Chicken-Chorizo Tinga Poblana (Shredded Spicy Chicken)

Chicken tinga poblana is a traditional way of simmering chicken with tomatoes, garlic, peppers, and herbs until it shreds into fabulously flavorful bits of tangy meat. We added just a bit of chorizo to the pot to pump up the flavor even more, but this dish is great without it.

It's also a perfect recipe for a slow cooker - just swap out the chicken thighs for sliced chicken breast, add all the ingredients at once, and let it cook all day.

Tinga is a long-time specialty of the Puebla, the south-central state along the curve of the Gulf of Mexico. Any kind of savory shredded meat works in this recipe - pork, beef, turkey, rabbit, fish. We use chicken thighs, stripped of skin and fat, because the meat has more flavor than breasts. Serve the meat in warmed corn or flour tortillas, over rice, or in tamales.

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, skinned and fat removed

2 cups white onions, quartered

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 lb Mexican chorizo, skinned and crumbled

1 15-oz can stewed tomatoes

1 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup canned chiles in adobo sauce, chopped

To Serve

16 corn or flour tortillas, tostadas, or rice 

1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped

2 ripe avocados, peeled and diced

Directions

Place the chicken, onions, and garlic into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve all but 1 cup of the cooking liquid for another use. Pull the meat off the chicken and return to the saucepan with the onions and the 1 cup of broth.

In a frying pan, cook the chorizo until browned and crumbly. Add it to the pan with the chicken, then add all other ingredients to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until thickened and well blended.

Serve in tortillas and top with onion and avocado chunks.

Serves 6.