Instant Pot Chicken “Carnitas” Tacos with ”The Green Stuff”

 

OK... These aren’t really carnitas in process. Or really in flavor, if you want to be traditional... but the final product has that rich, tender, yet a bit crispy from frying in it’s own fat texture that real carnitas have. I couldn’t think of anything better to call them. Plus the recipe this one is based off of called them chicken “carnitas”... so I’m sticking to it! This recipe starts off very similar to the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe with few extra steps to get that final “carnitas” love that makes them so decadently awesome. First chicken thighs are seared with a flavorful spice rub. Next, saute up some onion and garlic. Then all that does a quick round in the instant pot with citrus, bay leaf, cilantro, and chicken stock. The chicken is roughly shredded, tossed in vegetable oil, and crisped up under the broiler in it’s own cooking juices. These are probably my favorite tacos to make at home. I used bone-in chicken thighs in this recipe because that's all I had, but you can use boneless, skinless thighs as well. Though, I think bone-in might add more flavor to the chicken and the final cooking liquid. I haven't done a side by side, so that could be a bunch of malarkey. (That's a word the kids are using right?)  The amount of chicken doesn't matter too much as there will be plenty of cooking liquid leftover. Just as long as you can fit it all in the pot to cook evenly. The carnitas can also be done up in a slow cooker*. I will provide notes on that below.

Also included with this recipe is my play on a creamy jalapeno hot sauce that I think is perfect with these tacos. Many who have tasted this type of sauce think it has some sort of cream or avocado in it, but it’s just an emulsification of chilies, garlic and oil. The traditional recipe calls for the ingredients to be boiled. For mine I roast the chilies and garlic instead of boiling them. It adds an extra dimension of flavor I really love.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 4 bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed if you want). 2 should be enough for 3 to 4 tacos, so pick accordingly depending on how many people you are feeding... or use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. 1.5 to 2 lbs. This does reheat very well for leftovers. Just sayin'
• 1 medium white onion (divided use. ½ thinly sliced, and ½ diced and deflamed**, for topping the tacos. See note about deflaming the onions)
• 4 cloves of garlic. Gently smashed.
• 1 cup of chicken stock.
• 1 tbsp of cumin.
• ½ tsp of ancho or guajillo chile powder*** (see note on how to make your own) Or a mix of both if you have it. 
• ½ tsp of Mexican Oregano.
• ¼ tsp of smoked paprika.
• Salt.
• Black pepper.
• ¼ cup of orange juice.
• Chipotle Tabasco sauce or the adobo from a can of chipotles (optional).
• Juice from 2 limes plus some lime wedges for squirting on the tacos.
• 1 bay leaf.
• A handful of cilantro for cooking and for garnish. Keep a few springs intact and chop the rest.
• Vegetable oil.

Equipment:

• Instant Pot
• Large Spoon
• Tongs 
• Sheet Pan
• Skillet for roasting garlic
• Chef's knife
• Blender

Directions:

