Juicy Pulled Chicken Gorditas
This perfect, juicy, authentic chicken gorditas recipe is made with seared seasoned chicken thighs, finished in a slow beer braise, making them extra saucy.
We’re super close to Cinco de Mayo, my friends! It’s one of our favorite times of year because we love Mexican food and drinks. We enjoy our bold, zesty flavors, and Cinco de Mayo gives us a chance to highlight some of our favorite ingredients and seasonings with friends, party style.
Today we’re making a recipe that’s perfect for celebrating, but also just because they are awesome – Juicy Pulled Chicken Gorditas.
YES!
What Are Gorditas?
The name “gorditas” literally translates to “chubby” in English, so dubbed because they are essentially fat little tortillas. A “gordita” is made with a thick tortilla. The gordita dough is made from nixtamalized corn flour, which is used to make homemade corn tortillas. However, they can also be made from wheat flour.
Authentic Gorditas
These gorditas are made from masa harina (corn masa), or corn flour, and I’m making them here by hand, nothing at all like the fast food chain version.
Making them by hand really is the best way to make them.
When you make them at home, they puff up just right, allowing you to slit them open and stuff them with all sorts of goodness, like meats, beans, cheeses and more.
Today we’re stuffing them with pulled chicken that is braised low and slow in beer. I’m using Modelo Especial. The chicken becomes SUPER tender this way, perfectly juicy, and we’re adding some extra cheese and peppers for big flavor.
Let’s talk about how we make it all! Cooking the gorditas is quite fun.
How to Make Gorditas – the Recipe Method
STEP ONE – THE CHICKEN: Make the chicken first by seasoning a pound of chicken thighs with your favorite taco seasoning. Sear them in a large pan over medium-high heat in some oil, a couple minutes per side.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in a 12 ounce bottle of Modelo Especial. You can use other similar beers.
Add more taco seasonings and let the chicken simmer 30 minutes, until the liquid reduces and the chicken is nice and tender.
Shred it up with a couple forks and set it aside until the gorditas are ready.
STEP TWO – THE TORTILLAS: For making the gorditas, heat a pot of vegetable oil. 350 degrees F is optimal. You want just enough oil to cover the gorditas.
Next, mix together 2 cups masa with 2 cups of water and a couple pinches of salt. Mix the masa by hand in a large bowl until you form a dough.
The dough shouldn’t be sticky and should not be dry. It should stick together easily. If you need to add a bit more water, do so.
Form the dough into 8 equally sized balls.
Flatten each dough ball with a tortilla press, or you can do so by hand with a wide flat pan. Flatten them to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, and about 4 inches in diameter.
Set them into the hot oil a couple at a time and cook them a couple minutes until they puff up. Deep fried gorditas are the best.
Gently flip them and continue to fry them until they become light brown or golden brown.
Remove them carefully and set them onto paper towels to drain. When they are just warm enough to handle, use a knife and slit a pocket into each of them.
It should fit in the palm of your hand. Like so.
STEP THREE – STUFFING: Finally, stuff them with your tender pulled chicken and whatever other goodness you desire, like refried beans, shredded white cheese, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, avocado…whatever you wish!
Stuffing Options for Gorditas
- Juicy Shredded Chicken
- Chicken Tinga (Chipotle Shredded Chicken)
- Spiced Ground Beef
- Seasoned Pulled Pork
- Homemade Refried Beans
- Mexican Picadillo
- Cheeses
- So many options!
I hope you enjoy your gorditas, my friends! Have fun!
Gorditas Vs. Sopes
Gorditas and sopes are very similar. The main difference is in the serving. Gorditas are sliced open and stuffed. Sopes, on the other hand, are used as the base with ingredients served over the top of the dough or corn cakes.
Patty’s Perspective
Authentic gorditas should appear more on menus in the United States. The thickness of the masa dough pairs wonderfully with the other ingredients and the taste is nothing like a taco. It’s more satisfying in only the way that a freshly made corn tortilla can be, but even better because it is so thick and fried to perfection.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Beer Braised Chicken Fajitas
- Grilled Tri-Tip Steak Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
- Szechuan Salmon Tacos
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations.
Pulled Chicken Gorditas Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE PULLED CHICKEN
- 1 pound chicken thighs
- 2 favorite taco seasoning
- 12 ounces Modelo Especial®
FOR THE GORDITAS
- 2 cups masa flour
- 2 cups water
- 2 pinches sea salt
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Make the chicken first by seasoning the chicken thighs with 1 tablespoon of your favorite taco seasoning. Sear them in a large pan over medium-high heat with the olive oil, a couple minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in a 12 ounce bottle of Modelo Especial®.
- Add the remaining taco seasonings and simmer 30 minutes, until the liquid reduces and the chicken is nice and tender. Shred it up with a couple forks and set it aside.
- Make the gorditas. Heat a pot of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F. You want just enough oil to cover the gorditas when ready.
- Next, mix together 2 cups masa with 1.5 cups of water and a couple pinches of salt. Mix the masa by hand until you form a dough. The dough shouldn’t be sticky and should not be dry. It should stick together easily. If you need to add a bit more water, do so.
- Form the dough into 8 equally sized balls.
- Flatten each dough ball with a tortilla press, or you can do so by hand with a wide flat pan. Flatten them to about 1/8 inch thick, and about 4 inches in diameter.
- Set them into the hot oil a couple at a time and cook them a couple minutes until they puff up.
- Gently flip them and continue to fry them until they become golden brown.
- Remove the gorditas carefully and set them onto paper towels to drain. When they are just warm enough to handle, use a knife and slit a pocket into each of them.
- Finally, stuff them with your tender pulled chicken and whatever other goodness you desire, like refried beans, shredded white cheese, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, avocado…whatever you wish!
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