Tex Mex Pulled Chicken

Once upon a time in a supermarket not too far away a mum and her ‘little boy’ wandered aimlessly around the aisles. The mum was daydreaming, staring into space imagining herself under a palm tree sipping cocktails while an invisible chef in a tropical resort worried about what to feed her family. The ‘little’ boy, who was actually six foot two and full of spunk and life, noticed his mother’s inattention and proceeded to quietly fill the trolley with items, that even at 18 his mother wouldn’t buy him. Struggling for inspiration the mother asked “What should we have for dinner?” The boy hopefully suggested ‘pulled chicken.’ Startled from her day dreaming the mother did a double take and asked “pulled chicken? What’s pulled chicken?” The boy informed his mother “it’s like pulled pork only its chicken and tastes like Mexican.” Now you can imagine cogs turning over in the mother’s mind. Switched back into action the mother’s mind started whirring like a creaky old engine who’d been oiled and fired into working order. An idea took shape and she acquired the ingredients she thought would come together to meet the brief set by her son. And that my friends is how our Tex Mex pulled Chicken was born.

*Spoiler alert: the mother was me, I was tired, and had no clue what to make for yet another dinner and the 18 year old bean pole was my lovely ‘little boy who’s not so little anymore.”

Our pulled chicken recipe can be enjoyed just like pulled pork in a delicious brioche bun or regular hamburger bun with all the trimmings. It also makes a great meal served atop a steaming baked potato or bowl of rice and is a tasty addition to nachos.

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken thigh fillets

1 Tbsp olive oil

1red/Spanish onion sliced

1 red capsicum deseeded and diced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp diced chipotle in adobo sauce

1 400gm can of diced tomatoes

400 ml of beef stock ( I use the tomato can to measure this)

1 Tbs of sticky quince syrup or maple syrup

1 tsp dried oregano leaves.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c

Heat oil in ovenproof pan over high heat. Season chicken with salt flakes and black pepper and brown in batches in the pan until golden but not cooked through, around 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken leaving juices in the pan, keep warm.

Reduce heat to low, add onion, capsicum and garlic and cook gently until softened. Increase heat to medium and add paprika frying off briefly until fragrant. Add chipotle in adobo stirring to distribute thoroughly. Pour in tomatoes, stock, syrup and oregano, increase heat to high. Return chicken to the pan fitting snuggly so they’re submerged. Bring to the boil, cover and place in the oven. Immediately reduce heat to 160c and cook for 1 ½ hours or until falling apart. Remove from oven allow to cool slightly then gently pull apart with two forks and serve to your liking.

Notes:

During the oven cooking time you too should day dream about tropical resorts and cocktails.

Sticky quince syrup is the brainchild of Sue from Singing Magpie Produce. I’m a huge fan of her products and especially love this unique offering. It’s super versatile and indeed works in both savoury and sweet dishes. If you’re unable to get your hands on some, maple syrup will be fine though check the sweetness as you work as the two products are slightly different in their intensity.

You may want to add more sweetness if that’s to your taste. Taste at the end of cooking and slowly add more if you need. In savoury dishes sweetness can be like salt and be a very individual taste.