Chicken Tinga Tacos
★ Issue CMSC·22–015 · Published 10 Apr 2022
chickenMexicanPecking-Order

Chicken Tinga Tacos.

Chipotles and charred tomatoes braise chicken thighs into bold, smoky filling worth every minute

PREP 30 min
COOK 150 min
TOTAL 3:0h h
SERVES 24 tacos people
HEAT hot
BLEND RATING 4.9 140 reviews · Chain Reaction®
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You'll need
Skillet9-13 inch baking dishFood processorOvenAluminum foil

Chipotles and charred tomatoes braise chicken thighs into bold, smoky filling worth every minute

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 1/2 pounds trimmed, skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 2 canned chipotles in adobo, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 24 corn tortillas
  • 2 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled
  • Sliced scallions and chopped cilantro, for garnish

Method

  1. 01

    Gather and prep ingredients

    15 min

    Slice onion, mince garlic, chop chipotles, measure oil and broth.

  2. 02

    Sear chicken thighs until browned

    12 min

    Season chicken with salt and pepper, brown both sides in 3 tbsp olive oil over moderately high heat.

  3. 03

    Transfer chicken to baking dish

    2 min

    Move chicken to 9x13 dish and pour off skillet fat.

  4. 04

    Cook onion until softened and browned

    5 min

    Add remaining 3 tbsp olive oil to same skillet.

  5. 05

    Add garlic and cook until fragrant

    2 min

    You'll know it's ready when that raw garlic smell turns sweet and toasted—that's your signal the aromatics are opening up, maybe 30 seconds before it smells like it might burn.

  6. 06

    Simmer sauce until thickened

    20 min

    Add tomatoes, chipotles, and broth; bring to boil then simmer over moderate heat.

  7. 07

    Let sauce cool for 15 minutes

    15 min

    Transfer sauce to food processor bowl before cooling.

  8. 08

    Preheat oven to 350°F

    10 min

    Can be done during sauce cooling.

  9. 09

    Puree sauce until smooth

    3 min

    Season pureed sauce with salt and pepper.

  10. 10

    Pour sauce over chicken in dish

    2 min

    Make sure every piece of chicken gets nestled into that sauce and the liquid comes halfway up the thighs—you want them braising, not steaming, so they stay moist and pull that smoke deep.

  11. 11

    Bake chicken uncovered for 45 minutes

    45 min

    Bake in center of oven until meat is tender and sauce is very thick.

  12. 12

    Wrap tortillas and warm in oven

    10 min

    Wrap 24 corn tortillas in foil; can go in during last 10 min of chicken bake.

  13. 13

    Shred chicken and return to sauce

    5 min

    Remove chicken from sauce, shred meat, discard bones, return meat to sauce.

  14. 14

    Assemble and garnish tacos

    5 min

    Spoon 3 tbsp chicken per tortilla, top with Cotija, scallions, and cilantro.

From Mike's Notebook

01

Bone-in thighs stay juicy where boneless ones dry out — don't skip that step for speed.

02

Char the tomatoes in the dry pan before braising; it deepens the sauce without extra ingredients.

03

Puree while hot so the sauce emulsifies smoothly; cold sauce breaks and stays grainy.

Nutrition

235 Calories / serving
15 gProtein
8 gTotal Fat
1 gSat. Fat
24 gCarbs
2 gFiber
1 gSugars
285 mgSodium

Estimated · 1 serving · calculated from the ingredient list, not lab-tested.

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