Mexican Style Adobo Chicken

All kinds of Adobo recipes out there so I decided to try my hand at my own! Not exactly authentic of course, but delicious none the less. This is actually great for chicken, beef or pork so I labeled it for all 3. Please note this is Mexican Style Adobo, not the Filipino Style which is soy sauce based.







4 lbs skinless chicken thighs(boneless too if you like, I got bone in this time)

Marinade:
1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup minced sweet onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
5-7 dried chilies*, stems and most seeds removed, and sliced into large chunks
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 TB molasses
2 TB apple cider vinegar
1 TB dried oregano
1 TB smoked paprika(if you dont have smoked, use regular and add 1/4-1/2 tsp liquid smoke)
1/2 TB orange zest
2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Lime juice to taste


* Anaheim for mild, Guajillo for medium, Chipotle for hot, Chile de Arbol for very hot you can mix and match if you like!

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic, cook until tender and fragrant.












Add chilies and cook, stirring often until they are starting to turn bright in color....not too long, maybe 2-3 minutes.









 Add chicken broth, molasses, AC vinegar, paste and seasonings.









Simmer, Stirring often until everything is tender about 15-20 minutes.










Chill thoroughly.  You can run it through a blender if you want it smooth or you can leave it chunky.









Place thighs and chilled marinade in a ziplock bag and marinate at LEAST 6-8 hours....24 hours is best if possible.









Throw the thighs on the grill, under the broiler, in the oven, in a large pan on stove top.....what ever your favorite method of cooking...We were going to grill but the rain kicked in so I just preheated the oven to 375 and cooked them that way...Also, some plans fell through and we didnt have to feed as many as I originally planned so I only cooked half and put the other half in the freezer for another night. (only do this if your meat was never previously frozen!)




Cook to an internal temp of 165 drizzling with a little fresh lime juice when  they are almost done cooking.









You can serve it with rice and beans, in a tortilla or taco shell, shred it up and make a casserole.....all kinds of options!

We opted to shred them up and make enchiladas. Delicious!