Fluffy Chix Cook: Green Chili Pulled Chicken

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Green Chili Pulled Chicken

Green Chili Pulled Chicken Jalapeno Poppers
served with fresh salsa, guac and sour cream.

Thank You New Mexico! (For allowing us to steal your green chiles...)

You might have missed this, but I’m from Texas.

In the old days, when my sisters and brothers and I were growin’ up – yes, we grew up in the olden days. We had black and white tv’s and there was no such thing as a cell phone, and Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet yet…

But when we were growin’ up, Texas was divided into 2 kinds

of people. Those who cooked their chili, red (the overriding majority). Those that cooked their chili, green. And those who cooked their chili, green, were considered heretics; folks corrupted by those dang nabbit, high plains, rabble rousin’, New Mexican folks. Hell we were so far backward in our family, we still thought Parmesan cheese grew in a green can and was pronounced par-meees-i-an cheese!

But alls well that ends well. Thankfully, the New Mexican heretics spread their corruption thoughout the whole state and thanks in large part to big mega-chains like Chilis, the whole blame state of Texas now knows and loves this spicy green concoction! (But that is a later story for another day...)

No, I had to move to Colorado and explore the High Plains Region with friends, before someone introduced me to a food I liken to ambrosia of the gods. Really folks. Those New Mexicans knew what they were doin’ when they developed the Hatch green chili. And the subsequent green chili sauce and green chili stew that followed forever changed me into a two-chili gal. In fact you could call me Susie-Two-Chili if ya’d like!

New Mexican Hatch Green Chilis

A cantankerous rebel of the Anaheim family. New Mexican, Hatch green chilis can blister your mouth or taste mild like their California cousin – more sweet than hot. But I have to admit, Denny and I love the heat, of course. We look forward to the Fall each year and the Hatch green chili season that hits in October. I buy bags of the roasted Hatch green chilis in both mild and hot. Then I freeze them in preparation for soul-satisfying green chili throughout the Fall and Winter.

I worked with a lady in Colorado who taught me to make green chili. I am forever grateful. It’s so versatile. You know I am all about versatile. And green chili is easy to make! Your favorite cast iron Dutch oven, or even a new-fangled crockpot fills the bill. Green chili can be used as a base to make so many other dishes.

And cheap? Let’s talk cheap! It’s so inexpensive to make per serving. You can use the cheapest cuts of meat (that actually turn out to be pretty dang tasty)! And green chili still turns out tasting like pure comfort food.

And it’s good for you too! Each serving gives you a big ol’ hit of Vitamin C from those wonderful green chilis, Vitamin A, B Vitamins, a heap of potassium, calcium, selenium, Magnesium, and Zinc. In fact, got a cold? Eat green chili, the hotter the better and if it won’t scare the cold plumb outta your chest, the vitamin and mineral brigade will have you singing quicker than Mama’s chicken soup!

Click To Enlarge

Can we talk protein? 1/6th of a Recipe, which is a large serving provides 37g of quality protein. Eat a little smaller portion and you can taper Green Chili Pulled Chicken to fit your protein requirements. But the real point is…choose the protein you prefer! Chicken Thighs and Legs? Check. Whole chickens? Check. Bone-in Chicken Breasts? Check. Pork Butt? Check. Country Style Pork Ribs? Check. Pork Neck Bones? Check. Pork Chops or Steaks (the cheap ones), Pork Shanks (Hocks)? Check. Turkey Leg or Thigh? Check. Beef? Nah…save the beef for the Chili Red.

Make Green Chili Out Of Your Favorite Cut Of Meat!
See? You can make green chili out of your favorite cut of meat. I choose whatever is on sale! In fact, the breasts I used – bone-in, skin-on – were on sale for $0.89/lb. The bad news? They aren’t organic. They aren’t free range. But heck, I can’t afford organic or free range right now. Wish I could. But dang! $0.89/lb for a major protein? Now, that’s a great buy! And considering that 3 LARGE breasts, and they were honkers –made a dish with 6 servings. It actually gave us more like 8 servings but I used it a bit differently and it extended it more.

But now for the bad news. I didn’t have a chance to make this dish fresh and photograph it. All I had for you were the photos of the end products I made from the Green Chili Pulled Chicken. But you guys are smarty-mcsmartipants and don’t need a pictoral guide for making Green Chili Pulled Chicken. You’ll do just fine. Then get creative and think of things to make with this flavorful, nutrient packed base!

