perfect. I experimented with the chipotles as I didn’t want a really hot sauce. I used 2/3ds of what was called for and it still had some heat. I served with soft & hard tacos, and sides of avocados, queso fresco, lettuce & chopped tomatoes. This was a real hit. Stunningly simple but delicious.