Chipolte's Chicken Marinade

I must first say, I am a Cafe Rio girl til I die, that being said. Chipolte has the BEST Chicken Tacos i've ever had. 

I was craving them one day, did a little googling and came across a copy cat recipe. Tried it. LOVED it. 

First, I will tell you what changes I made from the recipe and the recipe will follow. I apologize it gets a little long.... 

So, instead of dried ancho chilies (the store only had a huge bag, and it says you're supposed to let soak overnight, sounded too complicated) I used Ancho Chili pepper, about 2 tbsp

The can chipolte pepper in adobo sauce, you are only supposed to use the sauce.. weird, but I suppose it is because the pepper and seeds hold most of the heat. the ONLY reason I used these was because I already had a can from when I make Turkey Chili last week (that recipe calls for them as well, so if you want to use it, you can make Turkey Chili as well :)) I only used a little bit of sauce maybe 1 tsp and I put a little bit of chili in it too. This depends on how much heat you want.

I used dried oregano... I have never seen fresh.. meh 

I only used 1/2 of a red onion (that's all I had)I wouldn't mind using a whole one next time.

So you put everything in the food processor, or blender and blend it all together with 1/4 c oil; it will be quite thick.

I used chicken breast (what we have) I poked a lot of holes in the chicken, then spread the sauce over both sides .. I had them on a cookie sheet, covered one side, then flipped them over (the sauce stayed on the other side) and spread sauce on that side too.

I ended up having them marinade about.... 5 hours, by the time I picked up Ryan from work.

I took them out of the fridge... used a Grill Pan, since it is FREEZING!! I grilled both sides (got a little charred, YUM) I would suggest using a grill pan or the grill.. I did not use a brick....

I let them rest a few minutes, Ryan cut them up into bite size peices.

We used tortillas from costco (the ones you cook)

Cheese, sour cream, lettuce tomatoes and salsa..

Mine had a kick, I had a fair bit of salsa too, so I don't think it is too much.

It sounds like a pain, but it was soooo easy, and we both thought quite tasty!

Now that you've read a novel... here is the recipe :)

Chipotle's Chicken Marinade

Recipe 

All Purpose Chipotlesque Marinade (EDITED)

1 (2 ounce) package dried ancho chiles
1 (7 ounce) can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (discard chipotle pepper, skim out seeds)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 red onion, quartered
1/4 cup oil (canola/vegetable/olive)
1 whole boneless, skinless naturally raised chicken (about 3 lbs, thighs work well too)

Soak dry chilies overnight in water, until soft. Remove seeds.

Add chilies and rest of the ingredients in blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.

Stab chicken with fork to let the marinade soak in. If you're marinating overnight, you won't need to stab it too much. If you're marinating for an hour, stab it all over!

Spread marinade over chicken, refrigerate for one hour or up to overnight.

After marinating, grill on medium high on an indoor grill where the chicken can be pressed flat.

If using a skillet, heat oil to medium high. Place a foil-wrapped brick on top of chicken to press it flat.

If using an outdoor grill, use charcoal to make it ultra delicious. Place foil wrapped bricks to press chicken flat.

You can also make this on a Panini grill on medium high heat. Place something heavy on top to weigh it down.