Chipotle Roast Chicken Tacos & Guacamole

Like I said, I was in Columbus for a few days and I wanted to make something new that I would likely not make back home, would take a lot of time and essentially be like a Sunday dinner, which I'm a big fan of. Or maybe I'm just a fan of family (however its defined) dinners despite the random/drama/humor/oh my god they did not just say that that inevitably comes with it.

So to set the scene and get a glimpse into one of these dinners: one moment I was more than pleased to have my niece setting the table and my mom perfecting the guacamole; the next we banished my dad to the family room until it was ready because I couldn't take hearing anymore about how much I bought; then I'm debating how to get out of the convo on "do you believe in global warming because you know some people do not?" question from my somewhat republican leaning older aunt; followed by me wanting to drop kick one of my brother's who commented that was "a lot of work for some tacos!" But all was right with the world, once the kitchen was returned to cleanliness and there were very little leftovers. It might have been a lot of work for some tacos, but call me crazy, it was worth it if it meant getting people around the same table for an hour or more.

Mild warning once cooked, this chicken has a little kick! But for those that can't take the heat, just give them a piece with less of the seasoning. (Now my family can take the heat, so I actually served some of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on the side as a type of salsa - it was HOT!)

Chipotle Roast Chicken Tacos
(This recipe comes Bon Appetite, April 2010, but of course I had to edit it, take a few steps out and add some things. The original full recipe can be found here.)

Ingredients:
butter (1/2 stick, softened)
cilantro (fresh, chopped, 2 tbsp)

oregano leaves (fresh, chopped, 2 tbsp)
rosemary leaves (fresh, chopped, 2 tbsp)
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (canned and mince 4 tsp)
roasting chicken (1 5lb; I used 2 5lbs and it was just right)
onions (2 large, each cut into wedges)
garlic (minced)
chicken broth (1 small can)
white wine (1/4 cup, I used Chardonnay)
corn tortillas
guacamole (recipe follows)

Chop all of the herbs. In a bowl combine, the softened butter and herbs. 

Next dice the chipotle peppers in the adobo sauce. (Note: this was a little hard to find in the grocery but I finally did, hidden on a random shelf in the ethnic food aisle.) Mix the butter/herb mixture with the chipotle peppers and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oven to 400°F and clean and pat dry the chicken.

Place chicken, breast side up, in large roasting pan or on a broiler pan. This is the icky part! - slide fingers under the skin to and spread half of the seasoned butter mixture under the skin of the chicken. Rub the remaining butter on over outside of chicken and sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place and handful of the chopped herbs inside the chicken, place the wedges of onion around the chicken and scatter garlic around it all.

Roast chicken and onions 30 minutes. Add 1/4 cup broth to roasting pan. Continue to roast chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, basting occasionally with pan juices and adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed to maintain juices in roasting pan, about 1.5 hours.

Next, remove roasting pan from oven. Tilt chicken, draining juices from cavity into pan. Transfer chicken, onions, and garlic to platter. Tent with foil to keep warm. Add 1/4 cup broth and wine to pan. Place over 2 burners and bring juices to boil, scraping up browned bits. Strain juices into bowl. Discard fat from top of juices.

Cut meat from chicken and drizzle with pan juices.

Serve, making tacos with warm tortillas, chicken, onions, guacamole and whatever taco toppings you want!

Now this was a lot for some tacos, but this could be done for a regular roast chicken meal. and then any leftovers could be for tacos the next day.

Guacamole
All you need for guacamole is avocado, onion, lemon juice, salt and tomato. Simply peel and cut the avocado and discard its core.

Depending on how smooth you like your guacamole, you can either mix it in a bowl or use a blender. Since my mom and my niece prefer it the Chiptole way, we used the blender to make it extra smooth. Add the chopped avocado, chopped onion (as much or as little as you want), a few squirts of lemon juice and a little salt.

Once its to your liking (keep tasting to make sure its the flavor you want), pour into a bowl and add some chopped tomato and lightly stir.

Sorry this picture is no good but it's all I had in my camera!