Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken

If you love a flavor-packed, easy shredded chicken recipe this is it! It’s my Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken. So versatile, it can be used in salads, tacos, burritos…you name it!

Can I just say, straight off the bat, that I love Mexican food? I mean, I really love Mexican food! It’s a sickness, I think. But anytime someone says, “Let’s go for Mexican”, I’m already jumping in the car. My problem is that every time, regardless of the restaurant, I order the exact same thing. The EXACT.SAME.THING, people…a chicken chimichanga!

I just love the flavor of the chicken that’s used in that dish. And, short of picking my poor dish apart to try and figure out the ingredients, I thought I’d try to come up with something as close to my beloved “chimi chicken” as possible. The result is my Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken. The best part is that it’s easy, done in a slow cooker, and is jam-packed with flavor.

Mild or Spicy – Your Choice

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy dishes. I used to love a bit of heat, but thanks to menopause I just don’t tolerate it well.  It doesn’t take much and my hair wax is melting and my makeup is sliding off my face. But, what I love about this recipe is that once you have the basic down, you can crank up or tone down the heat to your own liking. The base recipe uses canned mild green chiles, but you can use spicy green chiles, add jalapeno, or if you’re really a glutton for punishment, toss in some diced habanero (but don’t call me when your mouth’s on fire!).

Your New Go-To Dish

I guarantee, this will become your go-to dish when it comes to flavorful Mexican chicken dishes. It’s so versatile that I use it on salads and burrito bowls, stick it in tacos, burritos, and my beloved chimichangas. And, it makes a great sandwich too. Don’t worry about leftovers…with so many options, there won’t be any. But, if you make a big batch at once, like I do, simply omit the fresh cilantro until you’re ready to thaw, heat and serve.

A Few Notes about Fresh Chiles

If you’ve never worked with fresh chiles, it’s important to know a few things. Chiles are rated on a Scoville Scale, the measure of heat of a chile. The heat comes from the concentration of capsaicinoids in each chile. You may have heard of capsaicin, which is often found in joint pain creams. Bell peppers – red, green, yellow, orange – are a Zero on the Scoville Scale. Jalapeno runs about 8,000 Scoville Heat Units….and our friend the Habanero runs about 275,000 Scoville Heat Units…yes, my friends…those suckers hurt like hell when you eat them,and they’re not even the hottest! Here are a few more tidbits about chiles. Trust me, they’re nothing to fool around with!

• Search the internet for more information about the Scoville Scale so when you find a recipe that calls for a chile of some sort, you have an idea of the heat index.
• The seeds and the white spines inside contain a lot of heat. To reduce the heat, discards the seeds and spines and only use the chile flesh.
• Chop it small! I’ve found the smaller you chop it when you’re cooking it, the heat isn’t so “blow the top of your head off” when you eat it (refers to jalapeno only…I don’t go anywhere near the hotter chiles!).
• Always, always, always use rubber gloves to handle them when you’re chopping. Handle the chopped bits with gloves on. Once you’re done handling them, wash your cutting board and knife with soap and water. Then, discard the gloves and wash your hands with soap and water before doing anything else. Believe me, if you ever get the juice from a chile in or near your eye you’ll be cryin’ to mama in no time. And, for the love of Pete… do NOT touch your face when you’re handling chiles!
• If you think you get chile juice anywhere else on your body, milk will help get rid of the chile oil.
• PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

So, now that we have that covered, let’s make some Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken…I hear a Chimi calling my name! And, don’t miss my Baked Chicken Chimichangas with Mexican White Sauce, too!