JOSEPH’S KING RANCH CHICKEN
STOCK
• 1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, excluding livers and gizzards
• 4 quarts water
• ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 3 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
CASSEROLE
• Softened butter for greasing the baking dish and foil
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeño chile, seeded, deveined and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup reserved chicken stock, (above), plus more if needed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes, undrained and diced
• 1 (4 ½-ounce) can green chilis, undrained and diced
• 1½ cups crème fraîche
• 3-4 cups shredded cooked chicken (above)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 18 (6-inch) white corn tortillas • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
For the stock: Place the chicken and the next 7 ingredients in a large stock pot and cook for 1½-2 hours until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the stock. Strain the stock and discard the vegetables and set aside, reserving the stock. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove from the bone and shred, discarding the skin and bones and set aside for later. For the casserole: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9by 13-inch baking dish and one side of a sheet of aluminum foil that is large enough to cover the casserole dish with softened butter.
Melt the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, red and green bell peppers and jalapeños and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, salt and black pepper and cook, stirring constantly for 1 more minute.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup of the reserved stock and the heavy cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Ro-Tel tomatoes, green chiles and crème fraîche. Add the reserved shredded chicken and stir until well blended. Use more of the remaining reserved stock to the mixture if you want to thin it out a bit. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Combine the cheeses in a small bowl. Heat the remaining chicken stock and dip the tortillas into the warm stock to soften. Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with 6 tortillas, overlapping slightly to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1⁄3 of the chicken mixture,
1⁄3 of the cheese mixture and 6 more tortillas. Top with ½ of the remaining chicken mixture, ½ of the remaining cheese mixture and the remaining 6 tortillas. Sprinkle with the remaining chicken mixture and cheese. Cover lightly with the greased sheet of aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until the cheese is lightly browned and melted, 5-10 more minutes. Let stand 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro leaves and serve.