Mexican Roasted Or Braised Chicken Recipes

BRAISE-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut backbone from chicken using kitchen shears and save backbone for another use. Flip chicken, breast-side up, and forcefully press chicken down to flatten; season generously with salt.
• Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; pan-fry chicken, skin-side down, until golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, skin-side up.
• Cook and stir onion in oil in the same skillet until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Continue cooking until most of the beer is reduced, 2 to 4 minutes more. Stir chicken broth, carrots, lemon, rosemary, and thyme into beer mixture. Arrange chicken, skin-side up, over vegetables.
• Roast in the preheated oven until chicken is golden brown and crispy, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken and vegetables to a large platter and let rest, uncovered.
• Bring remaining broth and juices in the skillet to a boil and cook until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season sauce with salt.
• Slice chicken and serve with sauce.

MEXICAN ROASTED OR BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Defrost the chicken, if necessary, and remove the neck, liver, giblets, and excess fat. Rinse if needed, then place in the pot. If you prefer a lower-fat version, you can remove the skin and most of the fat from the bird, but the flavor will suffer (you can always skim the fat from the cooking liquid, later).
• Preheat the oven to 320°F.
• In a small bowl, combine the achiote, comino (cumin), oregano, and lime juice, then use the back of a spoon to mash into a thick marinade or thin paste.
• Place some of the marinade in the chicken and work it around inside, then pour the rest over the chicken and cover the skin.
• If you are braising in the oven, you may need to add a 1/2 cup of water, depending on the type of bird. Try it the first time you make the recipe, and you can leave it out, later, if you don't want the additional liquid. You do NOT need to add the water, if you cook this in the a slow cooker.
• If the lid for your pot has any holes, or there are any gaps between the lid and pan (or crock), cover the lid with foil so it seals tightly.
• The chicken will need to cook 2 1/2-3 hours. Check the temperature at the thickest parts and remove when the chicken is done (approx 170, a bit lower, if you want to finish the chicken on the stove top). If you want to brighten up the dish a bit and restore a sour bite, add another 1/4 cup of lime juice a couple of minutes before serving.

BRAISED RANCHERO CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the ranchero sauce: On a gas range or under a broiler, roast the green, red and poblano peppers until well charred. Let cool. Stem and seed the charred peppers. Coarsely chop and set aside.
• In a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle, finely grind the whole guajillo and pasilla chiles and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, covered, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the guajillo and pasilla chiles, cumin, chili powder, oregano, thyme, black pepper, salt and garlic. Stir and cook until the spices become fragrant and are fully coated in oil, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, green chiles and sugar. Stir and continue to cook until the sauce starts to simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the vegetables soften and the flavors come together, 30 to 40 minutes. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed.
• For the ranchero chicken: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a small Dutch oven or medium sized roasting pan combine the chicken, stock, salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and lime juice with 2 cups of the ranchero sauce. (Reserve remaining ranchero sauce for another use.) Stir and top with the lid or seal well with aluminum foil and braise in the oven, 2 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle the chicken.
• Shred the chicken with two forks or your hands. Strain the braising liquid and add the strained solids back in with the shredded chicken. Reserve enough liquid to moisten the mixture. Return to the pan and keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.
• For the tostada shells: Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels. In a small frying pan, heat 1/2-inch oil until hot. Add 1 tortilla and cook, flipping once a minute, until crispy and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the paper towels and repeat with remaining tortillas.
• Serve the chicken on the tostada shells and top with avocado and queso fresco.

CHIPOTLE-BRAISED CHICKEN TACOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the cilantro-lime cream: In a bowl, combine the sour cream, honey, lime juice, cilantro, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper and whisk together. Refrigerate until using.
• For the braised chicken: Heat a saute pan over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with the kosher salt and pepper. Add the grapeseed oil to the pan and sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd the pan; sear the chicken in batches if needed. Remove the chicken from the pan and hold in an oven-safe casserole dish for further cooking.
• Add the onions and peppers to the saute pan and cook until tender. Add the paprika, smoked paprika and chipotle peppers and saute with the peppers and onions for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and ketchup, stir and bring to a simmer. Pour the braising liquid over the chicken and cover the casserole dish with foil. Cook in the oven until the chicken is tender and falls apart, 45 minutes.
• While the chicken is still hot, shred it and return it to the braising liquid. If you are using it right away, keep the chicken hot in the braising liquid for plating. (If you are refrigerating the chicken to use later, cool it down and store it in the braising liquid. Reheat it as needed for plating.)
• For the guacamole: Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. With a spoon, scoop out the avocado flesh into a bowl. Add the red onions, tomatoes and cilantro and mash the ingredients together. Season with salt and lime juice.
• Divide the lettuce among the taco shells. Spoon about 2 ounces of the braised chicken into each shell. Top with guacamole, a tablespoon of cilantro-lime cream and 2 sprigs cilantro.

CHIPOTLE BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cook onion, garlic, and bay leaf in butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil with 1/8 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Pat chicken dry and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Brown chicken in remaining tablespoon oil in 2 batches, 5 to 6 minutes per batch, transferring to a plate as browned.
• Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet, then stir in chile powder and onion mixture and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in water and bring to a simmer, scraping up brown bits.
• Add chicken and cook, covered, over low heat, turning chicken once, until just cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken and onions with a slotted spoon to a platter. Skim off and discard fat from sauce, then boil until slightly thickened. Stir in lime juice and cilantro and spoon sauce over chicken.

MEXICAN SMOTHERED CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, seasoned salt, salt and pepper. Place milk in a separate shallow bowl. Coat chicken with flour mixture, then dip in milk and coat again with flour mixture., In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil in batches. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. , In the same skillet, saute onion and jalapenos until tender. Add the tomato sauce, water and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Pour over chicken., Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer reads 170°-175°. Freeze option: Place cooled chicken with sauce in freezer containers and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered skillet, gently stirring; add a little broth or water if necessary.

VERSATILE MEXICAN CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Mix the garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper on a wide plate or baking dish. Put chicken thighs on top, then turn them over to coat with the seasoning mix.
• Put the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs and cook 7-8 minutes. Turn the thighs over and cook 7-8 minutes longer or until thighs are cooked through.

30-MINUTE BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place a heavy pan over a high heat and drop in the onion with the oil. Stir well and cook for 2 mins, then add garlic.
• Add the chicken and cook for a few mins, turning each piece until they all have a little colour. Add the chopped apples and the prunes, stir well, pour in the wine and bring to the boil.
• Simmer covered for 20 mins until the chicken is tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with some mashed potato.