Chicken tinga or tinga de pollo is surprisingly an effortless recipe. And I have made it more uninvolved by relegating it to simmer in a slow cooker. I am all in for such hands off cooking like these chicken tinga tacos. That is pretty much me, raking in more hands off cooking into my kitchen so that I can be a more hands on mom to my kids.
Tinga is essentially a Mexican stew made with any kind of meat simmered in a sauce consisting of onion, garlic, chile, tomatoes and chipotles in adobo. This chicken tinga is simple enough for a weeknight meal and so impressive that it could easily become the star of your table when you are entertaining. The bone in chicken thighs become succulent after slow cooking for five hours. The meat is so full of flavor as it absorbs the smoky and spicy sauce during that long period of cooking.
Traditional tinga sauce uses chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I slightly deviated from that tradition and used dried ancho and new mexico chili. And I am so glad that I made this variation because these peppers taste fantastic. I use ground chipotle powder to render some smoky flavor to the sauce. The sauce has onion, garlic, tomatoes, some spices and vinegar and comes together on the stove top in a matter of 15 minutes tops.
The rest of the time it is simmered with the chicken in a slow cooker. You can set it up in the slow cooker, go about your day and come home to the delicious aroma of this chicken tinga.
We love this chicken tinga as a taco filling. But it is also good over some rice and mashed potatoes. It can be devoured on its own as a stew as well. The opportunities are endless once you have made yourself this pot of chicken tinga.
Recipe
Ingredients
| Chicken Tinga Filling | |
|---|---|
 | 5 bone in chicken thighs, skins removed |
| 1 cup onions, minced |
| 3 garlic cloves, minced |
| 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar |
| 1 heaping tablespoon ground cumin, preferably freshly ground |
| 1 ½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano |
| 1 teaspoon chipotle powder |
| 1 New Mexico chili |
| 1 ancho chile |
| 1 can of 15 ounce diced tomatoes |
| 2 tablespoons vegetable oil |
| 1 ½ teaspoons salt |
| ½ teaspoon pepper |
| Accompaniments | |
|---|---|
| Corn tortillas |
| 1 cup sliced cabbage |
| ½ cup minced onion |
| ¼ cup jalapeno peppers |
| ½ cup cilantro |
| Queso Fresco |
| Mexican Crema or Sour Cream |
Special equipment: A slow cooker
Instructions
| Chicken Tinga Filling | |
|---|---|
| Reconstitute the dried ancho and new mexico chili by soaking them in hot water. The chiles will plump out and increase in size after about an hour |
| In a blender or food processor, pulse the chiles and tomatoes until they form a puree |
| Heat oil in a medium sized skillet |
| On medium heat add the onions and saute until they are translucent, about 5 minutes |
| Add garlic and saute for a minute |
| Crush and add the dried oregano to the onion and garlic and saute for a minute |
| Then add the chile-tomato puree, cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and ground cumin |
| Cook the sauce for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally |
| Put the chicken thighs in the inner pot of a 3 quart slow cooker and sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper |
| Add the sauce to the pot |
| Cook on high for 5 hours |
| At end of 5 hours plug out the cooker |
| Remove the bones and shred the meat with a fork in the sauce |
| Assembling the Tacos | |
|---|---|
| Warm up the corn tortillas |
| Scoop out chicken tinga on each tortilla |
| Top the chicken tinga tacos with some sliced cabbage, minced onion, cilantro, jalapeno peppers and queso . Enjoy! |
If you make this Chicken Tinga or Tinga de Pollo Taco Recipe, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you! And if you do make this recipe, please don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or your favorite social media platform! I would love to see pictures of your creations.
Inspiration: Hankering for Mexican food
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