Bowl Of Awesome: Chili Fresco Mexicano Recipe

Bowl Of Awesome: Chili Fresco Mexicano Recipe Photo: Paul Harrison
Paul Harrison•

Chili, believe it or not, can spark some pretty heated debates. While some people are purists, the reality of chili is that it comes in many shades, varieties and names. Depending on where you live, it's going to be different. This recipe is not your standard on-top-of-cheese-fries fare, not that there's anything wrong with that. This is chili fresco Mexicano, and it is decidedly Mexican, spicy and delicious. I make it all the time.

I learned this recipe from a guy named Jorge I used to work with at a restaurant back in L.A. He was usually a waiter, but on Sunday nights he was the manager. We were only fed a staff meal when Jorge was in charge and he'd make us this chili pretty much every week. They made it without the chicken, so feel free to go vegetarian if you like; it's delicious either way.

Bowl Of Awesome: Chili Fresco Mexicano Recipe
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Prep Time
40
minutes
Cook Time
1
hour
Servings
0
servings
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds chicken thighs
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 Mexican beers
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons cumin
  • 3 tablespoons spicy chili powder
  • 2 limes
  • 3 pounds tomatoes
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 1 - 4 fresh jalapeño chiles
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 pound cotija cheese
  • 1 (10-ounce) can black beans
  • steamed white or yellow rice
  • sliced avocados
  • tortilla strips
  • sour cream
Directions
  1. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, chili powder (spicy if you've got it) and ground cumin.
  2. Heat a pan over medium high heat with some butter and throw the thighs in skin side down.
  3. While the skin is crisping, add some lime juice.
  4. Once the skin is crisp and dark golden brown, flip the thighs and squeeze in some more lime juice
  5. Add a full beer, turn it down to a simmer and wait for the beer to reduce down into a delicious looking sauce that coats the chicken.
  6. Turn off the heat and set the chicken aside, reserving the sauce. Once it's cool enough to touch, shred it down to bite size pieces and pull out all the skin, bones and extra fatty bits and gristle.
  7. Editor's note: that beer braised chicken you just made? It's good for lots of stuff, not just this recipe. I use it for tacos all the time. And if you want to seriously wow your guests, throw those chicken skins onto a griddle or into a skillet and crisp them up, and use those as a topping instead of tortillas strips on your chili.
  8. Now onto the chili base. Put your tomatoes, onions, jalapeños and garlic into the pan you cooked your chicken in.
  9. Once they starts to turn a little translucent, add half the other bottle of beer and cook the veggies down.
  10. Once they're soft, add the cilantro, remove from heat to cool for a few minutes, then blend with an immersion blender. You can also use a regular blender, then return to the pan.
  11. Add the chicken, the other half of the beer and the black beans and simmer for about 10 minutes.
  12. Turn off the heat and stir in the Cotija cheese.
  13. Serve over white rice with avocado, sour cream and tortilla strips...or crispy chicken skin — choose your own adventure!
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