Tinga Chicken Tacos

This is a delicious recipe to make for Taco Tuesday. The sauce is spicy and strongly flavored, and compliments the simplicity of the pulled cooked chicken well. Top with whatever your favorite taco toppings are, and enjoy.

Tinga sauce

o 1 tbsp vegetable oil

o 1 cup yellow onion, chopped

o 2 cloves minced garlic

o 2-3 chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

o 1 tbsp dry oregano

o 1 tbsp ground cumin

o 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes

o ½ cup chicken stock

o Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat grill to 400* and place a heavy cast iron pan inside. Allow to get very hot.

When ready, saute onion and garlic in oil in preheated pan until translucent. Stir in chipotle peppers, oregano, and cumin and saute 3 minutes until well combined. Stir in fire roasted tomatoes (with juice) and chicken stock. Simmer for 10 minutes until reduced a bit.

Carefully transfer sauce ingredients to the jar of a blender and blend until well combined and nearly smooth. Return to cast iron pan and set aside.

Smoked chicken

o 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked

o Your favorite hot sauce

o Your favorite BBQ rub (I used Derek Wolf’s hatch chili & my Double Smoke from Spiceology)

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Season generously with a layer of hot sauce and a coating of your favorite BBQ rub.

Place whole seasoned chicken on the grate of a grill preheated to 350*. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165* and skin is crispy.

Remove cooked chicken from grill and allow to cool slightly. Using gloves, remove chicken skin and shred meat. Chop the crispy skin until small dice. Set shredded chicken and skin aside.

Cilantro jalapeno crema

o ½ cup mexican crema (or sour cream thinned with milk)

o Large handful fresh cilantro

o Juice of one lime

o ½ fresh jalapeno

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Taco assembly

o Fresh flour tortillas (we love Caramelo)

o Tinga sauce

o Pulled smoked chicken

o Crumbled cotija cheese

o Diced red onion, jalapeno peppers and cilantro

o Cubed fresh avocado

o Cilantro jalapeno crema

When ready to build tacos, gently heat Tinga sauce and fold in pulled chicken. Heat through. Toast tortillas until cooked and pliable.

Pile tortillas with chicken and sauce, crumbled cotija cheese, diced onion, jalapeno and cilantro, cubes of avocado and a dollop of cilantro jalapeno crema. Sprinkle with reserved, diced chicken skin and enjoy.