Chicken Tinga Recipe, Tacos and Tips

I am not sure if you’re going to be surprised, but it seems to me that Georgia lives on chicken. During the last three years running Fiesta: Tequila Bar and Mexican Restaurant, our preparation of shredded chicken accounted for just over 70% dishes, and I am talking about beans, chorizo and barbacoa altogether account for less than 25%. Sounds crazy, right?

I was racking my brains how to make chicken taste great, have an easy prep and control over the consistency of its quality. So this post is a semi-recipe and semi Mexican restaurant life hack, if you wish. 

My requirements are: delicious chicken that guests would love, fault-proof (I don’t want undercooked or super dry scenarios). It should be easy to assemble on a busy service evening. And cost-wise, it needs to be reasonable – not too much cooked weight deductions.

My solution: I opt for the poaching method where chicken breasts are gently poached on a low simmer until they are done and shreadable. I get around 20% difference between net weight and cooked weight. I am not able to get a better ratio yet, so assuming it’s best.

Wait, What is Chicken Tinga? 

Traditionally, Tinga is a rich tomato and chipotle marinade to be used either during cooking (rarely actually) or as a finishing sauce (what we use). So you combine shredded chicken with the fried onions and previously cooked marinade (you need heat to activate chipotle). Tinga is popular in Mexico as it’s a great option how you can make sense with roast chicken leftovers. Mexicans are crafty with their meals, nothing goes to waste.

Detailed Chicken Tinga Recipe & Method

1. Low-Heat Poaching
   • Ingredients: 1.5kg boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 halved white onion, 3 whole garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, and enough water or chicken stock to just cover the meat.
   • Method: Place ingredients in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a low simmer.
   • Timing: Cook for 20–25 minutes (until internal temp reaches 70C). Do not overcook, as lean breast meat dries out quickly.
   • Shredding: Remove chicken and let it rest until cool enough to handle. Shred by hand or with two forks into long, thin strands. Reserve 1–2 cups of the poaching liquid.
2. The Signature Tinga Sauce
   • Authentic Sauce Ingredients:
     • Tomatoes: 1 can (400g) tomatoes.
     • Chipotles: 1 tbsp chipotle powder.
     • Aromatics: 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 onion, 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp cumin.
   • Blending: Combine these with 1 cup of the reserved poaching liquid and blend until completely smooth.
3. The Restaurant “Finish”
   • Sauté: In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil. Sauté 1 large thinly sliced onion until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
   • Reduce: Pour the blended sauce over the onions and simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low until it deepens in colour and thickens slightly and so the chipotle powder can activate.
   • Combine: Fold in the shredded chicken. Simmer for another 5 minutes to allow the meat to soak up the sauce.

Chicken Tinga Taco Assembly 

It is simple too. I find that it doesn’t really need huge amount of additional condiments. For taco we use about 60 g chicken Tinga, a touch of our housemade red salsa, touch of our avocado sauce for richness and sprinkle of green mix (onion, coriander and lettuce) to add freshness.

I have got our previous chicken preparation – chicken Pibil – head to head with this Tinga and it’s a bit more round, tender and juicy. Guests loved just a tad more, so I’ve recently made a switch to chicken Tinga for our tacos, burritos, quesadillas and protein bowls.

So all in all it has been a modest success with chicken Tinga – a dish that makes sense financially, operationally, and guests loved both the texture and the flavour.

So that’s a real taco, as described in my What is a taco? guide. Don’t forget to use my helpful guide for making the real tortillas at home, and also reference my salsa recipes to create your red salsa or chipotle paste for this chicken Tinga taco.

Fancy making your own?

Let me know how you get on and share your creations with me!