As a sort of counterbalance to last week’s 1980s Taco Box inspiration, this time around we’re going for a more traditional approach, something from every other Mexican cookbook I own. In fact, we’re going to use a whole damn chicken. Don’t be embarrassed if you didn’t know they came whole – the grocery tends to lead us to the conclusion that chicken is something that comes in boneless, skinless, tasteless portions. Eggs hatching skinless cutlets or some such crap.

But buy a whole bird here for our purposes. Learn to properly tear that bastard apart and use the leftovers for something good. With the leftover bones, meat, and wings, you can make a good chicken stock or soup. I’m not even going to yell at you to get some expensive small-farm bird raised on self-esteem and mint chocolate chip ice cream. We’ll save that kind of passive-aggressive ingredient sanctimony for the minute we snag a column on Slate. Just try something new.

The Setup

- 1 whole chicken, quartered
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 1 white onion, diced
- 5 tomatoes
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp whole back peppercorns
- Salt
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 10 whole cloves
- 1 package (about six) dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- Vegetable oil
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 2 tsp sugar
- Corn tortillas, toasted and kept in a warm towel

Cooking

1. Toast all the cloves, half the peppercorns, and cinnamon in a dry skillet over medium heat for one minute, until fragrant.

2. Put the chicken breasts and legs, quartered onion, and remaining half of the peppercorns into a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let chicken cook for 25 minutes, skimming the surface occasionally.

3. Line a cast iron pan with foil and char the garic and tomatoes over medium heat until blackened.

4. When the chicken has cooked through, remove to a cutting board.

5. Place the chiles in a large glass bowl and pour enough of the hot chicken broth over to cover. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes.

6. Cook the chopped onions with a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium for five minutes, until soft.

7. Remove the anchos from the bowl and add to the blender with tomatoes, cloves, other half of the peppercorns, cinnamon, and garlic. Add a cup of the soaking liquid and puree.

8. Shred the cooled chicken and place in a large bowl.

9. Heat a skillet over medium and toast, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes.

10. Stir in the sugar, thin puree with leftover broth if necessary, then pour sauce over chicken and toss.

11. Serve chicken on tortillas with sauteed onions and chopped cilantro.