My family just loves it when I fry - seriously, I could fry a tennis shoe and I bet they'd come running! All kidding aside, they do enjoy crispy foods and these Chicken Chimichangas are just about perfect!
The thought of preparing the filling, rolling these little suckers up and then standing over hot oil may not seem appealing at first, but I promise you they are easier than you think. I paired them with some Spanish rice and a few toppings and they were gobbled up in minutes.
You can start with rotisserie chicken from the local grocer or you can do what I do and simmer cut chicken breast pieces in stock and then gently pull apart with 2 forks. Anyway you want to do it, cooked shredded chicken is the first step in making this meal.
Next up is simply sautéing onion and garlic until fragrant and soft. The sauce ingredients follow and they are so simple, you probably have everything on hand right now. Chicken broth, tomato sauce and a handful of seasonings rounds out this flavorful filling.
I let it simmer until it thickened up a bit and then removed it from the heat to add a little sour cream and the cooked chicken. After that, it was time time to roll....literally!
The recipe makes about six chimichangas, and it was super easy to spread refried beans, some of the chicken filling and then cheddar cheese. You can use any variety of cheddar or Mexican cheese here, they'd all be tasty. Once the filling was down, I began to roll the bottom of the tortilla, sweeping the sides in nice and tight, and then finishing the roll to the end. The ends wont seal and ideally, you should be able to hold the chimichanga with tongs in the hot oil, seam side down for a moment to sear the ends shut, but I have had mixed success with that technique. This time I smeared a dab of refried beans on the end and that seemed to be enough glue to hold it tight.
I got about an inch of vegetable oil up to about 350 degrees and then started with frying the seam side of two chimichangas. You can use any high smoke point oil for this (grapeseed, canola, vegetable) and if it begins climbing above 365 degrees, you run the risk of buring it, so have some extra, room temp oil ready. I always add a little into the pan if the temp is climbing too high, too fast. I've also used a heaping scoop if Crisco in with my oil before heating. For some reason, the Crisco holds the fry oil temperature pretty steady.
They'll cook fast, a few minutes a side, and then they can be removed and dried on a paper towel. Once they are done, I like to serve them with salsa and sour cream, but feel free to add guacamole, cilantro, more cheese or queso sauce, diced onion, chopped tomato or any other traditional Mexican topping to boost flavor.
Once cooled, any leftover chimichangas (if there is such a thing) can be wrapped in aluminum foil and simply reheated for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees for a quick second meal. Now was that so hard?
I think you'll find this meal easy and delicious, so get ready to roll with these awesome Chicken Chimichangas!
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