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+ servings

Red Chile Chicken Street Tacos

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Equipment

  • Small Cast Iron Pan
  • Baking or Casserole Dish
  • Blender

Ingredients  

Chicken with Chile Sauce

  • 20 oz chicken thighs (approx 4 larger boneless thighs)
  • 3 dried guajillo chiles
  • 3 dried ancho chiles
  • 1 ½ cup chicken stock
  • 1 ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For Serving

  • 32 street taco corn tortillas
  • crumbled cotija
  • diced red onion
  • chopped fresh cilantro
  • sliced avocado or guacamole
  • lime wedges

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Cut open dried chiles and remove seeds.
  • Roast dried chiles on a pre-heated cast-iron skillet for approximately 20-30 seconds per side. Chiles will begin to have a fruity smell and darken, resembling leather. Be careful not to over toast. Tear or cut the toasted chiles into pieces.
  • In a medium saucepan simmer the chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, and roasted dried chiles for 10 minutes.
  • Pour the chicken stock, chiles, Mexican oregano, garlic powder, kosher salt, and ground cumin into a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Place the chicken thighs in a baking dish and cover with the chile sauce.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes or until chicken is able to be shredded with a fork.
  • Shred chicken with a fork or rough chop then let it sit in the chile sauce for 5-10 minutes prior to preparing tacos.
  • Over an open gas stovetop flame on medium/low heat corn tortillas until lightly charred on the edges (approximately 10 seconds per side). Stack together 2 tortillas and place 1-2 tablespoons of chicken in each taco. Top with chopped cilantro, red onion,  and a sprinkling of cojita cheese. Serve with a few slices of limes and a side of avocado or guacamole.

Notes

1. Chiles: If you can't get Guajillo chiles you can use additional Ancho chiles which are typically easier to find.
2. Chicken:  You can use store-bought pre-cooked shredded chicken which is our quick go-to after a busy day. Toss the pre-cooked chicken in sauce and then heat it in the oven.
3. Tortillas: If you are using street-size corn tortillas then you will want to double stack them. For traditional size tortillas, a single tortilla will work perfectly to hold in all the filling. Our preferred method for heating up tortillas is over a cast-iron skillet or comal.
4. Nutritional Value: The nutritional value is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. The nutritional value is only for the chicken and red chile sauce due to the variation in nutritional value for the tortillas which will vary by brand and type as well as the number of toppings added to each taco. It does not include the nutrition for any substitutions.
5. Be sure to check out the Key Ingredients along with the Recipe Tips and Notes sections found in the post, for more tips, options, substitutions, and variations for this recipe! You will also find step-by-step photos there.