The Best Chicken Enjococado

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breast halves
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 3 medium tomatillos
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 6 guajillos chiles (dried, devined, and seeded)
• 2 de arbol chiles (dried, devined, and seeded)
• 1 tsp oil
• ¼ cup yellow onion, chopped fine
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 green onions, chopped fine
• 1 strip of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• 15 oz Mexican cream

Directions

1. Salt both sides of the chicken breast as much as possible. Allow chicken to rest.
2. Place tomatillos and tomatoes in a medium pot with water and allow to come to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and add chiles (all of them), then cover and let stand for at least 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, sauté 1 tsp oil, garlic, yellow onion, green onion, cinnamon, and cumin over medium heat until the onions soften soft, then add the slivered almonds and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Do not allow the onions or garlic to brown much, if at all. Remove from heat.
5. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat and cook the chicken slightly (shouldn’t be fully cooked), no more than five minutes. Remove from pot and turn heat off.
6. Drain the tomato/tomatillo/chile mixture, reserving liquid and place into a blender. Add 1 cup of the reserved liquid.
7. Add the onion mixture to the blender and blend until smooth. There’s no such thing as overblending here, so feel free to continue to blend. I personally like to see small pieces of chiles in the final product, but you may not.
8. When blended, add mixture to pot (or Dutch oven) and turn heat to medium-low. It’s important to do this when the pot is still warm. Stir well, scraping any chicken pieces off the bottom of the pot.
9. Add chicken to the mixture and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Add the Mexican cream and allow to cook for an additional 10 minutes over low heat until the cream is fully absorbed and the mixture is warm. Serve with Mexican rice and beans as well as tortillas.

Chiles ready for cooking


Tomatillos and tomatoes


Sautéd mixture


Sautéd mixture with almonds


Blended mixture


Adding the Mexican cream


Final enjococado


http://travelthesenses.com/2011/08/the-search-for-enjococado-the-best/
http://travelthesenses.com/2011/08/the-search-for-enjococado/
https://robsfoodblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/la-fiesta-grandmas-chicken-sauce-enjococado/

"The Search for Enjococado

I’m not sure there’s a better way to start this blog than trying to find a delicious recipe that seems elusive to almost everyone. The Internet seems to disagree, so I spent about four weeks making all the variations of this recipe I can find.
Anyone who’s been to La Fiesta in Mountain View, California has had an opportunity to try what’s been called “Grandma’s Special” both in enchilada and regular, sauce-over-chicken form. While La Fiesta and its family of restaurants – La Fiesta Too and Fiesta Del Mar, which call it “Great Grandma’s Special” – have become fairly well known for this recipe, many people don’t know what it actually is or how to make it. Myself included.
The sauce these restaurants use is called “enjococado” by Mexicans in the know, which directly means it’s a sauce made with “jocoque”. You won’t find jocoque easily in most places, but Mexican cream substitutes well, and keeps the flavor close.
Unfortunately, finding a comparable enjococado recipe has been hard. So far, I’ve found three that purport to be the correct recipe and I’ve tried them all, doing a taste test after the fact.
I’m providing all the relevant recipes below as well as my experiences with them, but I recommend you start at the bottom and work your way up because I think the last recipe is the closest you’ll get.

1. Spicy from Chicago
2. Nutty and Thick
3. A Bit Too Oily
4. The Best"