Best Flavorful Chicken For Empanadas Tacos Etc Recipes

EMPANADAS DE POLLO (CHICKEN EMPANADAS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the flour in a medium bowl and stir in the salt and sugar.
• Add the chilled lard and butter, and with the help of 2 knives or a pastry cutter, cut the fats into the flour until you have a sandy mixture.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 3/4 of the cup of water.
• Stir 1/2 cup of the water-egg mixture into the flour, a little bit at a time, until the dough starts to come together.
• Knead the dough, adding more of the water-egg mixture as needed, until the dough is smooth. If the dough feels dry, add the remaining 1/4 cup of water 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough might feel shaggy but will be pliable yet firm once thoroughly chilled.
• Add an additional pinch of salt if you'd like savory crusts.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When ready to use, the dough should be soft and smooth, not elastic. If you poke a hole in the dough with your finger, the indentation should remain.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the chicken in a medium saucepan. Crumble the bouillon on top and add the bay leaf. Cover with water and bring it to a boil.
• Once the liquid is boiling, lower to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes, Remove from heat and let the chicken breasts cool in the broth.
• Shred chicken into small pieces.
• Moisten the shredded chicken with 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions, paprika, cumin, chili powder, sugar, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
• Cook over low heat until the onions are soft and transparent, and the mixture has a lively orange color, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and add more chili powder if desired.
• Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the chicken. Let the filling cool for at least 30 minutes. Some cooks choose to refrigerate overnight, but as long as the filling is not too hot, you can proceed to finish the filling and assemble the empanadas.
• Add the hard-boiled eggs and olives to the filling.
• Mix the egg yolk with the water. Set aside.
• Divide the empanada dough into 10 to 15 golf ball-sized pieces. Roll each one into a smooth ball.
• Let the divided dough rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough into a circular shape of about 6 inches in diameter.
• Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling into the middle of the circle. You want a good amount of chicken but not enough to overfill the disc of dough.
• Lightly brush the edges of the dough along the bottom half of the circle with water.
• Fold the top half of the circle over the filling to form a semicircle. Firmly press the edges together to seal.
• Brush the pressed edge with water and fold the edge over itself, pinching and crimping as you go to make a braid-like effect.
• Place empanadas on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush each empanada with the egg yolk and water mixture.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and slightly puffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

FLAVORFUL CHICKEN FOR EMPANADAS, TACOS, ETC...

Steps:

• Boil chicken breast, 1/2 of the onion sliced, and chiles until chicken is cooked through.
• Shred the chicken into bite size or smaller pieces.
• Fry in a skillet the other half of the onion, diced, the garlic, and the parsley leaves for 2-3 minutes, or until onions are soft.
• (I also like to add the boiled chile here to add a little kick.)
• Serve as meat for empanadas, taquitos, burritos, atop a taco salad, or use your imagination!

SPICY CHICKEN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Make filling: Place chicken breast, half the onion, and the bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and poach until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, and discard onion and bay leaf. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat from the bone with a fork; set aside.
• Roast poblano chile directly over a gas flame, turning as each side blackens and blisters. (Alternatively, roast chile under the broiler.) Transfer to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let steam 10 minutes. Remove plastic wrap; peel off and discard blackened chile skin. Remove stem, seeds, and ribs; discard. Slice chile into 1/4-inch strips; set aside.
• Finely chop remaining onion. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic; saute until soft and translucent. Stir in cumin and canela; cook 1 minute. Add shredded chicken, tomatoes, chipotle, poblano, and reserved cooking liquid. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until liquid has thickened, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper; stir in cilantro and pepitas. Set aside to cool.
• Make empanadas: Break off a 1 1/2-inch ball of empanada dough. On a clean work surface, roll dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out a round of dough. (Or use an inverted glass as a guide, cutting around it with a sharp paring knife.)
• Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each round; sprinkle with cheese. Using a pastry brush, moisten edges of dough with water; fold dough over to seal, pressing gently. Crimp edges with a fork; set aside. Repeat with remaining dough. Gather scraps and reroll. (Only do this once, to avoid toughening the dough.)
• Pour remaining oil into a medium saucepan; oil should be 2 inches deep. Place over medium heat until oil reaches 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working with a few empanadas at a time to avoid overcrowding, fry until golden, turning once, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to drain on a paper-towel lined baking sheet. While still hot, sprinkle tops with sugar. Serve immediately with crema pura or cream on the side, if desired.

AMAZINGLY JUICY AND FLAVORFUL ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Night before:
• Rinse chicken and pat dry.
• Mix salts, garlic powder and black pepper together.
• Liberally rub outside of chicken with salt mixture, then put the remaining salt mixture inside of the chicken cavity. Don't be afraid of the salt! Remember, we want the bird seasoned all the way through! I promise that it wont be salty. You may even want to use extra salt in the cavity, especially if you are using kosher salt.
• Put into a plastic bag and chill in fridge overnight. The longer the better.
• Day Of:.
• Preheat oven to 350 f.
• Put butter, lemon and garlic into cavity. You can also use herbs, onion etc.
• Pat outside of chicken dry, then rub the chicken with olive oil.
• Sprinkle Montreal steak seasoning on all sides. (Makes it really pretty when done).
• Place chicken in a roaster with a rack breast side up.
• Bake uncovered for approx 20 min per pound, or until thermometer in thickest part of thigh is between 175 to 180 degrees f.
• DO NOT OVERCOOK!
• Remove bird from oven and cover with foil. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes, the longer the rest time, the jucier the chicken gets, so do not skip this step! It wont be juicy if it doesn't rest!
• Enjoy!

EASY (YET AWESOME) CHICKEN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
• Heat oil over med-high heat in a large skillet.
• Saute onions and garlic about 4 minutes, until onions are translucent.
• Add cumin, cayenne pepper, chili flakes and dried oregano. Make sure to mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add black beans, chicken and green chilies. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 2 minutes until incorporated and heated through.
• Add chicken stock a little at a time, just to moisten the mixture. You may not need to use the entire 1/4 Cup. You want to make sure that the mixture is moist but not soupy. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
• Take mixture off burner and let cool to room temperature.
• Add cheese and mix thoroughly.
• Roll out dough onto floured surface.
• Cut 4" circles out of the dough (I like to use a medium sized cereal bowl to cut the circles, but you can make yours smaller or larger).
• Fill the middle of each circle with about 1.5 - 2 Tbl of the mixture. Don't overfill. Fold each circle in half (sealing in the mixture) and crimp the ends with a fork to close the dough.
• Brush tops with egg yolks and sprinkle with chili powder.
• Cook for 12-14 minutes at 400°F.
• Enjoy!