Juicy Pulled Chicken Gorditas
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Perfect, juicy, authentic chicken gorditas with seared seasoned chicken thighs, finished in a slow beer braise, making them extra saucy. Here is the recipe.
We’re super close to Cinco de Mayo, my friends! It’s one of our favorite times of year because we absolutely 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.
Lucky for us – and our guests – we are cooking with Modelo Especial. Modelo Especial is a rich, full-flavored Mexican lager with a characteristic hint of herb and an orange blossom honey aroma. It’s the “fastest-growing” import beer in America. I love it for its crisp flavor.
Check out Modelo at the following links:
I grabbed ours from a local grocer – found them right in the refrigerated beer section, super easy.
Modelo Especial is perfect for drinking, but it’s also great for cooking, particularly this meal, which helps celebrate Cinco de Mayo – Juicy Pulled Chicken Gorditas.
YES!
First off, these gorditas are the real deal, nothing at all like the fast food chain version. These gorditas are made from masa, or corn flour, and I’m making them here by hand.
The name “gorditas” literally translates to “chubby” in English, so dubbed because they are fat little tortillas, and the process for making them is similar.
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 nice and slow in Modelo Especial beer. The chicken becomes SUPER tender this way, staying perfectly juicy, as well as some extra cheese and peppers for big flavor.
Before we get started, crack open a Modelo Especial! Here is one for you.
Let’s talk about how we make it all!
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.
Add in some more taco seasonings and let the meat simmer about 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.
For making the gorditas, get a pot of vegetable oil nice and hot. 350 degrees F is optimal. You want just enough oil to cover the gorditas when ready.
Next, mix together 2 cups masa with about 2 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 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. Like so.
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!
I hope you enjoy your gorditas, folks! Have fun!
Find out where to grab your own Modelo Especial:
Grab some today and go have a party!
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.
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.
Perfect, juicy, authentic chicken gorditas with seared seasoned chicken thighs, finished in a slow beer braise, making them extra saucy. Here is the recipe.
- 1 pound chicken thighs
- 2 favorite taco seasoning
- 12 ounces Modelo Especial®
- 2 cups masa flour
- 2 cups water
- 2 pinches sea salt
- Oil for frying
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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®.
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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!
Try this Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe
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