Chicken Tinga Tacos with Roasted Poblano and Sour Cream

Cooking Steps

1. 

   Cook chicken

   Preheat oven to 450ºF. Pat chicken dry; season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat a medium pan over medium-high heat. Hover your hand a few inches away—when you can easily feel heat, add chicken skin-side down. Sear until skin is golden, 5-6 minutes. Flip and brown opposite side, 1 minute. Transfer chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet, skin-side up, and roast until no longer pink, 20 minutes. Reserve fat in pan, off heat.

2. 

   Prepare ingredients

   While chicken roasts, rinse all produce. Trim and discard root end of lettuce, then thinly slice leaves. Peel shallot, halve, and thinly slice. Place half of sliced shallot in a large bowl, pour over vinegar, and set aside to pickle; reserve remainder for Step 3. Halve poblanos lengthwise. Using a knife tip, discard seeds and stems, then cut into ½-inch pieces (remember to wash your knife, board, and hands after). Stack tortillas and wrap in foil.

3. 

   Simmer sauce

   Discard almost all chicken fat from pan, leaving a thin layer. Return to medium-high heat. Add reserved shallot. Sauté, stirring, until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Add spice mix and chipotle paste (you could use less, but a little heat makes this tinga!). Cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in stock and tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to medium high and simmer until thickened, 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. 

   Roast poblanos

   While sauce simmers, on 1 half of a separate baking sheet, toss poblanos with 1 teaspoon canola oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper as desired. Add packet of tortillas to other half. Transfer to oven (with chicken) and roast, mixing poblanos halfway through, until tortillas are warmed through and poblanos are browned and crisping, about 12 minutes total.

5. 

   Dress lettuce

   While poblanos roast, using a slotted spoon, transfer pickled shallot to a small bowl, leaving vinegar behind in large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper as desired to large bowl with shallot vinegar and whisk to fully combine. Add lettuce to bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Set aside. Pick cilantro leaves, discarding stems.

6. 

   Finish and plate chicken tinga

   Season sauce, still off heat, with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Shred chicken using 2 forks or roughly chop, discarding bones and skin, then add to pan with sauce and toss to coat. Divide tortillas between serving plates, then build your own tacos with chicken tinga, roasted poblanos, lettuce, dollops of sour cream, pickled shallot, and cilantro. Enjoy!