These chicken tinga flautas are perfect for Cinco de Mayo or anytime
Pulled or shredded chicken is a handy staple for quick meals and is perfect for tacos, enchiladas or chicken tinga just in time for Cinco de Mayo, a celebration of Mexican-American heritage, culture, and cuisine. Shredded chicken is also a key ingredient in many other cuisines, appearing in dishes such as Tex-Mex chicken chili, BBQ sandwiches, Indian chicken tikka masala, Greek chicken-lemon soup, and classic American potpies and salads.
I enjoy cooking most things from scratch, but like every home cook, I sometimes rely on store-bought ingredients, such as grocery store rotisserie chicken to cut down on prep time without sacrificing flavor.
Chicken tinga (tinga de pollo) is a versatile dish that originated in Puebla, Mexico. It features shredded chicken simmered in a smoky tomato-chipotle sauce with onions. It can be used in a variety of ways: tucked into tacos with avocado, onion, and cotija cheese; served over rice with black beans in a tinga bowl; rolled with rice, beans, and cheese for burritos; folded into tortillas with cheese for quesadillas; or used to fill corn tortillas for crispy flautas.
The tinga mixture can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to four days or frozen for up to three months.
Casa MX Chicken Tinga Flautas
This recipe is adapted from Casa MX Executive Chef Kevin Acosta. Casa MX is a newly opened modern Mexican restaurant inside a former home in Coral Gables.
Stags’ Leap Winery 2023 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($35.00) complements the smoky tomato flavors in this dish, and its acidity cuts through the richness of the sauce perfectly.
Yield: 12 flautas serving 6
Chicken Tinga:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-28 oz can of tomatoes, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
3 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken makes this easy)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock (homemade or store-bought)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, pepper, salt, oregano, cumin, and chipotle peppers. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and mix well. Add the tomato paste and finally the chicken stock. Cook until the stock reduces, but do not let it dry out.
Flautas:
12 6-inch corn tortillas
24 toothpicks
Canola oil
Wrap a stack of three to four tortillas in a damp paper towel and place in the microwave for about 20 seconds to soften. Repeat as needed
Place the tortilla flat and add approximately 3 tablespoons filling to the bottom third of each tortilla then tightly roll up tortillas. Once finished, use 2 toothpicks to hold the tortillas in place.
Heat ½ to 1 inch of oil in a wide skillet to about 350 degrees (medium to medium high). Using long tongs, carefully add each tortilla to the oil, gently clamping closed for a moment to help the shell set. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain the temperature while frying. Cook the tortillas until very crisp and light golden in color, about 3 to 2 minutes per side until the tortilla is crispy. Shake off the excess oil back into the pot before placing the flauta on a paper-towel lined sheet pan.
Continue rolling and cooking the tortillas in batches, making sure to return the oil to 350 degrees between batches. Hold the cooked flautas in preheated 200 degree oven to keep warm until finished frying.
Serve:
¼ cup crumbled Cojita cheese
¼ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
¼ cup salsa verde, store-bought
1 lime cut into wedges
Cilantro leaves
Arrange two flautas on each dinner plate or shallow bowl. Top with crumbled cheese, drizzle of crema, dollops of salsa verde, and garnish of lime and cilantro.