Chilaquiles Recipe with Turkey Broth

Stick the whole cloves in that onion. Drumstick goes in a massive pot with carrot, celery, garlic, cilantro, bay leaf, thyme. Cover with cold water. Let it boil, skim the foam off the top, then just let it sit for almost an hour. This is where the chilaquiles mexican recipe actually starts — the broth is everything. Once the meat falls off the bone, you’ve got the base for something that tastes like someone who knows what they’re doing made it.

Why You’ll Love This Chilaquiles Food

Takes 2 hours and 15 minutes total — longer than it looks, but most of it is just simmering while you do nothing. Comfort food that doesn’t feel like comfort food. It’s warm. It’s got spice. It’s got cheese melted into every chip. Works for breakfast, lunch, or when you need something that tastes expensive but costs almost nothing if you’ve got leftover turkey hanging around. The salsa is made from actual guajillo chiles, not jarred. That’s the difference. Uses a turkey drumstick or bones you might throw away otherwise — soups for leftover turkey material, but in a form nobody expects.

What You Need for This Mexican Breakfast Dishes Chilaquiles

Turkey broth starts with one small onion and a turkey drumstick. Stick two whole cloves right into that onion — don’t ask why, it works. Carrot, celery, four garlic cloves peeled, six cilantro sprigs, bay leaf, one thyme sprig. That’s your stock foundation. When the meat shreds, save it.

Guajillo chiles for the salsa. Twenty grams dried. Not ancho, not pasilla. Guajillo. Ten more garlic cloves. Four thyme sprigs again. Two small cinnamon sticks, about three inches each. Toast them dry first — that part matters.

For assembly: 350 grams unsalted corn tortilla chips. Nine hundred milliliters of that shredded turkey you pulled off the bone. Four hundred fifty milliliters of the chile salsa you made. Light cream, 12% fat, 150 milliliters. Six hundred milliliters of shredded cheese — Monterey Jack and mozzarella mixed. One avocado sliced. One tomato diced. Seventy milliliters chopped onion. One hundred thirty milliliters crème fraîche. Eighty milliliters fresh cilantro chopped. Salt it yourself.

How to Make Broth from Turkey Carcass

Onion with the cloves stuck in goes into a pot with the drumstick, carrot, celery, garlic, cilantro, bay leaf, thyme. Pour in about five and a half liters of cold water. Bring it up to a boil. Skim the gray foam off the surface — this is where people skip a step and it shows. Lower the heat. Simmer uncovered for fifty-five minutes. Not covered. The point is reduction. Watch until the turkey meat literally falls off the bone when you poke it.

Strain the whole thing through a sieve. The broth goes to the next step. The meat gets shredded and set aside. That’s the turkey meat for the dish itself.

How to Get Turkey Stock Carcass into Salsa Verde for Chilaquiles

Heat a dry skillet on medium. Toast the guajillo chiles one minute per side until they smell like something. Not black. Not burnt. Just fragrant. Pull them out. Remove stems. Seeds optional — some people leave them in for more heat, some don’t. Put them in a bowl.

Pour the boiling turkey broth over them. Actually wait — don’t use all of it. Save some of the soaking liquid. Let the chiles sit for eighteen minutes. They get soft and dark.

Toast the ten garlic cloves, four thyme sprigs, and two cinnamon sticks in that same dry skillet until they’re golden and smell incredible. Maybe five minutes. Watch them — garlic burns fast.

Drain the chiles but keep that soaking liquid you set aside. Blend the softened chiles with the toasted garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and that reserved broth until it’s completely smooth. Salt it. Taste it. If it tastes flat, salt it more. Push the whole thing through a sieve if you want it refined. Most people don’t bother. Set it aside.

Chilaquiles Rojas and Baking Tips

Oven to 185 Celsius. Center rack. A thirty-centimeter square baking dish.

Half the tortilla chips spread across the bottom. That shredded turkey scattered on top. Half the chile salsa spooned over. Half the cream on top of that. Don’t mix it. Just layer.

Remaining chips go on top. Remaining salsa. Remaining cream. Cover the entire thing with cheese. All six hundred milliliters.

