This recipe for tinga de pollo could not be any easier! Even though it has just a few ingredients, it really has alot of flavor! A few years back I prepared a tinga de pollo recipe for a cooking class I was teaching. It was a bit more involved than this recipe and it included Mexican chorizo and calabacitas(zucchini). The last two ingredients are not traditional, but were added because it was a class all about chorizo! And I never pass up a chance to share how to incorporate fresh vegetables into my Mexican dishes.
But for today’s recipe, I left it pretty basic. You can make it as simple as you like or take that extra step and roast your tomatoes and prepare chicken stock from scratch. It’s worth it! And with that leftover chicken stock, I prepared the most flavorful pan of fideo(vermicelli noodles)! It’s a win, win situation! I will be posting that fideo recipe this week! I take advantage of pot luck dinners to prepare the more traditional and large portion dishes. It gives me the experience of preparing the dish and learning something new. And, I get to share real Mexican food with my friends, many of them who are not too familiar with some of these delicious dishes. #shareyourfoods #mexicanfood #tingadepollo
Tinga de Pollo
Ingredients
Ingredients
For Chicken
- 3 pounds of boneless breast or thighs
- 5 guajillo peppers stems and seeds removed
- 1/2 of a white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 large carrot
- 2 bay leaves
- hanful of cilantro
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- salt to taste
For Caldillo(Tomato Sauce)
- 2 pounds of roma tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
- salt and pepper to taste
You Will Also Need
- olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 1 large white onion sliced into thin, short strips
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small can of chipotle in adobo about 5-6 chipotles
- corn tostadas
- lettuce
- tomato
- avocado
- crema
- queso fresco
Instructions
Directions
- Place the chicken into a large pot with all of the ingredients listed for chicken. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. During the last 10 minutes, add the guajillo peppers to the pot with chicken. Remove from heat and let chicken and peppers cool in broth.
- Place the tomatoes under the broiler or cook on the comal (at medium heat) until skins begin to blackenand blister. Turn as needed. This takes about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat.
- To the blender, add the roasted tomatoes, softened guajillo peppers in the chicken stock/broth, 1 cup of chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste. Blend on high until very smooth. Strain through a wire mesh strainer into a large pot with 2 tablespoons of oil heated to medium. Lower heat to a simmer, taste for salt and continue cooking for 7-9 minutes. You could add a pinch of Mexican oregano if you like.
- Remove the chicken from the broth and shred. Set aside. In a large pot, heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil to medium heat. Add the onion strips and minced garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and the caldillo that has been simmering.
- To the blender, add the chipotles in adobo. Add 1 cup of chicken stock. Blend on high until smooth. This is where you chicken becomes Tinga! In most traditional tinga recipes, there is plenty of chipotle added. But I like to gradually stir in the blended chipotle to my desired heat level.
- Once you have added your chipotle to the tinga, stir well to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. Cook at a steady simmer, partially covered for an hour or until the sauce reduces by 3/4. The tinga should not have alot of broth, but should be more on the thick side for serving on tostadas.
- Serve on tostadas. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, avocado, crema and queso fresco.
Tips~ The tomatoes can be poached in simmering water as well. I just enjoy the flavors that the roasting method adds to the dish.
Prep ahead! Prep ahead! Can’t say it enough.
This dish is much better prepared a few days in advace!
Richard, my better half prefers his tostadas with no crema or queso! What? He’s loco! Lol!
A big shout out to Yvette at Muy Bueno Cooking for sending me her beautiful cookbook! The pictures of her Chicken Tinga recipe are beautiful and the recipe was delicious! Tested and enjoyed thoroughly!! Thanks Yvette!
Reader Interactions
Comments
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I am blown away by the delicate and yummy flavor this chicken had! I will be making it again for my son’s birthday. Thank you as always for these delicious recipes.
I especially enjoy preparing this dish to share with friends!
Hola Sonia, I am revisiting this recipe to make for my family again. Yum-o! I do see that you mention guajillo chiles in steps but I don’t see it in the recipe. Is that ingredient optional?
Oh no! It’s definitely part of the recipe. Let me go in and update the post. Thanks!
This looks delicious- love following your recipes. Do you think this recipe would still work in an instant pot?
Hi Sam! I have never prepared tinga de pollo in a pressure cooker, to be honest. The thing is that tinga is traditionally cooked down until the sauce is very thick. It shouldn’t be soupy. Not sure how the pressure cooker would cook it down. Guess you could start it in there to concentrate the flavors and see what the results are.