Ranchero Chicken Tacos with Blender Chile Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Seared chicken thighs simmered down in a smoky-bright ranchero sauce you blitz together from a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, chipotles and a couple of dried chiles. The sauce reduces around the chicken until it clings, then you shred it right in the pan. Corn tortillas get the treatment they deserve — dry-toasted on a hot skillet until they puff and smell like popcorn — so they fold instead of cracking.

Ingredients

• 2 dried guajillo or New Mexico chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 to 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 1 tsp adobo sauce
• 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 6)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, such as canola or avocado

• 12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
• 1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or cotija
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
• Mexican crema or sour cream, for drizzling (optional)

Instructions

1. Tear the dried guajillo chiles into flat pieces and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 to 45 seconds per side, pressing them down, until they smell nutty and darken slightly — do not let them blacken or the sauce will turn bitter. Transfer to a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak 15 minutes until pliable.
2. Drain the soaked chiles and add them to a blender with the canned tomatoes and their juices, chipotles and adobo, chopped onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, 1 tsp salt, chicken broth, and vinegar. Blend on high for 60 seconds until completely smooth — it should look like a thin tomato puree with flecks of chile. Set aside.
3. Pat the chicken thighs very dry with paper towels and season all over with 1 tsp salt and the black pepper. Dry surfaces are what give you browning, so don't skip this.
4. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high until it shimmers, about 2 minutes. Lay in the thighs in a single layer without crowding (work in two batches if needed) and sear undisturbed for 4 minutes, until deeply browned. Flip and sear 3 minutes more. The chicken will not be cooked through yet.
5. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Pour the blended sauce into the hot skillet — it will sputter — and cook over medium-high for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often and scraping up the browned bits, until the sauce darkens from bright red to brick red and thickens slightly. This frying step is what turns raw blender puree into ranchero sauce.
6. Return the chicken and any juices to the pan, nestling the thighs into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes, turning the chicken once halfway, until it registers 185°F on an instant-read thermometer and pulls apart easily with a fork.
7. Uncover, transfer the thighs to a cutting board, and shred into bite-size pieces with two forks. Meanwhile, simmer the sauce uncovered over medium for 3 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Return the shredded chicken to the pan, stir to coat, and taste for salt. Keep warm over low heat.
8. Warm the tortillas: heat a dry cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high. Lay tortillas in one or two at a time and toast 30 to 45 seconds per side, until soft, spotted, and slightly puffed. Stack them in a clean kitchen towel inside a bowl as you go — the trapped steam is what makes them pliable. Keep covered until serving.
9. Build each taco with a generous spoonful of the ranchero chicken, then diced onion, cilantro, and crumbled queso fresco. Add avocado and a drizzle of crema if using, and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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