1. Before prepping and getting the other ingredients ready, generously salt and pepper both sides of the chicken, and let it sit to come up to room temp while you work on prepping the other ingredients. 
2. Mix together the cumin, chile powder, Mexican oregano, and smoked paprika.
3. Once everything is prepped, rub on the spice mixture all over both sides of the chicken. Set the instant pot to the highest saute setting and add enough vegetable oil to film the bottom of the pot. 
4. If doing more than 2 thighs, work in 2 batches. Deeply brown the chicken on each side. About 3 to 4 mins per side. 
5. Remove the chicken to a plate and add the sliced onions to the pot and cook until they start to brown. 
6. Add in the garlic and stir around in the oil for a min till aromatic.
7. Turn off the saute function and deglaze the pot with a splash of the chicken broth, scraping up all the those tasty browned bits. 
8. Add the OJ, lime juice, and the optional chipotle hot sauce or adobo to the remaining chicken broth, and then add all of that to the pot. 
9. Add the bay leaf and a few sprigs of cilantro. 
10. Nestle the chicken into the liquid in the pot, and with the tongs toss everything around together to coat the chicken. 
11. Place the lid on the pot, set it to sealing and cook for 13 mins at normal pressure. Release naturally or at least wait 15 mins before manually releasing. 
12. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. 
13. While the chicken is cooling, strain the solids out of the remaining liquid left in the pot. Skim off some of the fat if you like, but a little left will add more flavor to the finished product. Taste and salt the cooking juices if needed. It should be slightly salty, but not too much. Remember there was salt on the chicken.
14. Remove the skin from the chicken if you left it on and coarsely shred the chicken. 
15. Toss the shredded chicken with enough vegetable oil to coat, and spread out a bit on a foil lined sheet pan in a place where it will be directly below the broiler heat. 
16. Drizzle about ¼ to ½ cup of the cooking liquid all over the chicken and broil on a rack about 6 inches from the broiler. Broil 6 to 8 mins. Watch it carefully, and once it starts to get brown and crisp up, remove the pan from the oven. 
17. With the tongs toss the chicken to expose the un-browned surfaces to be crisped up, then drizzle another ¼ cup of the cooking liquid all over the chicken. Place the pan back under the broiler and again cook until it’s brown and crispy. 6 to 8 mins. Remove from the oven. 
18. If it’s crisped up to your liking, give it a taste and see if you think it needs some more of the cooking liquid drizzled on or salt. If it does, add it, toss with the chicken and it’s ready to serve. 
19. If you would like it to be a little more crispy. Taste it as well and see if you think it needs more of the cooking liquid flavor. If it does, toss to expose any un-browned surfaces and drizzle on some more of the liquid. 
20. Broil some more until it’s browned to your liking. (In my experience at this point adding any more liquid or browning too much longer, takes it too far off the balance we’re looking for.) Remove from the oven and taste to see if it needs any more salt and you're ready to serve. 

Serve the tacos with some of the some of the chopped onions and cilantro, a nice drizzle of the green stuff and a squirt from a lime wedge. Super simple and soooo good!

Everything in the Instant Pot before cooking.

Fresh from the oven!

*To cook this in a slow cooker. Follow the instructions like above, but brown the chicken in a separate pan and remove to a plate. Also saute the onions and garlic in that same pan. Deglaze it there and pour that all to the slow cooker. Add in the chicken and the rest of the ingredients as instructed above. Cook 6 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high. Continue following the instructions as written above for broiling.

**If you rinse the chopped onions under cold water in a medium mesh strainer, it will remove that onion bite and what I like to call "onion reverb" that many don't like about onions.

The Green Stuff

Ingredients:

• 5 medium jalapeno peppers stems removed. 
• 1 large poblano pepper stem removed.
• 4 large garlic cloves. Unpeeled.
• Juice from 1 large lime.
• Salt
• A few sprigs of cilantro. 
• 1 cup of vegetable oil. 

Directions:

1. Roast the Jalapenos and Poblano under the broiler until blackened on all sides. Remove to a bowl and cover with plastic or a towel to steam in the residual heat. About 30 mins. 
2. While the chiles are roasting, also roast the garlic still in their papery skins in a small skillet over medium heat until soft and brown in spots. About 10 - 15 mins. 
3. Once the chiles are cool. Peel off the charred skin. Cut off the tops of the chilies, then seed and devein the poblano chile and 4 of the jalapenos. Leave one with the seeds and veins for some of the spicy. 
4. Roughly chop the chiles and add them to the blender. 
5. Also once the garlic has cooled, peel it and add to the blender.
6. Start blending the chile and garlic mixture at a medium speed. If it’s not catching and seems too thick to blend, add in some water a couple tablespoons at a time until it catches and blends. We don’t want it to thin too much since we’ll be adding in the oil. While the blender is running, slowly add in the oil until it’s barely a pourable consistency. It will be about a cup. 
7. Add in the lime juice, a few sprigs of cilantro, and about ½ teaspoon salt and then blend it all together. The sauce will be good for a few days in the refrigerator.

Sometimes I will add a tablespoon or so of green tomatillo salsa when blending this up if I have it on hand. It adds nice little extra zing I really like.

