»Back to Chicken
Salsa Chicken
This is great for a small group and easy to serve with tortillas or rice and salad. I reserve the back to roast later and make some chicken broth for the freezer.
What you need
- 1 large chicken cut into 12 pieces (2 wings tips removed, 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 half breasts each cut in half) - leave skin on
- 8 oz of your favorite salsa (I use either TJ's bottled salsa verde or Herdez salsa casera)
- 8 oz beer or other liquid
- 1 tbl ancho chili powder
- plenty of fresh minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Olive oil
How to make it
- Heat a large pot over medium heat - when hot add olive oil
- Place chicken pieces in a single layer with space between (don't crowd) skin side down
- Check after 3-4 minutes to see if they release easily and are nicely browned - when browned flip and brown other side
- Remove browned chicken pieces to a plate or bowl and repeat with remaining pieces until all are browned
- Turn off heat and using paper towels and tongs, remove skin from breast, thigh and drumstick pieces -discard skin
- Turn heat back on to medium-low and add garlic and spices
- Cook very briefly then add salsa and beer - increase heat to medium and stir to blend well
- Place chicken pieces into salsa and bring to a low boil
- Cover and reduce heat to low and braise chicken for 45 minutes to 1 hour
- Remove chicken to a plate to cool enough to handle
- Increase the heat under the salsa and reduce slightly (boil about 5 minutes)
- Shred chicken (I find this easiest to do with my hands) and discard bones, skin from wings and any large pieces of fat
- Reduce salsa and add shredded chicken - keep warm until serving or refrigerate and reheat before serving
Note: If you refrigerate the chicken and the salsa separately, you can easily remove excess fat from the surface before reheating. Otherwise, skim some of the fat from the salsa before adding the chicken back.
Questions about this recipe?
Not the recipe you want? Enter an ingredient in the box below:
