Serves 4
140 min
Chile-Braised Chicken Tostadas
Recipe GLPRd537e8c7261265
Tender, shredded chicken braised in a rich ancho and guajillo chile sauce, served on crispy tostadas and topped with fresh lettuce, onion, cilantro, and queso fresco. This classic Mexican dish combines warm spices—cinnamon and cumin—with charred dried chiles to create a deeply flavored, aromatic sauce that coats every bite of succulent chicken.
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Ingredients
3 lb. chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks, about 6 pieces)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
1 large onion, thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
8 dried ancho, guajillo, chipotle, and/or New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed
2–3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Tostadas for serving
Shredded lettuce for topping
Chopped red onion for topping
Fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems for topping
Crumbled queso fresco for topping
Lime wedges for serving
Directions
Pat the chicken legs dry and season generously all over with kosher salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in two batches to avoid crowding, arrange the chicken skin side down in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 5–7 minutes until the skin is crispy and deep golden brown. Flip and cook the other side for another 5–7 minutes until browned. Transfer to a plate. Add additional oil between batches if needed.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the sliced onion and garlic cloves to the same pot and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until the onion softens and begins to caramelize at the edges. Stir in the cinnamon stick and cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices, breaking them up by hand as you add them. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom, for 5–7 minutes until the liquid is almost completely reduced.
Add the prepared dried chiles and 2 cups of the chicken broth to the pot. Nestle the browned chicken pieces back into the pot, skin side up, making sure the chiles are submerged beneath the liquid so they can fully soften (add the remaining broth if needed to mostly submerge the chicken). Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, partially cover with a lid, and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over, scraping up any browned bits. Partially cover again and continue simmering for 45–60 minutes more, stirring and scraping the bottom every 15 minutes, until the meat shreds easily with a fork and the braising liquid has reduced by half to three-quarters. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and let cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and bones, then shred the meat into a medium bowl.
Remove and discard the cinnamon stick from the braising liquid. Transfer the softened onion, garlic, and chiles to a blender. Add ½ cup of the braising liquid and blend until completely smooth, adding more braising liquid or chicken broth as needed until the sauce reaches the consistency of loose ketchup. Taste and season with additional salt as needed. Fold enough of the chile sauce into the shredded chicken to coat it well, reserving any extra sauce for serving or for another use.
To assemble, spoon the chile-braised chicken onto warm tostadas. Top each with shredded lettuce, chopped red onion, fresh cilantro leaves, and crumbled queso fresco. Serve with lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the tostadas.
