Chicken Tinga
By Ray Seraphin
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Servings
4-6
Chicken tinga is a simple Mexican dish consisting of braised, shredded chicken in a chipotle, tomato, and onion sauce. The addition of orange juice and our Mexican-style Adobo blend lends sweetness and tang that helps balance the smoky heat of the chipotle. While this recipe shows you how to make tinga from scratch, you can skip a few steps and use leftover rotisserie chicken in lieu of chicken thighs. Serve on a tortilla with a smear of refried beans, shredded lettuce, and crema.
The recipe produces extra sauce, which can be reused to make chilaquiles, enchiladas and more.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil, divided
- 1.5 lbs Roma tomatoes, cored and halved
- 2 yellow onions, peeled and halved
- 6-7 garlic cloves, smashed
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup orange juice
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1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
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1 tablespoon ground coriander
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1 tablespoon Oaktown Spice Shop Mexican-Style Adobo
- ½ can or 3.5 oz chipotle in adobo (La Morena brand recommended)
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2 tablespoons Pacific Flake Sea Salt or Diamond Crystal Salt, divided, more to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450. Prepare vegetables for sauce. Toss tomatoes, onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon salt. Lay them on sheet tray and put in the oven until highly caramelized — almost black. Approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.
- While vegetables are roasting, prepare chicken. Heat remaining oil in a skillet, season chicken thighs with remaining 1 tablespoon salt, and brown thighs on each side. Place partially cooked chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.
- Once vegetables are roasted and relatively cool, place in blender along with liquids, chipotle in adobo, Mexican-style Adobo, oregano, coriander, and salt. Blend on high until a smooth sauce forms.
- Turn oven down to 350. Pour sauce over chicken and cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Cook for approximately one hour. Remove foil and cook for another 20-30 minutes uncovered. Remove pan from oven, allow chicken to rest, and shred chicken with tongs or two forks.