Park City Chicken

When we were here during the holidays our house was packed with family and friends. Felt a bit like we were running a small inn which suits us just fine. On one of the last evenings, Jessica and her boyfriend Scott (especially Scott who is a really good cook and cocktail maker) made a braised pulled chicken dish and black beans for a Mexican fiesta. It was absolutely delicious. I got the recipe from Scott and made it again this week. Scott called it Park City Chicken. Below serves 6

1 dozen boneless chicken thighs

1 large yellow onion sliced into thin half-moons

One bunch of cilantro finely chopped

1 can Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – only use the sauce and save the peppers for something else later unless you want your mouth to explode with insane heat.

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. Mexican oregano

In a big pot saute the onions until browned. Add the chopped cilantro and stir until incorporated. Add in the crushed tomatoes, adobo sauce, cumin, and Mexican oregano. Saute and add a bit of salt for taste. Scatter the chicken thighs (season them with salt too) over the top of the sauce. Add a bit of water so the liquid covers the chicken. Bring to a boil then down to simmer, cover the pot and let cook until the chicken is pull-apart tender.

Remove the chicken from the liquid and pull apart or just cut up. Boil down the liquid until it becomes thick. Add the chicken back in and stir it up. I let this sit on the stove on low heat for a while until we were ready to eat.

Mexican Black Beans

1 small onion cut into half moons or chopped

1 red or green pepper cut into thin slices

2 bay leaves

1 bag dried black beans

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp epazote

Saute the onions and peppers, add in the cumin, bay leaves, and epazote, then add in the beans. Cover with water at least 2-3 inches over the beans, bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 4 hours (until the beans are soft and it differs based on where you are). You can also add some bacon or lardons to the onions and pepper to give another flavor profile. Really delish!

Serve with Cojita cheese, cilantro, sliced limes, avocado, sour cream and of course hot sauce.