Excellent White Chicken Chili

I'm a big chili fan so when I had three split chicken breast staring me in the face, it just seemed right. I was buying the ingredients for Tortilla soup but I ran into my neighbor who was shopping for chili ingredients. So today when I got to it, I decide to do white chicken chili instead.

I wanted to use the chicken to make broth for the soup... I needed a new recipe. I want simple and common ingredients. Nothing was just right but I found a nice recipe at The Pioneer Woman Cooks. So with my guide in place I jumped in. As usual, I made changes and picked up some things from other recipes so I call this inspired by Pioneer Woman.

On a heat scale this is 3/10 but on a taste scale it's a 10 for us. 

The mere volume of soup produced almost made me rate it a four. Remember this is cooking for two but it will freeze well.

First I cooked the chicken in a large stock pot covered with water until internal temp of 170. I then shredded the chicken and cooked everything together for a couple of hours. Finally, I used some masa flour to thicken and add some corn flavor.

Total time: about 3 hours. Difficulty: 2/10 this would be hard to louse up. Only the mincing of the garlic and jalapeno takes minimal skill but really just don't cut your fingers and it's ok. 

Notes: Like a lot of chicken recipes, this is cheap eats especially if you used dried beans instead of the precooked ones I used for convince. If you don't have the masa flour, you can use corn meal. If you don't have that, it will still taste great but will be a little thinner.

LATE NOTE: I have made this four times and twice the chicken did not impart enough flavor to the soup and addition chicken flavor was needed. I added 1-2 Tablespoons of chicken soup base and the results were excellent. Judge this at the end of cooking before thickening. 

Printable Recipe

Tools: Large stock pot

Ingredients:

3 large split chicken breast with bone and skin (about 3 lbs)
8 Cups water
1 large onion chopped
1 jalapeno pepper cleaned and minced
5 cloves garlic minced
72 ozs Navy beans- precooked (a 3 lb and a 1.5 lb jar)
2 4 oz cans diced green chilles
4 t ground cumin (increase if you want spicy)
1/2 t paprika (increase if you want spicy)
1/2 t cayenne pepper (increase if you want spicy)
1 t salt
1/2 t white pepper (black is ok if you don't have white)
1-2 T Chicken soup base (optional)
Later: 2 T masa flour in 1/4 cup hot water

Instructions:

1) Wash the chicken. Trim any trim-able fat then split in half to aid cooking. Place in large stock pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Bring to boil the decrease to low to simmer. Cover with lid and cook until internal temp is 165 to 170. About 45 minutes.

2) While #1, prep the garlic (mince) and onion (chop). Then prep the jalapeno by splitting it and removing the seeds and veins before mincing.

3) Remove the chicken and allow to cool for about 20 minutes and then hand shred discarding the skin and bones.
4) Combine all ingredients except the masa flour and simmer for about 2 hours.Stirring occasionally.

5) Taste test the soup and add chicken soup base (1-2 T) to the mix if there is more bean taste than chicken.
6) Mix the masa flour in 1/4 cup very hot water and mix well. Combine with the soup and stir frequently for another 10 minutes then remove from heat.

Excellent White Chicken Chili

by DrDan at 101 Cooking For Two December 3, 2010

I'm a big chili fan so when I had three split chicken breast staring me in the face, it just seemed right. I was buying the ingredients for Tortilla soup but I ran into my neighbor who was shopping for chili ingredients. So today when I got to it, I decide to do white chicken chili instead. On a heat scale this is 3/10 but on a taste scale it's a 10 for us.

Ingredients

3 large split chicken breast with bone and skin (about 3 lbs)8 Cups water1 large onion chopped1 jalapeno pepper cleaned and minced5 cloves garlic mince72 ozs Navy beans- precooked 2 4 oz cans diced green chilles 4 t ground cumin (increase if you want spicy)1/2 t paprika (increase if you want spicy)1/2 t cayenne pepper (increase if you want spicy)1 t salt white pepper (black is ok if you don't have white) Chicken soup base (optional) Later:2 T masa flour1/4 cup hot water

Instructions

1) Wash the chicken. Trim any trim-able fat then split in half to aid cooking. Place in large stock pot and cover with 8 cups of water. Bring to boil the decrease to low to simmer. Cover with lid and cook until internal temp is 165 to 170. About 45 minutes.2) While #1, prep the garlic (mince) and onion (chop). Then prep the jalapeno by splitting it and removing the seeds and veins before mincing. 3) Remove the chicken and allow to cool for about 20 minutes and then hand shred discarding the skin and bones.4) Combine all ingredients except the masa flour and simmer for about 2 hours.Stirring occasionally.5) Taste test the soup and add chicken soup base (1-2 T) to the mix if there is more bean taste than chicken. 6) Mix the masa flour in 1/4 cup very hot water and mix well. Combine with the soup and stir frequently for another 10 minutes then remove from heat.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 3 hour Total time: 3 hour 15 mins Yield: 12 servings

Updated

April 20, 2011