Is it Cinco de Mayo yet? If you are not sure what to share with your family and friends for Cinco de Mayo, how about serving these Beer Braised Chicken Tacos?
Cinco de Mayo is another one of my favorite holidays, and this year I will be celebrating it in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I doubt very much that I will be able to get my chops around some Mexican food, but I will make sure to raise a glass of tequila to commemorate Mexican culture. I’m a little ignorant of the culture to be honest, but I do love the food.
Which brings me back to these wonderful Beer Braised Chicken Tacos. To create this dish I used chicken breast with bones, skin on. Using skinless and boneless chicken is fine, but the former helps to lock in flavor and moisture. The chicken is cooked slowly in a dutch pot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in a mixture of herbs and spices, and of course, beer.
The beer in Beer Braised Chicken Tacos applies a nice depth of flavor, you will be able to taste it, but only for a few moments before the spices demand your tastes buds’ attention. You will need two bottles of beer, I used Corona, but you can use any lager. I wouldn’t suggest using a stout or bitter, that’s a whole different flavor category that would overpower this dish.
This recipe is great for parties. 2lb of chicken breast will go a long way to give you at least 16 tacos, and likely a few more, if you use 6 inch tortillas.
You can top your chicken tacos with almost anything you desire, but I really liked it with a simple combination of avocado, jalapeno, cilantro doused in lime juice.
Whatever you decide on as a topping, never fear these babies will not disappoint.
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Beer Braised Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breast with bone, skin on
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 7 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 bottles of beer lager - 12 fl oz each
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Additional adobo sauce as needed
- 4 haas avocados diced
- 1 Jalapeno diced
- Small bunch of cilantro leaves removes and stalks discarded
- Juice from 2 limes
- 16 x 6 inch tortillas
Equipment & Utensils
- Large dutch pot
- Chopping board used for cooked meat
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in dutch pot and toss in dry ingredients.
- Chop two chipotle peppers and toss into the dutch pot.
- Add 2 tbsp of adobe sauce and the garlic, then top with beer.
- Place on high heat and allow liquid to bubble and make sure all ingredients have combined.
- Lower to a medium heat and allow to cook for 30 minutes.
- Lower heat again to low and allow to cook for 1 hour. Checking regularly.
- Once chicken is cooked through and can be easily shredded, turn off the heat and remove chicken from sauce, place chicken on chopping board and remove the skin and bones from the chicken and discard.
- With a large fork, shred the chicken as much as you can, and then set aside.
- With a slotted spoon, remove garlic and other bits of seasoning from the sauce.
- Return the dutch pot with the sauce to a high heat and add cornstarch to thicken the sauce, use a whisk to incorporate if needed.
- Allow sauce to thicken then taste. You might want to add one or two tbsp of adobo sauce, and perhaps another chipotle pepper. You may also want to add a little salt, pepper or sugar, according to taste.
- Mix thoroughly after touching up seasoning and once good return the shredded chicken to the sauce.
- Allow sauce to coat the chicken for a minute or two and then you are ready to serve.
- Mix avocados, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice together and season with a little salt.
- Heat tortillas then add some chicken and top with avocado salsa and serve immediately
