Serves: 2
Pulled Chicken Quesadilla
- 2 Tbs butter, melted
- One 10–12" (25–30 cm) flour tortilla
- 1½ cup (355 ml) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 jalapeño, cut crosswise into 6 thin coins
- ¼ cup (59 ml) red onion, julienned
- ¼ cup (59 ml) Roma tomato, diced
- ½ cup (118 ml) pulled roast-chicken meat
- ¼ cup (59 ml) corn kernels
- 1 Tbs cilantro, chopped + 2 sprigs
- Salt
- 1 Tbs fresh lime juice
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat with the melted butter. Place the tortilla in the pan and add the Monterey Jack cheese. Once the cheese begins to melt, add the jalapeño slices, red onion, diced tomato, pulled chicken, corn kernels, and chopped cilantro. Make sure to spread all the ingredients evenly and all the way to the edge. You don’t want everything piled in the center. Season with a pinch of salt and drizzle the lime juice on the tortilla.
Using a spatula, gently fold the tortilla in half and brown to crispy on both sides. Remove from the heat, cut into 4 wedges, garnish with sprigs of cilantro, and serve with the Salsa Adobo (see page 48) for dipping.
Salsa Adobo
Makes: 2 cups (473 ml)
- ¾ cup (177 ml) canned chipotles in adobo
- ¾ cup (177 ml) tomato juice
- 1 Tbs garlic, minced
- ½ cup (118 ml) sour cream
- ¼ cup (59 ml) Mexican lager
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- ¾ cup (177 ml) vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
In a blender, combine the chipotles, tomato juice, garlic, sour cream, beer, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. With the blender on medium speed, slowly add the vegetable oil in a thin stream until fully incorporated. Remove the salsa adobo from the blender and season with salt. Refrigerate until needed.
Beer Tasting Notes: Mexican-style lager is the perfect complement to this dish, but don’t be afraid to mix it up—you could go pale to let the spice and acidity shine, or you could try a darker lager to lean into those roastier chipotle notes.
Beer Suggestions: pFriem Mexican Lager (Hood River, Oregon), Sun King Pachanga (Indianapolis), Ska Mexican-Style Lager Dark (Durango, Colorado).