# Chimayo Chicken Sandwich



## ibglowin (Mar 26, 2012)

Those that have been around these parts awhile know I tend to post some recipe's every now and then. 

One of our favorite inexpensive restaurants to go to in Santa Fe is the Santa Fe Bar & Grill. great place for lunch or dinner. Nice outdoor patio for those alfresco Summer evenings as well. Our absolute favorite lunch (or dinner really) item is this sandwich they make called a *Chimayo Chicken Sandwich*. 

It is described as *Grilled achiote-marinated chicken breast with roasted poblano chile, caramelized onions, asadero cheese and orange-chipotle mayonnaise on ciabatta roll.* This thing is to die for good! We gave it ago on Saturday. 

First thing you will need to source is some Achiote Paste. 

I ordered mine from Amazon as we are Prime members but if you have a Whole Foods or similar market with a decent supply of ethnic foods/condiments you may be able to pick it up locally. The Achiote Paste is hard to describe but if you have never had something marinated or grilled with it your in for a treat. We made this back in December with a whole roasted chicken in the oven. This time we marinated boneless thighs and breast meat on the Webber with charcoal and a few pieces of pecan wood thrown in for added smoke flavor. We marinated for 6 hours but overnight would be better if you can plan far enough ahead.

Marinade Ingredients:

1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 3.5oz package achiote paste
2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Marinade for 6-24 hours. Grill on high until fully cooked

Another key ingredient is the *Poblano peppers!* 

You can normally find these up top with the other peppers in the grocery store. These are 1000X more flavorful but not hot! You must roast them on the grill. Cook them until the outer skins are burnt black and then place them in a plastic bag to sweat so the skins peel off easily. They should look like this when you take them off the grill.....







Peel off the skins after they have sweated and cooled off enough to handle. Course chop them. (they should be very limp like the carmelized onions below) Set aside.

*Carmelized Onions. * 

Pretty simple, cut up an onion, pour in 1/4 cub EVOO, add 1 tsp sugar (optional) and simmer/saute 15-20 min until they are cooked down and nicely golden brown and limp. Set aside.

The cheese is important. It is the *Asadero cheese* which if you have had enough Mexican food you know they have 2 types of white cheese. This is the soft quesadilla (melting cheese) and not the rubbery crumbling cheese that really doesn't melt even if you hit it with a blow torch! 






Last thing to prepare is the *Orange Chipotle Mayonnaise*. Pretty simple.

1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chilies. (usually 2 of them)

These are just a jalepeno pepper roasted in an adobo sauce. Another heaven on earth gift!






Thats it. Grill the chicken. Let stand 5 minutes. Thin slice into small sandwich sized pieces. Cut the ciabatta roll in half. Toast in toaster (lightly) Lather on the chipotle mayo, add the chicken, top with cheese, onions, peppers. 

You can broil the top half of the sandwich to melt the cheese (or microwave 30 secs if you wish) Assemble and serve!

This is a meal in itself really but the restaurant serves it with your choice of fries or mexican styled cole slaw.


This pairs well with any bold red wine believe it or not. Anything that goes great with grilled meats will work perfectly. We had it with a bottle of my 2009 CC Showcase OVZ but it also pairs really well with the Chilean blends as well. MM Renaissance Rio Grande Rojo or similar.

Bon appétit!


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## roblloyd (Mar 26, 2012)

You always post the best stuff to eat. I will be adding this to the must make list.
Thanks!


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## ibglowin (Mar 26, 2012)

We have leftovers..........

Maybe I will post a pic tonight!


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## ibglowin (Mar 26, 2012)

Yep, was even better tonight!


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## Runningwolf (Mar 26, 2012)

I ate at Sante Fe Bar & Grill earlier this year when we went down to Deep Creek resort in MA. It was awesome. I loved the Flat Iron Steak. Mike that sandwich looks great.


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## Wade E (Mar 26, 2012)

Yuuuuummmmmmm!


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## ibglowin (Mar 27, 2012)

Looks like there are quite a few places in the US calling themselves Santa Fe Bar and or Grill.

This is a one off locally owned restaurant. No other locations!



Runningwolf said:


> I ate at Sante Fe Bar & Grill earlier this year when we went down to Deep Creek resort in MA. It was awesome. I loved the Flat Iron Steak. Mike that sandwich looks great.


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