Mexican Shredded Chicken

This is a Mexican style shredded chicken that I've gotten many asks for this recipe.

Ingredients

Either A whole chicken (Either Butchered or Butterflied, but Bone-in), or the equivalent in Bone-in, Skin On chicken thighs. (Probably about 4 lbs).

1 oz Fajita Seasoning.

1-2 Poblano Pepper

1 Large Red Onion

1 10oz Can of Tomatoes with Chilis (Ro-Tel)

80g (3.75-4 oz) Sazón with Saffron spice mix (See Below)

Orange Juice (About 4 cups)

A few Bay leaves

1 Lime (optional)

Cilantro (optional)

Special Equipment

Dutch oven

When Serving: Tacos

Tortillas or Taco Shells

Cheese (Optional)

For the Chicken, you can either buy a pack of bone in thighs or a whole chicken, I've done both. The bone in thighs are a bit easier to work with. If you go whole bird, I suggest butterflying it, or butchering it.

The Orange Juice is based on the amount of chicken you have. See below, but hopefully you just have some on hand.

I almost always use poblano peppers for Mexican food these days, but use the type of pepper you like. I personally like them because they have a really nice flavor and are low heat. However, you want a lot of it in there, so don't go too spicy.

Locally, we have Ro-Tel, which is tomatoes with chilis in them. You can buy whatever can, I just prefer this (Especially the Cilantro and Lime One). This will be your major source of spiciness as well, though this recipe is pretty mild.

The Sazón with Saffron mix I found as the Goya brand in the Mexican section of my local grocery story. However, you don't need to use that one. It comes in 40g packets, and I use 2 packets. I just discovered this at the store one day and it worked out great, though I'll probably see about making my own mix when I run out (Though with how expensive saffron is, maybe not). Also, I don't know why I add the Sazón mix when I do, you might be able to just add it directly to the chicken with the fajita seasoning.

Why I like this recipe

Honestly, its pretty easy, makes a ton of food, and probably one of the things I've gotten the most compliments about. Additionally, its very versatile. Anywhere you'd put meat into some sort of Mexican dish, you can use this chicken. I've done Tacos, Enchiladas, and Empanadas all with this chicken.

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. In your Dutch Oven, sprinkle your chicken in with salt, pepper, oil, and the fajita seasoning. Place with the skin side down. Roast it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

2. Dice your Poblano Pepper and Red Onion

3. Take the chicken out of the Dutch Oven into a bowl. Toss the pepper and onion into the dutch oven with the left over chicken grease. If you don't think there is enough add a little bit of oil. Add some salt and better and roast for about 10 minutes.

4. Put the chicken back into the peppers and onions, then add the can of Ro-Tel (Tomatoes with Chilis). Mix those together, then put the chicken back in so that it is nestled within the mix of everything. This is where the pieces are easier. Add the Sazón mix and then add orange juice until the chicken is just barely covered. Add the bay leaves and optionally the cilantro and both zest and juice the lime. Give it a bit of a mix.

5. Lower the heat to 300F. Cover and let it braise in the oven for at least 2 hours. The meat should be falling off the bone.

6. Very carefully (Because it is a bunch of hot liquid and a bit of a mess), remove the bones from the chicken. Try to get all of the stuff you wouldn't want to bite into. Then shred the chicken. If you need to take each piece of chicken out of the pot, go ahead, just make sure to put it back (and any juices that drip off if you can).

7. With the lid off, cook for another 30min or an hour to boil off more of the liquid.

8. Be sure to dig out the bay leaves and serve.

9. There likely will be too much liquid at the end. When packing it away, scoop out all of the solids and add a bit of the liquid to the container, but you don't need all of it. I have not found a great use for the rest of the liquid but its very flavorful. However, make sure to supply some on whatever you are making.

Serving

When I do it on tacos, I just use tortillas or taco shells and cheese. Layer of cheese, layer of meat, then sprinkle cheese on top and eat. However, as I mentioned above, you can basically use this as a protein for any Mexican dish. Enchiladas, Quesadillas, Empanadas, Burritos, what have you.

Reheating

I pack this away in those deli containers and just microwave to reheat. When I'm packing it away, I scoop out all of the solids, and just splash in about 1/4cup of the liquid to about 2 cups (1 deli container) of food. Get a mix of veggies and meat in each. As I mentioned in above, there will likely be too much liquid in the end, but while it is very flavorful, I have not found a specific use for it yet. Like most of my recipes, it freezes very well for later.