Recipe- Easy To Make Mini Chicken Taquitos

Mini tortillas (mini street taco tortillas or the small tortillas), stuffed with a creamy, tangy chicken and cheese filling and then fried to perfection. These chicken taquitos are made with chicken tenderloins because the meat shreds beautifully and isn’t as dry as shredded chicken breast. But you’re welcome to use chicken breast or thighs if that’s what you have on hand. With chicken breast and thighs, you may have to cook the meat a bit longer to be able to shred the meat.

Ingredients

Citrus Chicken

3 lbs of chicken tenders
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup lemon juice
½ tsp salt plus more to taste
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper

Chicken Filling

Shredded citrus chicken recipe above
¼ cup Cacique® Crema Mexicana Agria
2 large jalapenos chopped deseeded
5 oz Cacique® Manchego shredded or crumbled
Salt to taste

Taquitos

30 4.5 inch mini tortillas mini street taco tortillas
60 toothpicks
Oil to deep fry
Chopped cilantro to serve
Crumbled Cacique® Cotija

Method

Citrus Chicken

* Place all the ingredients for the citrus chicken in a medium-sized pot. Cook on low heat, with the lid on, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The liquid should come to a slow simmer, and the chicken should be mostly cooked.

* Uncover and cook the chicken for a further 20 minutes, on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the chicken to cool down slightly in the remaining liquid.

* Shred the chicken in the liquid. Mix to combine.

* Transfer the shredded chicken to another bowl, leaving behind any excess liquid.

Chicken Filling

* Place the Cacique® Crema Mexicana Agria, shredded Cacique® Manchego and jalapenos in the same bowl as the citrus chicken. Mix to combine. Taste and season with salt.

* Set aside the mix until needed.

Taquitos

* Place about 1 - 2 tbsp of the filling in the middle of a mini tortilla. Roll up the tortilla tightly. Secure the rolled up tortillas with two toothpicks (as shown in pictures). Repeat with all the filling and tortillas.

* Heat up about 3 - 4 inches of oil in a medium (or large) pot. When the oil is hot (about 360°F), carefully lower 1 - 2 taquitos into the hot oil. Deep fry the taquitos for about 1 - 2 minutes until they turn golden brown. Remove from the oil, and place on a paper towel lined baking tray to drain excess oil.

* Alternatively, you can shallow fry the taquitos in a pan with about 1 inch of oil. Shallow fry both sides of the taquitos for 1 - 2 minutes, per each side, until they turn a golden brown. Remove from the oil and place the taquitos on paper towels to drain excess oil.

* Repeat until all the mini taquitos are crispy and golden. Remove the toothpicks. Place fried taquitos in a warm oven, to keep them crispy and warm until you’re ready to serve.

* When ready to serve, place the taquitos on a serving platter, and sprinkle chopped cilantro and Crumbled Cacique® Cotija on top.