Saturday, March 21, 2015

Chipotle and orange juice Chicken taco filling

This recipe is from http://pinchofyum.com/spicy-chipotle-shredded-chicken
I've modified the structure of, and some of the contents of, the presentation.

The chipotles add heat and their smoky bite, while the orange juice adds a nice mild sweetness to balance it.

Ingredients

  • Chipotle chillis (in adobo sauce), 3 (plus 1 tsp of the sauce)
  • Garlic, 4 cloves
  • Oil, 1 tbsp
  • Orange juice, 1 cup
  • Chicken stock, 2 cups
  • Fresh coriander, ½ cup, chopped
  • Chicken breasts, raw, 450g (approx 2 medium breasts)
  • Yellow mustard, 2 tsp

Saute garlic and chipotles
  • Mince the garlic cloves and chipotle chillis
  • Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat
  • Add the garlic and chipotles; saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning
Make sauce base and simmer chicken
  • Add the orange juice, chicken stock, and coriander and turn the heat to high to bring to a boil
  • Add the chicken breasts; cover and reduce heat to medium-low
  • Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through
Cool and shred chicken
  • Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and place on a cutting board for a few minutes to cool.
  • Shred the chicken with a fork.
    • I hold the chicken down with my other hand.  If you haven't shredded meat like this before, the idea is to use the tip of the fork to scrape apart the flesh at the muscle fibres.  So you want to be scraping the fork down through the edge of the meat, with the width of the fork parallel to the direction of the muscle fibres.
Reduce (and add mustard to) sauce
  • Meanwhile, keep the sauce left in the pan over low heat
  • Whisk in the mustard and cook the sauce until it reduces by about half, to get a thicker, more concentrated sauce
    • I find it easier to put the mustard in a cup, and then spoon some of the sauce into the cup, and mix it together there, then pour the contents back into the pot
  • Add the shredded chicken back to the pot with the sauce and mix to combine

The dish's flavour improves a few hours or a day after cooking.