The Best Pulled Chicken
Chicken thighs are braised with a Mexican seasoning blend, onion, and non-alcoholic beer until fall-apart tender then finished under the broiler to get nice and crispy. Perfect for tacos, burrito bowls, and all the Tex-Mex favorites.
Servings: 12
Calories: 145kcal
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1 medium White Onion quartered and thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Mexican Oregano
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 12 oz Non-Alcoholic Mexican Beer or your choice of cooking liquid
Instructions
- Add everything to a Dutch oven and stir to evenly combine.
- Cover and bake in a 350ºF oven for 75-90 minutes until the chicken easily pulls apart. Pull the pot out of the oven and set your oven to a low broil.
- Carefully use forks or tongs to shred the chicken. I like to leave some larger pieces of chicken, about ½", as opposed to completely shredding.
- Stir the shredded chicken and remaining juices/jammy onions together and place under the broiler uncovered. (Make sure your Dutch oven is safe to use at higher temperatures. If it's not, you can transfer the chicken to a sheet pan for broiling. You may also want to use the bottom rack of your oven to create more distance between the heating element and pot.)
- Broil for about 20 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is nicely browned all over and the remaining juices have thickened.
- Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and lime juice. Use the chicken to make tacos or any of your Tex-Mex favorites. See the notes below for more high protein meals to make with this chicken.
Notes
I like to serve on warmed tortillas or charred tortillas (warmed over a gas burner) with thinned nonfat Greek yogurt, guacamole salsa, and a squeeze of lime juice. And you can't go wrong with a little diced white onion, cilantro, and lime.
For "gringo" tacos, I like to make cheese crusted tortillas by adding some shredded colby jack on top of tortillas in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Once the cheese starts to melt, flip the tortillas over and cook cheese-side-down until a golden brown crust forms.
More creative ways to use leftovers: street corn bowls, cottage cheese enchiladas, and taco bowls with salsa macha cucumbers
If you're feeling lazy, you can swap the seasoning blend for a couple packets of taco seasoning or chicken fajita seasoning. Just keep the salt content in mind. You can also swap the sliced onion for a can of diced green chiles or something along those lines.
Nutrition
Serving: 4oz | Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 5g