This is a house favourite. Been around forever. I know I didn’t invent it. Maybe I evolved it though. I can’t remember. I owe somebody out there. But I don’t know who.
Chicken with tomatillo sauce starts with a good tomatillo sauce
Tomatillo sauce is a super versatile ingredient. You can use it in chicken with tomatillo sauce but there are so many other things you can do with it. Think pork stew with tomatillo sauce. Chili verde. Brown some pork stew and simmer it in this sauce. That is one of my all time faves. Or make a roast pork seasoned with Mexican spices and deglaze the pan with a bit of tomatillo sauce. Basically any time this sauce comes up against pan drippings you are in for a treat.
Crispy skin makes this special
Chicken with tomatillo sauce works because the chicken cooks in a sauce. But the skin stays above the liquid. So you get the best of both worlds. A super flavourful sauce. For sure. But the crunch of crispy skin. That wonderful flavour and texture. That’s what keeps me coming back for more. And it’s a technique you can use all over the place. Any time you’re making a braised chicken dish think about doing it this way. All the taste of a braise. And roast chicken. Magic.
The juices from the chicken bring it all together
There’s not much to chicken with tomatillo sauce. Not a lot of ingredients. It’s about the juices from the chicken cooking into the sauce. That’s the key. Huge. That’s a trick you can use almost anywhere. Any time you can get fond or juices into your sauce you have a winner. Make this dish or don’t but remember that trick. It’s a game changer. I use that trick in a lot of cooking. It’s the basis of gravy. Its how you make pan sauces. Think about it. Any time you are cooking and you scape up the bits of flavour in the bottom of the pan it has been a hit. See what I mean? That’s the Maillard reaction in action. If haven’t heard of the Maillard reaction it’s a bit of culinary magic that happens amino acids hit heat. There’s real science behind it but all you need to know is brown food is tasty food. Chicken with tomatillo sauce. Try it with pinto beans. Or black beans. Re-fried beans. Any beans. Some corn tortillas on the side. You get the picture…
