Pollo Tinga — Pati Jinich-Inspired

About This Recipe

This recipe is inspired by Chef Pati Jinich's faithful documentation of Mexican home cooking and her PBS series 'Pati's Mexican Table.' Tinga — shredded meat in a smoky chipotle sauce — is one of the most beloved family dishes across central Mexico, especially in Puebla. Jinich has championed it for American audiences as a 'Mexican home cooking weeknight champion': fast, deeply flavoured, and infinitely versatile (tacos, tostadas, sandwiches, with rice). This recipe sticks to the home-cooking tradition Jinich has spent her career documenting.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 600 gboneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1white onion(thinly sliced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 4ripe tomatoes(or 1 × 400g can good chopped tomatoes)
• 3chipotle chilies in adobo(plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce)
• 2 tbspneutral oil
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano (Mexican if possible)
• 1bay leaf
• 1 tspsalt(or to taste)
• 12small corn tortillas(warmed)
• 0.5 cupfresh coriander(chopped)
• 1avocado(sliced)
• 100 gqueso fresco(or feta, crumbled)
• 1lime(wedges, to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the chicken

   Place the chicken thighs in a pot with 800ml water, half the onion, 1 garlic clove, the bay leaf and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and poach 18–20 minutes until cooked through. Lift out, cool slightly and shred with two forks. Reserve 250ml of the cooking broth.

2. 2

   Make the chipotle-tomato sauce

   Blend the tomatoes, chipotles in adobo, adobo sauce, and remaining 3 garlic cloves until smooth.

3. 3

   Caramelise the onions

   Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining sliced onions and cook 8 minutes, stirring, until deeply golden and caramelised at the edges.

4. 4

   Build the tinga

   Add the cumin and oregano to the onions and toast 30 seconds. Pour in the blended tomato-chipotle sauce — it will spit and bubble vigorously, that's correct. Fry the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and thickens. Add the shredded chicken and 200ml of reserved broth. Simmer 8 more minutes until the sauce coats the chicken and the flavours meld. Taste and adjust salt.

5. 5

   Serve as tacos

   Pile the tinga onto warm corn tortillas. Top with sliced avocado, crumbled queso fresco and chopped coriander. Squeeze lime over the top. Serve with extra warm tortillas and Mexican rice on the side.

Variations

• •

  Pork Tinga (Tinga de Cerdo): substitute slow-cooked pork shoulder for chicken — even more traditional.

• •

  Tinga Tostadas: pile the tinga onto crispy fried tortillas with refried beans and lettuce instead of soft tacos.

• •

  Vegetarian Mushroom Tinga: substitute thick-sliced king oyster mushrooms for chicken.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days. Freezes excellently for 3 months. Improves with age.

Frequently Asked Questions