Chicken Tinga

My family and I are taco and burrito fanatics; having some version nearly weekly.  Sometimes it simply ground beef with some spices while other times it may be slowly braised beef or carnitas.  This time it was shredded chicken for burritos.

Tinga refers to any kind of shredded meat simmered in a spicy, smoky tomato sauce.  It’s extremely easy to make and the heat level can be adjusted for whatever your tolerance.  The recipe below is middle of the road with enough kick to satisfy the heat seeker in your family while not blowing the roof off the wimp (sorry honey).  Enjoy!

I started by cutting removing the excess fat from 3 pounds of boneless chicken thighs then cutting them into 2 inch cubes.  I put them to a large pan and added enough water to cover.  I added 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and 3 bay leaves to the pan.

I brought it to a boil, then reduced the heat to medium low and covered it, letting it simmer for 25 minutes.  When it was done, I removed the meat with a slotted spoon and strained the broth.  After it cooled slightly, I poured off the fat and reserved 2 cups of the broth.

When the meat cooled, I roughly shredded it.

I broke 2 guajillo chiles in half and added them to a bowl then covered with hot water, letting them soak for 15 minutes until softened.  After they were soft, I removed the seeds and stems then placed them in my blender.  I removed the seeds from 3 canned chipotle peppers and put them in the blender as well along with 4 teaspoons of the adobo sauce from the can and 1/2 cup of the reserved broth then blended well.

I diced up 3 strips of bacon and cooked them in a large pan over medium heat until slightly crisp and the fat had rendered, then removed them with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain.  I poured off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan.

I diced up 1 1/2 medium onions and minced 3 garlic cloves.  I cooked the onionsover medium heat in the pan with the bacon fat for about 4 minutes then added the garlic and shredded chicken and cooked for about 4 more minutes to slightly brown.

To the meat I added a 28 ounce can (drained) of petite diced tomatoes, the blended chiles, cooked bacon and the remaining 1 1/2 cups reserved broth and let it simmer on low stirring periodically for about 25 minutes until most of the liquid was gone.  I seasoned with a good pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt.

And this was the final result.  My wife of course added a ton of sour cream.  Enjoy!