Chef notes
Warm chicken chili verde is delicious on its own, but load it on top of nachos with gooey, warm queso fundido and you've got an irresistible tailgating dish.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 4 quarts chicken stock
- 1 cup yellow onions, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup green bell peppers, diced
- 1/2 cup poblano peppers, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno pepper, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 4 cups tomatillos, large diced
- 3 cups canned great northern white beans, rinsed
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup grated Chihuahua cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 cups corn tortilla chips
- 3 cups prepared chicken chili verde, heated (above)
- 1½ cups prepared queso fundido, heated (above)
- 1/2 cup prepared tomatillo salsa
- 1/2 cup prepared guacamole
- 1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapenos
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
Preparation
For the chicken chili verde:
1.Season chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
2.In a large 8-quart Dutch oven, add 2 tablespoon vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. Once the oil it heated, add the chicken to the pot and sear both sides until golden brown. Lower the temperature and add chicken stock. Allow to cook until chicken is cooked thru and tender, about 20 minutes.
3.Remove chicken and any stock from pan and set aside. Bring heat to medium, add remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the onions, celery, green bell peppers, poblano peppers and remaining 1 teaspoon salt, sweat until tender.
4.Add in the minced garlic, minced jalapenos, cumin, cayenne and tomatillos, reduce heat.
5.Shred the chicken and fold into the chili. Allow to simmer until the tomatillos break down a little and chicken is very tender, about 30 minutes.
6.Fold in the white beans and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Taste test if more salt is needed and adjust if necessary.
For the queso fundido:
In a small 2-quart sauce pan over low heat, slowly heat the sour cream and heavy cream. Keeping the heat on low, whisk in the Chihuahua cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until completely melted and heated being careful not to burn.
For the chicken chili verde nachos:
On a large platter, lay out the corn tortilla chips. Spread 3 cups of the hot chicken chili verde over the chips, pour 1½ cups of the hot queso fundido over the chips and chili. Sprinkle the tomatillo salsa over the nachos, scoop dollops of guacamole over the top and garnish with sliced jalapenos and cilantro leaves. Anything goes with additional toppings like diced tomatoes, chopped bacon, chopped onions or scallions and black olives.