***Homemade chile powder. 

Ingredients:

• 3 ancho or 4 guajillo chile pods. 

Directions:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees
• Cut up the chiles with kitchen shears to remove the stems, veins and seeds. 
• Bake the chile pods on a baking sheet for 5 to 8 mins until the chile smell fills your kitchen. Make sure they don’t start to burn. 
• Remove from the oven to cool. They will be soft and pliable for a few mins until they cool a bit.  If they still seem pliable after 5 mins, cool a min or two longer. If they seem completely dry, crumble into a spice grinder (or a molcajete ) to grind it into a powder. 

Spaghetti with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

I really love the bold roasted flavors of some of the Mexican food I cook. I like to apply those techniques to non Mexican recipes as well. It makes for interesting twists on classic dishes. This recipe is for a simple pasta sauce using roasted garlic, fire roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions. I bet it would be good over anything you would use a red sauce for.

Ingredients:

• ½ small onion. Sliced ¼ thick
• 3 cloves of garlic still in their papery skin
• 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes 
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp smoked Paprika
• 1 8 oz box of spaghetti.
• 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil.
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Parmesan cheese. 

Equipment:

• Large pot for cooking the pasta. 
• Small skillet for roasting the garlic.
• Large skillet for cooking the sauce with lid.
• Colander to drain the pasta.
• Large spoon. 
• Chef’s knife.
• Blender
  
  
  
  

  

  Roasting the garlic

  

  Caramelized onions

  
  
  
  

Directions:

1. Put a small skillet over medium heat, roast the unpeeled garlic until it is soft and blackened in spots. About 10 to 15 minutes or so. Let cool a bit before peeling. 
2. While the garlic is roasting, Set the pot on the stove over high heat to start boiling the water per the instructions on whatever pasta you are using. 
3. Put a large skillet over just barley medium-high heat and film with olive oil. Add the onions to the pan and stir to coat in the oil. Then let them sit for a min or two without stirring. Watch for them to start to brown around the edges but do not let them burn. Stir a couple more times to make sure they are all starting to brown. With the lid in hand, add about an ⅛ cup of water to the pan and immediately put the lid on the skillet. It will spatter loudly. Turn the heat down to medium low. Once the splattering has subsided, remove the lid and deglaze the pan with what water is left. The goal is to get all the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan up and to coat the onions. Put the lid back on and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are all a nice golden brown. 
4. While the onions are cooking. Add the tomato sauce, roasted garlic, basil, the smoked paprika and about ½ tsp of salt to a blender jar and blend until smooth. 
5. Add the fire roasted tomatoes to the sauce but do not blend. 
6. Return the skillet with the onions to medium heat and add the sauce. Once it starts to simmer turn down the heat a bit and cook the sauce down until it thickens a bit. 
7. Add the balsamic vinegar to the sauce.
8. While the sauce is cooking your water should be at a boil. Generously salt the water and cook the pasta to just barely done. It will be soft but still have some chew to it. Ladle about a cup of the water the pasta was cooking in, into the sauce. Turn the heat back up to medium high. 
9. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Stir it in well to finish cooking. Try not to let the sauce come to a hard boil. 
10. Remove the sauce from the heat. I like to stir in some of the Parmesan at this point and sprinkle on some crushed red pepper. Taste to see if it needs more salt. 
11. Serve topping with more Parmesan and some chopped parsley. (I forgot to add it in the picture above)

This spaghetti pairs nicely with some rustic garlic bread.

