Chicken Fajitas
About the Recipe
Chicken Fajitas, like Beef Fajitas, is a great small-party favorite. Impress your friends and family with better than restaurant Fajitas. The prep is simple and the result is so good.
Variations
This recipe calls for the meat to be served with onions and peppers sauteed on the griddle or hot cast iron skillet. You can also serve them with sliced fire-roasted poblano pepper or jalapenos if you like the heat. The flavor will be awesome.
Serve with warmed flour and corn tortillas, red and green salsa, chopped cilantro, chopped onions, Mexican rice, and refried beans. See all the recipes for Fajita Friday.
I like my fajitas with yellow corn tortillas slightly cooked with a touch of beef fat on a flat skillet. So good! Put the last portion of beef fat in a cast iron skillet or griddle and spread it around to cover the entire surface. Start cooking the tortillas for a couple of minutes on each side.
If you cook them longer where they are starting to get golden brown you can use one tortilla per taco, and if you take them off just after they're warm, you will need to use two tortillas and double up. If you don't use two of the heated corn tortillas, your tacos will fall apart on you.
You can also serve flour tortillas. Try them this way; corn tortillas with beef fajitas, and flour tortillas with chicken fajitas. You will notice a very nice flavor pairing for each one.
You can always eat them however you like. Enjoy
Equipment Needed
- 1.25 pound Chicken Breasts (Trimmed, skinless, boneless)
- .25 cups Orange Juice
- .25 cups Pineapple Juice
- 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Garlic (Minced)
- 1 teaspoon Salt (Morton Course Kosher Salt)
- .25 teaspoons Cumin (Ground)
- .25 teaspoons Black Pepper (Ground)
- .25 teaspoons Oregano (Dried)
- .25 teaspoons Chipotle Powder
- 1 teaspoon Smoke Paprika
- .5 cups Onions (Sliced)
- .5 cups Bell Peppers (Sliced)
- 2 tablespoons Beef Fat (Or avocado oil, for the beef)
- 2 tablespoons Beef Fat (Or avocado oil, for vegetables)
- 2 tablespoons Beef Fat (Or avocado oil, for the tortillas)
- 1 Each Green Bell Pepper (Sliced thinly)
- 1 Each Red Bell Pepper (Sliced thinly)
- 1 cup White Onions (Sliced)
- .5 teaspoons Salt (Morton Course Kosher Salt)
- 12 Each Corn Tortillas
- 1 cup White Onion (Diced small)
- 1 Bunch Cilantro (Fresh, chopped)
- Grilled Fajita Chicken Breasts
Trim any fat, silverskin, or cartilage from the breasts. Wash the chicken in half water and half vinegar if you want to. Drain.
Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl.
Place chicken and marinade in a 2.5-gallon ziplock bag.
Move the chicken around by massaging the bag so that all the meat is coated with the marinade.
Lay the bag flat on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, making sure no ready-to-eat foods are below it. Refrigerate for 24 hours
Flip the bag every 6-12 hours to ensure an even marinade.
Preheat grill to medium
Preheat the oven to 350.
Grill chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, turning 90 degrees after about 1-2 minutes to get an excellent grill mark. Do this on the other side as well.
When the grill marks are nice and brown, pull the chicken off the grill, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 30 minutes. Cook your chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F in the thickest part. If it doesn't reach this temperature by the instruction so far, place the chicken in the oven or back on the grill until the temperature is reached.
- Building the Fajitas
Slice the whole breasts of chicken into 1/4 inch strips across the grain. You will see the striations. Simply cut across the grain instead of in their direction. This will produce a more tender and enjoyable bite.
Peel and slice the onions in half and then into 1/4" slices.
Wash, core, seed the peppers, and slice into 1/4" slices.
In Skillet 1
Get your skillet hot on medium-high heat, then add the first portion of beef fat or avocado oil. Toss the onions, peppers, and salt in and saute until desired tenderness with the desired char. Turn off the heat and set aside.
In Skillet 2
Heat cast iron skillet on med/high to high heat to get it hot. Add the second portion of beef fat or avocado oil to the skillet, and spread around with a spatula or by swirling. CAUTION: This oil will get hot fast, so don't splash any out, or you can hurt yourself or someone else.
Add the chicken slices and toss to coat with oil using a set of tongs. Keep tossing and stirring until all the chicken is coated with oil and hot.
Turn off the heat, slide meat to one side, add peppers and onions from the other pan, and serve.
If you want the restaurant effect of smoking fajitas on a hot skillet, you will need to get a 3rd skillet screaming hot and transfer the sauteed chicken, peppers, and onions to it. You will get the desired effect, but it is dangerous and impractical at home. Eating it is more fun than picking it up off the floor after that hot pan has burned you.
Be careful and enjoy.
