Cinco De Mayo Pulled Chicken

Shredded Chicken Tacos (Photo credit: Tristen.Pelton)

This is actually a recipe I created for one of my cousin’s grooms dinners. They wanted a Mexican theme and my gosh, they got it. The entire dinner went over well. If they are not already out there, you may see more over the weeks to come.

Grab a Dos Equis (I like it better than Corona any day) and build yourself a taco, burritos or 7 layer dip and enjoy the night!

MEXICAN PULLED CHICKEN

You can also use the below on COD or Shrimp to change-up your taco bar choices.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade

• 1 TBS Lime Juice
• 1/2 TBS Lemon Juice
• 1 TBS Chili Powder or Tex-Mex – Mexican
• 4 – 6 Garlic Cloves, crushed/put through a garlic press
• 1 cup Cilantro leaves loosely packed
• 1/4 Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne pepper
• 1 TBS Vegetable Oil or Light Olive Oil
• 1 package Skinless/Boneless Thighs (~6 chicken thighs and any visible fat removed) – you can use skin/bone in thighs, just let cool and pull meat off after it is cooked.
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper, Fresh Ground

Cooking

• 2+ TBS Vegetable Oil or Light Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper, Fresh Ground

EQUIPMENT

1 GAL Zip Lock Freezer Bag

1 10-12 inch Sauté Pan

1 pair tongs

1 Plates

1 Large Bowl

Apron

Tin Foil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Trim/separate chicken from extra fat if necessary.
2. Combine all ingredients above in the 1 GAL Zip Lock bag. Close the Zip lock and squish to mix well.
3. Add the Chicken to the Zip-Lock Bag, Zip to close while squeezing out any extra air. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night. (Can be frozen at this point, remove the day before cooking to thaw and marinate in the refrigerator).
4. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking, leaving in marinade.
5. Add 2 TBS of Oil to a 10” skillet and heat over med-high until the oil is hot and starts to shimmer.
6. Remove the Chicken from marinade (Using the tongs or hands with latex gloves).
7. Place the chicken, open to lay flat, in the pan 3 at a time (be careful for oil splatter) and cook for about 4+ minutes on each side until just done (160 F).
8. Set aside on a plate or bowl, and tent with tinfoil. Do in batches if necessary as to not crowd the pan. Repeat steps 5 – 7, only adding more oil if necessary.
9. When all chicken is done, let cool about 10 minutes while it is still warm, but cool enough to handle.
10. Shred either by hand or with fork (hand is faster).
11. Place shredded chicken and cover with any juices that released onto the plate while cooling. This adds a lot of flavor.
12. TOSS OUT ANY left over marinade.

Proceed to use the shredded chicken in many dishes:

• Tacos
• Burritos
• Topping a Salad
• Quesadillas
• Sandwiches
• Sloppy Joes
• Pizza Topping
• Stuffed Bread
• 7 – layer Dip
• Scrambled Eggs
• Quiche

The List is endless!