-Patrick

Falafel Chickpea Flatbread (not) Pizza

Even though I will post a number of meat based recipes here at The Social Distant Kitchen, I am trying to eat less meat for various reasons. Though lately, with all the virus stuff, I have been indulging a little more often. It’s all about the comfort food! Normally in my regular day to day, I have been trying (I said trying!) to eat simplish, clean, plant based, whole food meals. With the occasional healthy-ish indulgence meal featuring chicken, fish, and less often, pork or beef. Let’s just say I am an aspiring flexitarian. So, with that, I am always looking for interesting plant based recipes to make to keep me interested, and mix it up a little. I happened to stumble on a recipe for a chickpea flour flatbread called Socca. I guess it really is kinda more like a pancake than a flatbread. But a “chickpea flour pancake” sounds kinda odd. It goes by other names elsewhere, but Socca itself is a specialty of southeastern French cuisine often served as a street food. It is made by mixing chickpea flour with an equal part of water and a bit of olive oil to form a loose batter. Then it's poured it into a pan to make a pancake typically 4mm thick. (1) They are very tasty on their own, but I wondered how it would be if I topped it with ingredients to make it sort of like a flatbread pizza. I had been making a flour tortilla “Greek wrap", filled with roasted red pepper hummus, red onion, red bell pepper, tomato, tzatziki and lettuce, that I really enjoy for a light lunch. I got curious how it would taste if I added the spices you would use to make falafel to the chickpea batter. Then top the bread with a ”schmear” of the roasted red pepper hummus. Sprinkle on some chopped red onion, red bell pepper, and tomato, and then drizzle the whole thing with some thinned out tzatziki. Kinda like a cold “salad” flatbread pizza. Well… Ok, it’s nothing like a pizza... but it was inspired by it. How did it come out?... Pretty feckin’ awesome if I do say so myself. It makes for a nice light meal or even as an appetizer. Below is how I all threw it together.

Ingredients:

For the Socca:

• ½ cup chickpea/garbanzo flour
• 1 tsp ground cumin. 
• A generous 3/4 tsp coriander (want just a bit less than the cumin. So somewhere like 1/2 tsp plus ¼ tsp)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• A scant 1/8 tsp of cayenne
• A few grinds of black pepper.
• 1 tsp olive oil (plus some extra for cooking the flat bread)
• ¼ tsp of toasted sesame seed oil (optional)
• ½ cup lukewarm water.

Toppings:

• ¼ small red onion, chopped into ¼ inch pieces. (Run under cold water in a strainer to “de-flame” it. 
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
• 4 - 6 grape tomatoes, quartered, and then chop the quarters to make pieces the size of the onion and bell pepper. 
• Roasted red pepper hummus
• Tzatziki. (store bought or homemade. There are plenty of recipes online. Occasionally I like to make mine with Forager brand cashew yogurt to make this vegan.)
• Chopped parsley for garnish. 

Equipment:

• 10-inch cast iron skillet
• Flat spatula
• Knife
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk

Directions:

For the Socca:

1. Place the oven rack to a position about 6 inches from the broiler. Then place the cast iron pan on the rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add the water and stir until smooth. 
4. Thoroughly mix in the olive oil and toasted sesame seed oil if you are using it.  
5. Let sit for 30 mins for the flour to absorb the water while the oven heats. 
6. Once the oven is heated, turn on the broiler and let it heat the pan for 5 mins. 
7. Using an oven mitt remove the pan from the oven.
8. Add enough olive oil to the pan to cover the whole bottom. 
9. With an oven mitt on one hand holding the pan, use the other to very quickly add the batter to the pan, swirling it with the other hand to spread out the batter. I will start to set up very quickly.
10. Place back in the oven under the broiler and bake for 5 to 8 mins. 
11. Once the top starts to darken, remove from the oven and let sit for a few seconds. Don’t worry about the “burnt” bits on the edge. That’s the best part. 
12. Carefully slide the spatula under the flat bread. If it easily releases from the pan it’s cooked through. If it does not. Place back in the oven for another min. Keep doing this until it releases. If the top is very brown, you could also put the pan on the stove over a medium high heat to finish cooking the bottom. However, you have to be careful not to burn it. 
13. Move the socca to a wire rack for a min to finish cooking.
    
    
    

Before going in the oven. 

Done!

Assembling the dish:

While the socca is still hot, cut it up or break it off into big pieces (I usually cut it in half with a pizza cutter). Spread on a layer of the roasted red pepper hummus. Top with the red onion, red bell pepper and tomato. If the tzatziki is thick, thin it with a bit of water to make it drizzle-able.  Drizzle on the tzatziki and garnish with some of the chopped parsley. Enjoy!

-Patrick

(1.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farinata