Flautas de pollo is one of our favorite junk foods in my house. It’s hard to beat corn tortillas wrapped around some meat and cheese, then fried until crispy.
Calling it junk food may sound a little harsh because it’s better than pretty much any pre-packaged junk food off the shelf at the grocery store. It’s still fried food, though.
Flautas are about as far as we’ll go with junk food in our house (we go a little further with duritos and Tajin, on occasion). We don’t use processed pre-packaged foods if we can help it. We like our junk food homemade. 🙂
At any rate, what exactly is a flauta?
Flautas vs. Taquitos
Growing up, I always used the two terms interchangeably.
I’ve heard that each term has a specific meaning, but it doesn’t appear so after a bit of research.
From what I can tell, the term flauta (translates to “flute” in English) likely originated in Sinaloa State, Mexico, where they make them out of corn tortillas.
Many people have told me that flautas are made with flour, not corn tortillas. They are most likely correct if they are accustomed to flautas from Sonora State, Mexico, where flour tortillas are very common. They just aren’t correct if they’re standing in Sinaloa.
In Mexico and the United States, people more often than not, use the term flautas to describe rolled and fried tortillas, whether or not they’re corn or flour.
Sometimes, though, they call them taquitos.
I’ve found that the term taquitos (little tacos) is more often used the further east you move in Texas. It’s likely possible that’s true in Mexico, considering the term flautas originated in Sinaloa in far Western Mexico.
After trying to dig into it, I gave up. I decided that the terms mean the same thing. They’re just regional variations.
Flautas de Pollo Are Easier to Make Than You Think
The challenge with making flautas is frying them without having them unroll in the oil.
Many people try to use tongs to hold them together until they start to crisp in the oil.
It takes forever because you can only do one at a time, the boiling oil splatters your arms, and sometimes the tongs stick to the flauta, causing them to unroll anyway.
It doesn’t have to be that hard. Just pin two together with a couple of toothpicks and drop them into the oil to cook. I generally do two bundles of two at a time. So, instead of one flauta frying, I fry four at a time and they never unroll.
Tex-Mex’ish Flautas
Typically, in Mexico, flautas are prepared simply. Generally, you would find a corn tortilla wrapped around some poached chicken, then topped with any extras.
Of course, as a Texan, I can’t leave well enough alone. Something in my Texas DNA requires an additional injection of cheese.
You’ll find some Monterey Jack cheese and some other goodies in my flautas.
You’re welcome to stick with simple poached chicken, but come on, you know you want some cheese in there.
Flautas de Pollo with Salsa de Aguacate
Equipment
- toothpicks
- Nonstick pan
Ingredients
Salsa de Aguacate
- 2 serrano chiles - use more or less, as desired
- 6 oz. tomatillos - Husks and stems removed. Rinsed thoroughly
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp. cilantro - chopped
- 1/2 large lime - juiced
- 1/3 cup water - use more or less, depending on the consistency you want your salsa
- 1 large avocado
Flautas
- vegetable oil - Enough to fill dutch oven to 1/2-inch deep plus 1 tbsp. (you can substitute fresh pork lard)
- 1/4 cup white onion - diced small
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1 large chicken breast - about 1/2 lb., or a cup and half shredded
- 1 small Roma tomato - seeded and diced small
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese - shredded
- 12 yellow corn tortillas
Optional Garnishes
- 3 tbsp. queso fresco - crumbled
- 2 tbsp. cilantro - chopped
- 1/2 small Roma tomato - seeded and diced small
- 2 tbsp. white onion - finely diced
Instructions
- Put the chicken breasts in a small pot and cover with 1-inch of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 in the center of the thickest part. About 10-15 minutes. Remove from water and shred well with forks.
Salsa de Aguacate
- Put the serranos, tomatillos, and garlic cloves in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Drain.
- Remove the stems from the serranos, then slice them in half longways and scrape out the seeds and white veins (if you want it hot, leave in the seeds and veins). Peel the garlic. Add all of the salsa ingredients to a blender jar and blend until smooth.
Flautas
- Heat 1 tbsp. cooking oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until beginning to turn translucent. About 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. Add the chicken, diced tomato, salt, and pepper. Saute for an additional 2 minutes and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the chicken mixture and all of the shredded cheese.
- Wrap the tortillas in a paper towel and microwave for one minute, until soft.
- Add about 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture to two tortillas, then roll each one tightly and pin them together with two toothpicks. Be certain that the flaps on the tortillas are pinned down so they don't come open when frying.Continue stuffing, wrapping, and pinning your tortillas until you have six bundles of two tortillas each pinned together.
- Heat the vegetable oil in your dutch oven until it reaches 350 degrees. Fry two bundles of flautas at a time, 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Remove them to a paper towel-lined plate. As you lift the flautas out of the frying oil, tilt them to the side so any oil inside will pour back out into the pot.Continue frying two bundles at a time until everything is done.
- Remove the toothpicks, top with the salsa de aguacate, and any additional garnishes you choose. Serve immediately.
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