Use A Crock Pot Or Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Oh! And the crockpot is your friend here. Cook it outside on your patio or porch and don’t stink up the house! Keep your house cool without heating up your stove or oven. Use the crockpot. It works perfectly for Green Chili Pulled Chicken.

Find Printable Recipe Here

Green Chili Pulled Chicken

Yield – 6 Large Servings
Difficulty – Easy
Prep Time – 15Minutes
Cook Time – 4-6 Hours Crock Pot, Low

Ingredients:

Green Chili Pulled Chicken Stew topped with cheddar
with avocado and tomato salad - cauliflower replaces
the potatoes normally found in green chili stew.

3 Large Chicken Breasts, bone-in with skin (emphasis on LARGE, sub out 6 small)--or use a rotisserie chicken from the store, boned, skinned, and meat pulled or torn into chunks.

2, 7oz Cans Green Chilis, chopped (or sub for REAL freshly roasted green chilis like Hatch!)

1, 14.5oz Can Rotel Tomatoes, original recipe (with liquid)

1/2c Green Salsa (I used Herdez Brand)

1.5 Large Onions, chopped

1 Medium Green Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped (about 3oz)

1/2c Flat Leaf Parsley, fresh (or sub for 1/4c dried flakes)

2c Chicken Broth, Low Sodium if possible

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

The Spices:

1 tsp Thyme, dried

1 tsp Cumin, ground

1 tsp Coriander, ground

1 tsp Granulated Garlic Powder

½ tsp Black Pepper, ground

½ tsp Kosher Salt

1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper (or ½ tsp if you’re like me)

2oz Cream Cheese

Roast, skin, seed and chop green chilis if you’re using fresh chilis. If not, then open the cans while you’re opening the Rotel and green salsa! Be sure to add the liquid present with the canned veg.

Chop onion and green bell pepper, coarse chop is fine for this application.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add sliced garlic. Stir for a minute and add onion and green bell pepper. Sauté veggies over medium high heat until they begin to brown a bit and are tender. Remove veggies to the crock pot.

(Optional step (brown chicken breasts in a splash of olive oil).
(Note: This step is up to you. Half the time I do it and the other half, I don’t. I make it with frozen meat or defrosted meat. Sometimes I like the color and flavor imparted by browning meat, sometimes I’m too lazy to care and just getting it in the slow cooker is more important! So choose your battles!))

Technically, I usually “sandwich” the breasts between flavor elements. That means, I put a few of the veggies and garlic and spice on the bottom of the crock pot, then add the chicken, then top with everything else. I think it makes a moister environment to cook the meat. Add all other ingredients EXCEPT the cream cheese.

Set slow cooker on low, cover and don’t lift the lid again for at least 4 hours. Check it at 3-4 hours if you can. You can cook it longer of course, but I don’t like dried-out chicken. You are looking to see that the breasts are done and tender. If you start from frozen breasts, I would add an hour or 1-1/2 hours to the cooking time.

When done, remove meat and shred it with the tines of a fork. Shredding the meat makes more volume than it would if you simply chop it.

Add shredded chicken back to the crock pot liner. Add cream cheese and stir to mix well. (Cream cheese replaces the brown roux normally made to thicken green chili.)

Serve and prepare to be comforted! YUM!

For Green Chili Stew: Throw a 1/2 a head (2-3 cups) of fresh or frozen cauliflower florets (diced into about 1/2 inch cubes) into the Green Chili and let it cook until tender, during the last 30minutes to an hour of cooking time. Frozen: 30 minutes. Fresh: 1 hour.

SusieT's Notes:

If I had more forks than four, I would put them all in! This is beyond a 4-forker! Let's face it this whole post is one big SusieT note! So I have nothin' left to add, except don't be put off by the amount of ingredients. Just chunk it all in the pot and get on with your day. The dishes you can make using Green Chili Pulled Chicken as a base number as big as your imagination! We even love it over scrambled eggs, topped with cheese for breakfast.

Try it! You'll thank me!

Here’s what I made with the base of
Green Chili Pulled Chicken:

Green Chili Pulled Chicken Stew Topped with Cheese and Sour Cream