My version of Houston's Lupe Tortilla's #29 Soft Chicken Tacos

When I lived in Houston, my favorite restaurant was Lupe Tortilla and their #29 Soft Chicken Tacos. Lupe Tortilla never made it to Dallas, and I rarely make it back to Houston. Thus, I had to come up with an alternative. For those that have never tried it, it is more like enchiladas than tacos. But that really is just semantics when you taste something this wonderful!

Chicken filling:
4 boneless chicken breasts (no skin)
2 cans of chicken stock
1 medium onion chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large can of fire roasted green chilies

Poach the chicken breasts on medium high heat in the chicken stock. Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil separately. When the chicken is cooked, take it out of the stock and reserve the broth in a separate bowl. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and add it back to the pot with the sautéed onions, the fire roasted green chilies and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the reserved chicken broth so the mixture is moist but not watery.

"Ranchero" Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped white onions
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
3 minced garlic cloves
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes with the juice
1 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

To make the Ranchero Sauce, in a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cumin, salt, cayenne, jalapeno, and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the stock and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. Allow the sauce to cool a bit and then puree the mixture in a blender until smooth.

Assembly:
4-6 cups of shredded monetary jack cheese
Package of medium size tortillas
The chicken mixture
The "ranchero" sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Take a tortilla, spread 1 tablespoon of ranchero sauce on the face, add a portion of the chicken mixture to the middle (about 4-6 tablespoons) and 2 tablespoons of the jack cheese. Roll the tortilla up with the mixture and place it is the shorter end of the casserole dish. Continue until the casserole dish is full.

Cover the tacos with the remaining ranchero sauce making sure everything is covered evenly. Then cover with the remaining jack cheese. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy!

that looks delicious..

and it seems easy to make..

thank you..

I can tell it's a winner. Great presentation, OP.

reply to post by LeatherNLace


Thanks OP !
It looks delicious !



I make a shredded Chicken Burrito using an almost identical method but I grill over mesquite or broil the Chix first with Garlic& Chipotle Chili, then shred and sauce.

As the Native Americans would do it.for it really imparts a very nice subtle smokey flavor to the Chix.

Will try this recipe, though...thanks again.

Bon Appetit !


Peace

Originally posted by nh_ee
reply to post by LeatherNLace

 

I make a shredded Chicken Burrito using an almost identical method but I grill over mesquite or broil the Chix first with Garlic& Chipotle Chili, then shred and sauce.

As the Native Americans would do it.for it really imparts a very nice subtle smokey flavor to the Chix.

Peace

I think the recipe would be even more amazing with smoked chicken. I guess you could say this is the "lazy" version...but I think I may have to break out the smoker next time.

That looks delicious!!!

I just bought a bunch of groceries today and i have just about everything to make this. It's looking like it's gonna kick my chicken alfredo to the curb tonight!

That looks sooooo good!
I can't wait to try it.
Thanks for the recipe!

reply to post by LeatherNLace


Just checking back in with a status report...I am preparing this today....


If you aren't exactly willing to fire up the grill outside...weather permitting...there are some alternatives ...

The broil/braze method works well. I place the seasoned bone in chicken breasts in a glass pyrex pie plate and cook them flat side down at 400 degrees for about 60 minutes....they develop a nice flavor from the spices and the browning due to the high temps sears them nicely similar to that attained with grilling.

They shred very nicely as a result...try it you will like it !

The drippings on the bottom of the plate I add a little warm water to in which to begin my broth which I later add to the shredded chicken and green chilis.

I purchased a whole chicken yesterday, cut it up and smoked it over low heat with mesquite wood chips. I actually use the bones from the chicken simmered with onion and celery to make my own chicken broth used in the sauce and freezing the rest.

I was fortunate enough to have lived in Mexico (Guadalajara) for a summer and the culinary experience was simply over the top.

I worked in Baytown TX for Exxon years ago refurbishing/updating the computers and software at one of their major high altitude aviation fuel refineries and the food in general there was outstanding....wish I'd come across Lupe's while there !!

The medical industry is finding more and more evidence of the health benefits of Capsaicin , the primary ingredient in red pepper. For one in it's benefits to circulation which is very beneficial to Women and as to why they often feel cold. but for guys it actually has it's benefits in preventing the growth of prostate cancer cells.

Capsaicin, a component of red peppers, inhibits the growth of androgen-independent, p53 mutant prostate cancer cells.

So I eat lots of it for that reason and not to forget that it tastes sooo good !!

Thanks for the recipe once again.



Peace


www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

reply to post by nh_ee


So, I really want to try your version now!! Your own stock and smoked chicken...wow!!! This is going to be AMAZING!!