Chipotle Pepper & Hot Honey Chicken Flautas
INGREDIENTS
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3- 4 chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- Juice of 2 limes
- 10 warmed flour tortillas
- 1(15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- canola oil for frying
- Garnish: lettuce, cilantro, Pico de Gallo, and sour cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine the chicken, honey, onion, garlic and onion powders, cumin, salt, chipotle chiles, and adobo sauce in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Stir well. Cook for at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours on low. If it’s more convenient, you can let the slow cooker switch to warm after 5 hours. The dish will hold on warm for about another 3 hours before the chicken starts to become quite dry.
- Using two forks, coarsely shred the chicken in the sauce. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if necessary.
- Warm the tortillas by wrapping the stack of them in damp paper towels and microwaving them for a minute.
- Place about 2 tablespoons each of chicken filling and black beans in the middle of each tortilla. Roll the tortillas up tightly and place them seam-side down on a plate.
- Heat 1/4 cup of canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place 3 flautas (secured with toothpicks) in the pan, seam side down, and fry for about 1-2 minutes. Then, flip the flautas and fry for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Add the remaining oil to the pan as needed and repeat this process with the remaining flautas.
- Serve the flautas with your favorite toppings such as lettuce, cilantro, Pico de Gallo, and sour cream.
I prefer the texture of fried flautas, but if you want to skip the frying, you can bake them in the oven. After you have rolled them, place the flautas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven at 425F for 15-20 minutes.
