I guarantee you, this is the only recipe you’ll ever need to make tacos. It could not be easier, either. Make it for tacos or fill a cheese quesadilla, burrito, or bowl of rice with this shredded chicken. It’s creamy, tangy, salty, savory, sweet, and has a tiny kick. It’s everything a taco should be.
You literally will dump everything into a pot (with some small amount of finesse for timing the flash of alcohol). I even came up with a catchy song to help you remember how to make these. It’s like Snoop Dogg meets Dr. Seuss. Ahem:
Drop it like it’s hot in a pot and pour a shot
Plus a beer, let it sear. What a sizzling song to hear.
I’m making that face of the emoji who looks shocked and embarrassed all in one.
Jim said these taste like breakfast and he liked it! I think he was detecting the very small amount of cinnamon I dropped in there. Cinnamon is often used in savory Mexican dishes. I think it works with the tomatoes to bring a little sweetness to the game, but you can very easily omit the cinnamon if you like.
You do need either a blender, food processor, or an immersion blender to puree the onions and tomatoes with the tequila and beer after everything has cooked. The immersion blender is the least amount of cleanup because you puree everything in the pot. I use mine very often. Mine is an older version of this one.
Alcohol dissolves fats. It creates an emulsion between the water in the vegetables and meat and the fats in the butter. Fats carry flavors, and the alcohol disperses the fats to carry the flavors throughout the meat and sauce. Without it, you would just have the fats rising to the top in a buttery pool. If you are going to replace the alcohol with chicken broth, you might want to also halve the amount of butter.
At the end, please, please, please adjust for salt. Everyone has a different saltiness preference! The general rule of thumb for poultry is 3/4 tsp – 1 tsp of salt for every pound of meat you have. I have included 3/4 tsp prior to adjust for salt. This gives me a solid baseline to build off of once everything has cooked, and I can add more to my liking to my taste.
Remember to taste and gauge. Is it too salty? Add a small amount (1/4 tsp) of instant coffee and stir. Bitterness cuts back salt. Is it not salty enough? Sprinkle in a little sea salt and stir, or give it a spritz of lime juice or a dash of cayenne. Acid and spiciness enhance saltiness.
Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 tomatoes (on the vine or Roma are good), chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground oregano
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
3-5 shakes of cayenne pepper
4 tbsp butter, sliced
1 bottle of pale lager or wheat ale (I used a Corona)
1 shot of tequila (about 1/4 cup)
Process
Combine cumin, oregano, cinnamon and paprika (if using), salts, garlic powder, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
Heat a large pot with extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is hot and shiny, add the chicken breasts. They should sizzle. After a minute, flip the breasts. Quickly dump the spices over the breasts.
Drop the chopped tomato and onion pieces around the chicken and place the butter on top of the breasts.
When everything is really hot and sizzling, pour in the tequila so it flashes quickly. Then add the beer.
Cover and boil for five minutes on high. Lower the heat to low and cook for one hour.
Then remove the chicken breasts and place on a plate. Puree the sauce either in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender in the pot. Replace chicken and shred.
Adjust for salt as desired. Alternatively, stir in a small amount of instant coffee powder to cut back some saltiness if too salty or just add a bit of water. If it’s not salty enough for you, you can add more salt and/or lime juice or cayenne to enhance the saltiness.
Serve with rice or on tortillas!