Tinga de Pollo is typically made by poaching and then shredding breast meat, preparing a tomato-chipotle sauce separately, and then combining the two at the end. To build flavor, this recipe uses a sous vide circulator that offers a way to maximize flavor and produce perfect shredded chicken. But if you want an alternative method for the chicken we have included a simpler option for you as well.
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Chicken Tinga Tacos
Course: Main DishesCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy6
Servings50
minutes3
Hours180
FahrenheitINGREDIENTS
- CHICKEN
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion halved and sliced thin
2 Tbsp minced canned chipotle chile in adobe sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 14.5 ounces can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp grated lime zest plus 2 Tbsp juice
- TACOS
12-18 (6 inch) corn tortillas, warmed
1 avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
6 scallions, minced
Fresh Cilantro, minced
2-3 limes, cut into wedges
Directions
- For the chicken
- Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 180 degrees in a 7-quart container
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of chicken, 3 to 4 minutes per side transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in chipotle, garlic powder, cumin, and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer mixture to blender and process until smooth, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed.
- Place chicken and any accumulated juices and sauce in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and toss to coat. Seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Place bag into second 1-gallon sipper-lock freezer bag and seal. Gently lower bag into prepared water bath until chicken is fully submerged, and then clip to corner of bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to the top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook for at least 3 hours or up to 5 hours.
- Transfer chicken and sauce to large bowl, let cool slightly and then shred chicken into bite-size pieces using 2 folks. Stir in lime zest and juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- For the tacos
- Spoon chicken into center of each tortilla and serve, top chicken with avocado, Cotija, scallions, cilantro, lime wedges, and serve.
- ALTERNATE METHOD FOR CHICKEN
- For a quick weeknight option, use 2lbs of rotisserie chicken, shredded. Follow step 3 and pour the sauce into a large saucepan, simmer for 10-15 minutes to heat through. Transfer shredded chicken and sauce to a large bowl and mix together. Stir in lime zest and juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Equipment: Sous Vide circulator, 7-quart container, blender
