Morelia Plaza-Style Chicken (Pollo Placero)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting chiles
• •Large pot for gently cooking the chicken
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Two wide skillets for frying chicken and enchiladas
• •Green-glazed Michoacán barro platter or plates

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the chicken

   Put the chicken pieces in a large pot with the half onion, 3 garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt, and enough water to cover by one inch. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim the foam from the surface. Cook 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through. Do not boil it hard. You want tender meat that can survive the frying pan.

2. 2

   Dry the pieces

   Lift the chicken onto a tray and pat it very dry. Strain and reserve the broth. Wet chicken in hot lard spits and tears the skin. Dry chicken browns. This is not a mystery, it is attention.

3. 3

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo and chile ancho one or two at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side, until they soften, darken slightly, and smell sweet and earthy. Do not blacken them. Guajillo gives Morelia's enchiladas their red color without making the plate aggressively hot.

   If a chile burns, throw it out. Burned chile makes the whole sauce bitter. No me vengas con atajos.
4. 4

   Soak and blend

   Cover the toasted chiles with hot water and soak for 15 minutes. Drain them and put them in a blender with 2 garlic cloves, the quarter onion, Mexican oregano, clove, vinegar, and 1 1/2 cups reserved chicken broth. Blend until completely smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. The sauce should be thin enough to coat a tortilla, not sit on it like paste.

5. 5

   Fry the sauce

   Melt 3 tablespoons of lard in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the strained chile sauce carefully. It will jump a little. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the red deepens and the raw garlic edge disappears. Taste for salt. If it gets too thick, loosen it with a little more broth.

6. 6

   Brown the chicken

   In a second wide skillet, melt enough lard to come about 1/4 inch up the pan. Fry the dried chicken pieces skin side down first, turning once, until the skin is golden and the edges are crisp, 8 to 10 minutes total. The chicken is already cooked, so you are building color and texture now. Keep it warm on a tray.

7. 7

   Sauté the vegetables

   In the same chicken pan, add the potato wedges and carrot slices. Fry until the potatoes pick up golden edges and the carrots shine with the seasoned lard, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon in 2 or 3 tablespoons of the chile sauce and toss just to stain them red. The vegetables should taste like they belong on the plate, not like they were boiled in another room.

8. 8

   Dip the tortillas

   Warm the tortillas briefly so they bend without cracking. Dip each tortilla into the warm guajillo sauce, coating both sides. Let the excess drip back into the pan. Work with one tortilla at a time. If you stack them wet, they tear, and then you blame the tortilla when the problem was your hurry.

9. 9

   Fry the enchiladas

   Melt more lard in a clean skillet over medium heat. Lay each dipped tortilla into the fat for 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until supple and glossy at the edges. Fill with a spoonful of queso fresco and chopped white onion, then fold in half. These are enchiladas placeras, not baked enchiladas under a blanket of cheese. Así se hace y punto.

10. 10

    Build the plate

    On each plate, set one piece of fried chicken, three folded enchiladas, a spoonful of potatoes and carrots, and a handful of shredded lettuce. Scatter more queso fresco and chopped white onion over the enchiladas. Serve chiles en vinagre and lime wedges on the side. The plate should look generous. Plaza food is not timid.

Chef Tips

• •Use chile guajillo that is flexible and brick red, not dusty and brittle. At the market, bend the chile. If it cracks like dry paper, it has been sitting too long. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •Manteca de cerdo is the correct fat here. Vegetable oil will fry the tortilla, yes, but it will not give the same flavor or the same glossy finish. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Day-old corn tortillas work better because they hold their shape after dipping. Fresh tortillas are lovely, but for enchiladas placeras they can be too soft unless you let them rest uncovered for a few hours.
• •This dish is not supposed to be covered in melted yellow cheese, sour cream, or flour tortillas. That is another kitchen speaking. Morelia uses corn tortillas, queso fresco, chile guajillo, and chiles en vinagre.
• •If you want the plate less hot, do not remove the guajillo. Guajillo is mostly color and fruit. Control heat with the pickled jalapeños at the table.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken can be simmered one day ahead and refrigerated in its strained broth. Dry it well before frying.
• •The guajillo sauce can be made one day ahead. Reheat it gently and thin with broth until it coats tortillas easily.
• •The potatoes and carrots can be boiled in advance, then fried just before serving. Do not fry the enchiladas ahead. They belong hot from the pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)