Chicken With Tomatillos And Poblanos Recipes

CHICKEN CHILE VERDE

Steps:

• You can cook the chicken any way you want, but for this batch I brined and baked it. To brine the chicken, add 1/2 cup Kosher or sea salt to 2 quarts of water in a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the salt and add the chicken breasts, letting them brine in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. If the chicken isn't fully submerged then add a bit more water. Once brined, pat dry the chicken and add it to a baking sheet.
• Pull off the husks of the tomatillos and give them a good rinse. I usually de-stem them too. Add the tomatillos to the baking sheet along with the rinsed poblanos (and the chicken) and roast everything in the oven at 400F. Cook the chicken until it registers 160F or until the insides are no longer pink -- this usually takes 20 minutes but sometimes it will take a couple extra minutes if there was an extensive brine. Remove the chicken once cooked and let the poblanos and tomatillos roast for an additional 10 minutes or so. I usually cover the cooked chicken breasts with foil until I need them.
• De-stem and de-seed the roasted poblanos. Add the roasted poblanos and tomatillos to a blender along with 1/2 onion, 4 peeled garlic cloves, 15-20 cilantro sprigs, and 1-4 rinsed, de-stemmed jalapenos. If you want a milder batch start with 1 jalapeno, combine, and take a taste for heat level, adding more jalapeno to increase the heat. I used 2 1/2 jalapenos for this batch and it had some zip.
• Simmer the green sauce in a dollop of oil (or lard) over mediumish heat. Add 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional), and some freshly cracked black pepper. Taste for seasoning. Note: if you brine the chicken you probably won't need to add much additional salt.
• Use two forks to shred the chicken breasts and then add the shredded chicken to the green sauce. Bring everything up to a uniform temp and serve immediately.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge where they will keep for a few days.
• If you want to serve them Tostada style, warm up the refried beans in a skillet over medium-low heat for a few minutes, crumble the Cotija cheese by pulling a knife across a chunk of it, dice up any Pickled Serranos or Pickled Jalapenos that you're using, and chop up some freshly rinsed cilantro. Each warm tostada shell gets refried beans, Chicken Chile Verde, Cotija, Pickled Yummies, cilantro, and a final squeeze of lime.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH TOMATILLOS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to pot, skin side down and cook, without disturbing, until skin has rendered most of the fat and is a nice golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (You want it to be very deeply golden brown so that it stays nice and brown as it braises.)
• Using tongs, flip the chicken and continue to cook until nicely browned on the other side, another 5 or so minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a plate or cutting board, leaving all the fat and golden bits behind. Add smashed garlic and half of the sliced onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatillos and half of the jalapeño and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken back in, skin side up (they will not submerge all the way; that's fine). Simmer, uncovered, until tomatillos have completely broken down and the sauce has thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add hominy and continue to cook until flavors have melded and the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (it should be looser than tomato sauce, thicker than soup), another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine radish, remaining onion, remaining jalapeño and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
• Serve each piece of chicken with sauce spooned around. Top with radish mixture, some cilantro and tortillas alongside for sopping up all the goods.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH TOMATILLOS AND JALAPENOS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the grill.
• Place the tomatillos and jalapenos on the grill and cook until the skins char and blister, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the tomatillos and jalapenos from the grill and let cool.
• Coat a large, wide straight-sided saute pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat.
• Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt. Add the chicken legs and thighs, skin-side down, to the hot pan. Brown the chicken well on all sides. Remove from the pan and reserve.
• Ditch the excess fat from the pan and add a few drops of new oil. Add the onions, season with salt and cook until the onions are very soft and aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes.
• While the onions are cooking, coarsely chop the tomatillos and reserve. Chop the jalapenos into 1/4-inch dice and reserve with the tomatillos. If you want to tone down the heat, remove the seeds from the jalapenos before chopping.
• Add the garlic to the pan with the onions and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the reserved tomatillos and jalapenos. Stir to combine and add the chicken stock, lime juice and zest. Taste and season with salt if needed (it probably will).
• Return the chicken to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid and let cook for 15 more minutes. This will allow the stock to reduce. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
• For the sour cream: Combine the sour cream with the lime zest and juice and reserve.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and stir in the cilantro.
• Spoon the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve with the lime sour cream.
• Beverage Pairing Suggestion: Light Lager

BIG PAPPY'S POSOLE VERDE WITH TOMATILLOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place tomatillos and poblanos into a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, tossing to coat.
• Roast in the preheated oven until poblanos are blackened, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
• Remove skins from poblanos and place them into an electric blender with tomatillos. Add water and blend until smooth.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute chicken and onion in the hot oil until onions soften and show color and chicken is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add blended poblanos and tomatillos, chicken broth, serrano peppers, garlic, cumin, chipotle powder, and salt.
• Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer until chicken is no longer pink in the center and flavors have melded, about 1 hour. Stir in cornmeal to thicken.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATILLOS AND CILANTRO

Steps:

• Roast husked, rinsed tomatillos in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until browned on all sides and soft (about 8-10 minutes)- use tongs to turn.
• Transfer tomatillos to food processor and coarsely grind.
• Wash and dry chicken, season liberally with salt and pepper.
• Saute onions, scallions and jalapeno in olive oil until soft- approximately 4 minutes.
• Increase heat to high and add chicken, cooking until lightly seared, approximately 2 minutes.
• Still in tomatillo, lime juice, and sugar, and simmer until done.
• Stir in cilantro and cook for one minute.
• Correct seasoning, adding salt or sugar to taste.
• Serve with rice or tortillas.