Easy One-Pot Chicken Tinga

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
• 6 ounces tomatillos, peeled
• 6 ounces ripe plum tomatoes
• 4 medium garlic cloves
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock, or water
• 2 to 3 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon sauce from can
• 2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce

Directions

1. Sprinkle the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper. Set a medium saucepan over high heat, add the oil, and warm it until it shimmers. Place the chicken in the pan with the skin facing down and leave it alone until the surface is deeply browned, 6 to 8 minutes. If the pan smokes too much or the chicken looks like it is scorching, turn the heat down. Turn the chicken over and cook the other side for 2 minutes.
2. Move the chicken to a large plate, then add the tomatillos, tomatoes, and garlic to the same pot right away. Cook them, turning now and then, until the skins blister and browned patches appear, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until it softens, about 2 minutes. Add the oregano and bay leaves, and stir until the mixture smells fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Pour in the vinegar and stock. Put the chicken back in the pot, bring everything to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to the gentlest simmer. Cover the pot and cook, turning the chicken from time to time, until an instant-read thermometer placed in the middle of the thickest section reads 145 degrees F, 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Lift the chicken into a bowl and leave it there for now. Let the sauce keep bubbling at a strong simmer, stirring as it cooks down, until it has reduced to roughly half of what you started with, about 5 minutes longer.
5. Add the chipotle chilies and adobo to the pot. Take out the bay leaves and discard them, then puree the sauce with an immersion blender, or move it to a countertop blender to blend. Aim for a mostly smooth sauce with a few small bits remaining.
6. Once the chicken is cool enough to work with, remove and discard the skin and bones, then shred the meat finely. Add the chicken back to the sauce. Stir in the fish sauce.
7. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens enough to cling to the chicken. The final texture should be very moist, not brothy. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Use the chicken tinga for tacos, tuck it into enchiladas or burritos, spoon it over nachos, tostadas, or sopes, or serve it by itself.