you're making mealtime meaningful.
Whether you’re making tacos, enchiladas, nachos, or burritos, Chicken Tinga is the perfect way to fill (or top) them. In the video below, Chef Dom shows you how to make this easy but impossibly delicious dish where chicken is braised in a chipotle-kissed tomato base until it’s fork-tender and oh-so-flavorful. With just a few simple ingredients and a few special tricks from Chef Dom, you’re well on your way to chicken that you’ll make over and over again.
For this dish — and really any dish you’re braising — you’ll want to use chicken thighs, as white meat dries out too quickly. Dark meat, like chicken thighs, holds up to braising so you end up with juicy and tender chicken. For this dish, you also want to make sure to use skin-on chicken thighs because that skin is a key flavor component here!
One of Chef Dom’s tricks is to first sear the chicken until the skin is nice and crispy and then peel off the chicken skin before chopping it finely and stirring it back into the sauce. You can’t even see the chicken skin in the mixture, but it adds some seriously amazing flavor — the kind that leaves people wondering just why this is so good. It’s a great tip to try!
The chicken takes a couple of hours to braise, but that can happen in the oven or on the stovetop and all you need to do is check on the liquid level a time or two. Braising meat is a hard thing to mess up and in this case, it produces some seriously incredible chicken that goes so well with so many different dishes. Enjoy!
Chicken Tinga
Yield(s): Serves 4-6
10m prep time
4h cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- In a Dutch oven or large saucepot over high heat, heat vegetable oil.
- Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper, then add to hot pot and cook 4-5 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Once chicken is done, add onions and garlic to pot and let caramelize until garlic is golden. Add tomatoes, chipotles, adobo, bay leaf, cumin, and oregano. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Add chicken to pot and submerge in sauce.
- Cover pot and cook chicken until it shreds easily with a fork, 2-3 hours. Serve with tortillas and enjoy!