Bake fourteen minutes. Just until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown at the edges. Don’t leave it in longer. The chips get soggy if you do. Don’t ask how I know.

Pull it out. Top it while it’s hot — avocado slices, diced tomato, chopped onion, dollops of crème fraîche, fresh cilantro scattered all over. Serve immediately. Don’t wait. This is a now-food.

Chilaquiles Recipe with Turkey Broth

By Emma

Prep:

50 min

Cook:

1h 25min

Total:

2h 15min

Servings:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• Turkey Broth
• 1 small onion peeled
• 2 cloves whole cloves
• 1 turkey drumstick cleaned
• 1 carrot peeled
• 1 celery stalk
• 4 garlic cloves peeled
• 6 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 thyme sprig
• Chile Salsa
• 20 g guajillo chiles dried
• 350 ml turkey broth boiling
• 10 garlic cloves peeled
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 small cinnamon sticks 8 cm
• Chilaquiles
• 1 bag 350 g plain corn tortilla chips unsalted
• 900 ml shredded cooked turkey
• 450 ml chile salsa
• 150 ml light cooking cream 12%
• 600 ml shredded cheese blend (Monterey Jack and mozzarella)
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 70 ml chopped onion
• 130 ml crème fraîche
• 80 ml chopped fresh cilantro

Method

1. Turkey Broth
2. 1 Stick the whole cloves in the onion, place into a large pot with drumstick, carrot, celery, garlic, cilantro, bay leaf, and thyme. Add about 5.5 liters cold water. Bring to a boil, skim foam. Simmer uncovered about 55 minutes or until meat falls from bone.
3. 2 Strain broth through a sieve. Debone drumstick, shred meat, set aside for chilaquiles.
4. Chile Salsa
5. 3 Heat a dry skillet on medium, toast guajillo chiles one minute each side until fragrant but not burnt. Remove stems, seeds if preferred. Place in bowl, cover with hot turkey broth (reserve soaking liquid). Let soak 18 minutes. Drain.
6. 4 Toast garlic, thyme sprigs, and cinnamon sticks in skillet till golden and aromatic.
7. 5 Blend soaked chiles, toasted ingredients with reserved broth until smooth. Salt to taste. Strain for a refined texture. Set aside.
8. Chilaquiles
9. 6 Preheat oven to 185°C (365°F). Place oven rack center.
10. 7 Spread half the tortilla chips in a 30 cm square baking dish. Scatter shredded turkey evenly. Spoon over half the chile salsa and half the cooking cream.
11. 8 Add remaining chips, top with remaining salsa and cream. Cover entirely with shredded cheese.
12. 9 Bake about 14 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden edges form.
13. 10 Remove, garnish with sliced avocado, diced tomato, chopped onion, dollops of crème fraîche, and fresh cilantro.
14. 11 Serve immediately, piping hot.

Nutritional information

Calories

420

Protein

30g

Carbs

25g

Fat

25g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Chilaquiles Recipe

Can you make the turkey stock from turkey bones instead of a whole drumstick? Yeah. Turkey bones for stock work the same way. Actually better sometimes because you get more surface area. Simmer longer if you use bones — maybe seventy minutes instead of fifty-five.

What if you don’t have guajillo chiles? Don’t use ancho. The flavor is totally different. Guajillo has a specific thing going on. If you absolutely can’t find them, order online. Not worth compromising.

Can you prep the broth and salsa the day before? Yes. Actually better. The flavors sit overnight and get deeper. Store the broth and salsa separately in the fridge.

How do you store leftovers? Keep the assembled chilaquiles and the toppings totally separate. The chips go soggy fast once they hit the salsa. Store each component in its own container. Reheat the baked dish at 160 Celsius for maybe eight minutes. Top with fresh avocado and cilantro when you serve it again.

Can this work without the cream? Kind of. The salsa alone is drier. Add a bit more broth instead if you want to skip the cream. Greek yogurt works too. Changes the taste though.

Is this actually a breakfast or can you eat it anytime? Both. Mexican breakfast dishes chilaquiles is the traditional way, but honestly it works for dinner or lunch. Comfort food doesn’t care about timing.