KING RANCH FOR THE CONCERNED

I didn’t grow up eating it, but King Ranch Casserole (named for, but not orginated by, the manifest destiny/occupied South Texas dream, King Ranch) became a key part of my existence when I moved back to Texas. I make it for brunch on the weekends (it is, as many point out very similar to chilaquiles, thus a stepsister of migas), as a special occasion supper (after you’ve reached a position of comfort with the person; it is a casserole and everyone eats a lot of it), or when out of town as a par examplar guilty Texas meal. In Austin, Anne Simmons and I often had the Friday night King Ranch special ( a variation on the recipe with a chipotle cream sauce) at Threadgill’s, once even bringing dates by and challenging them to an informal King Ranch eating contest (We won, obvs.)

Not being above eating/making things with two cans of soup as main ingredients, I’ve made the standby recipe so far with no complaints. (My mother has offered a low fat recipe, to which I not-so-politely refused. Matt Martinez worked up a beef version that’s a little more scratchy) I’ve also threatened to make it for vegetarians with some sort of chicken substitute. But being of the mind that there’s many worse things to do than make a nice sauce, I’d been itching to take the cans (tomatoes don’t count) out of the recipe. The original recipe calls for boiling a whole chicken and picking the meat off the carcass, a time-consuming, unrewarding step if there ever was one. So use supermarket boneless/skinless instead, poach them, and you come out ahead.

Sure I think writing about food on a blog is bourgy and boring, but I saw an information need in that there were no recipes for “King Ranch no soup” that I could find on the net, and that this turned out well. It’s not like I put up a picture, either. You all know what a casserole looks like.

2-3 lbs boneless chicken breasts or thighs
4 tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
6 oz white mushrooms
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 can of Ro*Tel or Hatch tomatoes and chiles
6 oz cotija cheese
12 corn tortillas, torn into quarters
2 cups grated cheese (I use the pre-grated “Mexican Blend” of cheddar, jack, asadero and queso quesadilla from Fiesta)

Preheat oven to 350 F

In a covered saucepan, poach chicken over medium heat in salted, filtered water. Throw a bay leaf in if you have them lying around. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, approx 20 minutes, let cool, and cut into chunks.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the garlic and half of the onion, cook over med-low heat until translucent, then add mushrooms and saute until limp. Add flour and wisk until blended, making sure not to brown it. Add wine, then stock. Add the milk in 4-5 smaller increments. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cook slowly for 5 minutes or so to thicken. Add tomatoes and half of the cotija. Remove from heat and cover.

Grease a 2 1/2 qt casserole, layer chicken, tortillas, onions, sauce, and cheeses, repeat, ending with cheeses. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.

Let sit for 5 minutes then serve. I like a garnish of sour cream, hot sauce, and sliced avocado.