An Obsessive-compulsive's Guide To Chipotle's Chicken
  1. Toast the dried chipotle chiles in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant and skins begins to bubble, flipping frequently to avoid burning. This should take about 5 minutes. Transfer chiles to cutting board and let them cool off until you can handle them. Remove the seeds from at least one chile. More if you want it less spicy. Remove any thick stems from the chiles.

  2. Meanwhile, mix boiling water and Better Than Bouillon in heat-proof container, set aside.

  3. Add the all chiles to bouillon and allow to soften for at least 5 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

  4. Add the chiles, bouillon, and all remaining adobo ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor and blend until very smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. At this point, the adobo marinade is going to be hot, and you do not want to put your raw chicken in the hot marinade, so allow the adobo to cool to at least room temperature before proceeding to the next step. You can use an ice bath to hasten this process.

  5. Add chicken to a bowl and pour adobo over chicken, then using gloves, mix thoroughly to combine, ensuring chicken is completely covered in adobo. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally 24 hours.

  6. Preheat 2 tablespoons of a high smoke point oil in a stainless steel, carbon steel, or cast iron pan over medium high heat, until oil just begins to smoke. Make sure to turn on the vent/range hood and open some windows, this will create a 'pepper spray' effect. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, remove from marinade, let any excess marinade drip back into bowl, and carefully lay flat-side down into hot oil. It is okay to crowd the pan, but you may have to work in batches depending on how much chicken you are cooking and how big your pan is. Cook over medium-high heat until the first side is well-charred (spotty black, but not fully black), 5-10 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until second side is well-charred, 5-10 minutes. Cook until the internal temperature is between 175F-190F. You want to err on the side of overcooking here.

  7. Once chicken is fully cooked and both sides are well-charred, transfer to a clean bowl and allow to rest for just 5 minutes. Once rested, move to cutting board, cut length-wise into ½-¾' strips, then align strips and cut perpendicular into ½-¾' cubes. Move all cubes and any juices back into bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes. This step is crucial. Before serving, mix everything up to coat the chicken in all of the juices.

Course🍽️Main Course

Diets🌾Gluten-free🥩Carnivore...

Category🍽️Main Dish

Cuisine🇲🇽Mexican

Occasions🍽️Casual Dining📆Everyday

Season🔁Year-round

DifficultyEasy ⏰ 1h

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