Machaca de Pollo Aguascalentense con Huevo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rimmed sheet pan for drying the shredded chicken
• •12-inch cast iron skillet or shallow clay cazuela
• •Wooden spoon
• •Comal for warming corn tortillas

Instructions

1. 1

   Shred the chicken

   Pull the cooked chicken into thin threads with your fingers. Not chunks. Threads. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and toss well. The finer the shred, the better it dries and the better it catches the egg later.

2. 2

   Dry the machaca

   Heat the oven to 275F. Spread the salted chicken in a thin layer on a rimmed sheet pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring once, until the edges look leathery, the color deepens, and the chicken has lost its wet softness. This home method makes machaca for this dish, not meat for the cupboard. Refrigerate it if you are not cooking it right away.

   Do not dry cooked chicken on a counter. The women on the ranches had dry air, salt, and hard experience. Your apartment does not. Use the oven or a dehydrator, then refrigerate.
3. 3

   Beat the eggs

   Crack the eggs into a bowl. Add the water, black pepper, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat with a fork until the whites and yolks are fully combined. The water keeps the curds tender without making them taste like milk.

4. 4

   Cook the aromatics

   Melt the manteca in a wide skillet or clay cazuela over medium heat. Add the white onion and cook until it turns translucent at the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the chile jalapeño and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chopped jitomate and cook until it collapses and stains the lard orange-red, 5 to 6 minutes. La manteca es el sabor.

5. 5

   Fry the chicken

   Add the dried chicken to the skillet and stir it through the tomato, onion, chile, and lard. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, pressing and turning, until the strands darken slightly and some ends crisp against the pan. Soft shredded chicken with eggs is not machaca. You need a little chew.

6. 6

   Scramble with huevo

   Lower the heat to medium-low. Pour in the beaten eggs and let them sit for 20 seconds before stirring. Fold slowly with a wooden spoon, pulling the cooked edges toward the center. Stop when the eggs are just set and still glossy in small curds. The chicken will keep cooking them after the pan leaves the fire.

7. 7

   Serve from the cazuela

   Spoon the machaca con huevo into a warm shallow cazuela or onto a Dolores Hidalgo majolica plate. Set hot corn tortillas, salsa de molcajete, and bolillos on the table. Eat it while the chicken still has crisp edges. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •If you find machaca de pollo at a Mexican market, taste it before salting the eggs. Some vendors salt it hard. Good machaca smells clean and savory, never stale or greasy.
• •Use chile jalapeño here. Serrano works only if the market gives you no jalapeños, but it is sharper and hotter, so use half. Canned jalapeños in vinegar make the eggs sour. That belongs to another dish.
• •Do not replace the manteca with butter. Butter browns too fast and fights the tomato. Vegetable oil will cook the food, yes, but it tastes thinner. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •This is a weeknight breakfast only if the chicken is already dried. Make the machaca on Sunday from leftover pollo cocido and the pan comes together in fifteen minutes.

Advance Preparation

• •The dried chicken can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool it quickly, store it airtight in the refrigerator, and do not treat it as shelf-stable.
• •For longer storage, freeze the dried chicken for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before frying it with the tomato and chile.
• •The salsa de molcajete can be made 1 day ahead. The eggs should be cooked only when you are ready to eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)