Chances are, you’re reading this on a Monday. That’s perfect because this is a recipe built for Taco Tuesday, which may very well be tomorrow when you’re reading this. I wanted to do something a bit funky this time and I thought I’d do something mole inspired. So, I figured why not add some cocoa** to this recipe and see what happens? I’ll tell ya, I loved the results, and you will too. Here are the ingredients:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp annatto aka Achiote
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3 chipotle peppers with adobo sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1-2 tsp cocoa powder
- ½ red onion minced
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 3 bay leaves
- Corn tortillas
- Cilantro (1 Tbsp plus some for garnish)
- Queso fresco
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grapeseed oil
The first step is to make a dry rub for the chicken. Add the cumin, chili powder, annatto, and paprika in a bowl and mix well. Cover the chicken in the spice mixture and rub it in. Season the chicken with salt and pepper as well. Put a Dutch oven on medium heat. Add oil to the pan and brown the chicken on both sides. Now, you’re not actually cooking it here, you’re just giving it some color and flavor. About 4-5 minutes per side should do. Here’s what it should look like;
While that’s browning, add the chipotle peppers, cocoa, cilantro, and lime juice in a blender. You may need to add a little bit of water if it’s too thick. Blend this thoroughly until it is liquefied and homogenized. As you’ll see from the picture, there wasn’t a ton of this sauce, but that’s by design. This concoction is a major flavor bomb and any more would overpower the dish. It also has a very beautiful color as you can see in the picture below.
By the time that’s done, the chicken should be done browning. Add the chicken stock and the chipotle concoction from the blender into the Dutch oven. Throw the bay leaves in, cover, and drop the heat to low/medium-low. Let this bad boy simmer for a good hour. Once the hour is up, remove the chicken and shred it. My go-to method is the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. A hand mixed would also work well. If you’re a masochist who likes doing this the hard way, use two forks and burn the hell out of your hands. You do you, boo. Once the chicken is shredded, add it back to the liquid and simmer it covered for another 15-20 minutes.
You can do whatever you like from here, but I made myself some ridiculously amazing tacos. I believe the only tortilla one should use for tacos is corn. I’m sorry, flour tortillas are for burritos, and corn tortillas are for tacos. Now, heat a large sauté pan or skillet up to medium heat. Slap a couple or three of those old tortillas on the pan once it is hot. Cook for about 30-45 seconds max on each side. You’re not trying to really cook them, you’re just trying to get them hot and more pliable. Remove them from the pan and build your tacos. I added queso fresco, minced onions, cilantro, and Ortega brand taco sauce to mine.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I did eating it. This makes A LOT, so much I had tacos for 4-5 days straight and had to freeze half of the meat. This also works well for taco salads if you’re going the no-carb route. As always, this is just a guideline and not a rigid set of instructions. Tweak it, experiment with it, and let me know how it goes at TKMNewport@yahoo.com. Thank you for reading!
** My MS Word is feeling quite sassy while I write this It kept trying to change cocoa to coca. Sassy, indeed.
