Move over creamy chicken-chard-roasted poblano tacos… we have a new favorite in our house! These tacos are amazing. Thanks to the chipotle chiles, the filling tastes like it has been slow-cooked for hours. The finished full-flavored filling is loaded into a warm tortilla and smothered in toppings- incredible. Perfect.
This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by David Tanis. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of bone-in and substituted scallions for white onion as a garnish. It could easily be modified to use rotisserie chicken meat as well.
Perfect for your Cinco de Mayo feast… or Seis de Mayo if I’m too late. Fabulous any day! 🙂
Yield: 4 servings
Time: about 1 hour
For the Tacos:
- 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 scallions, left whole
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 thyme branch
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1 allspice berry
- 2 cloves
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 or 3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
- 3 tablespoons adobo sauce, from the can
- ½ cup chicken broth (*use broth from simmered chicken*)
- 8 fresh corn tortillas
For the Garnish:
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes and drained (I substituted unsoaked scallions.)
- thinly sliced serrano chile
- thinly sliced radishes
- sliced avocado
- crumbled queso fresco or mild feta cheese
- crème fraîche or Mexican crema
- cilantro sprigs
- dried oregano
- lime wedges
- Put chicken thighs in a saucepan and cover with 3 cups water. Add scallions, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, allspice, cloves and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, then remove chicken and cool.
- Shred chicken with your fingers. Strain broth and reserve. You should have about 2 cups shredded chicken.
- Put olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced yellow onion, season with salt and cook until softened and a bit browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cumin and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add chopped chipotle chile and adobo sauce and stir to combine.
- Add shredded chicken, salt lightly and stir to coat.
- Add chicken broth and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, until sauce has thickened somewhat. Keep warm.
- Heat the tortillas over steam or by your favorite method, keeping them soft and pliable. (I placed them in a tortilla warmer, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute.)
- Build the tacos quickly: Put a spoonful of the saucy chicken in the center of each tortilla. Top with a teaspoon of chopped white onion or scallion, a few slivers of serrano chile, some radish and avocado slices, a teaspoon of queso fresco or feta and a teaspoon of crème fraîche. Add a few cilantro springs and a small pinch of oregano.
- Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.
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Chipotles add such a lovely, slow-cooked smoky dimension to a dish. These look wonderful, Josette! Happy Cinco de Mayo!
As my son likes to say, “Chipotles are a miracle of life!” 🙂
Looks delicious Josette 😋
Thank you!! I really could eat tacos everyday & I know that we’ll be making these over & over. 🙂