Chicken Fajitas
Howdy folks, and thanks for stopping by the website! Fajitas are always one of the most requested food items when you go to any Mexican restaurant, and it’s because of that amazing sizzle factor. A piping hot cast iron mini-skillet is brought to your table with all the fixin’s around it and that delicious smoked chicken is sizzling up a storm right on your plate. There’s just no equal.
This is not your standard at-home chicken fajita recipe. You know what I’m talking about – you marinate the chicken in some tequila and lime and all that – those are good, but mine are better and more authentic.
Start by Grinding Whole Spices and Chilies
For the most flavor, I like to start by grinding dried chilies (ancho and cascabel) and whole cumin seed. I mix this with the other spices – Mesquite Seasoning, whole oregano, and garlic powder. A little salt and coarse ground pepper, and we’re set to go.
Tip: For more flavor, roast the dried chilies and spices in a skillet for about a minute.
Tenderize the Chicken
To get the best overall flavor, we’re using two chicken breasts and some chicken thighs and legs. Debone the thighs and drumsticks, cut off excess fat, and pound the chicken breasts flat with a rolling pin or a mallet. Wrap in foil with some butter and put on the grill to steam inside the foil packet. This will, above all else, keep the chicken from drying out.
Tip: Cooking on the grill in some foil with butter will steam the chicken and prevent it from drying out and losing flavor.
Cook 15 minutes or so, flipping halfway. You’ll want to use hardwood lump charcoal and cooking at around 425 degrees.
How to Prepare the Fixin’s for the Fajitas
You need two or three things on the table with the fajitas. First – homemade tortillas. Shannon’s recipe for homemade tortillas is right here and you should use it. Next, is the veggies. I’m talking about green bell pepper, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and a large white onion.
Tip: Throw a couple of chunks of mesquite wood in the fire for some extra flavor.
While the chicken is steaming on the grill, place a large heat-safe pan large enough to hold all of the sliced veggies and pre-heat it inside the grill. When the chicken is about ready to flip and the pan is good and hot, add the veggies to the skillet with a little butter and close the grill lid, stirring occasionally.
Move the Chicken to the Smoker
Now you can take the chicken out of the foil and place right on the smoker or the indirect heat side of your grill – you want that temperature to be around 350. Add a couple of chunks of Applewood and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway. The chicken breasts might take a few minutes longer, so you’ll want to use a meat thermometer to reach an internal temperature of 165.
Serve the Fajitas
When the chicken is done, slice and saute into the peppers and onions. Serve with some Salsa, homemade tortillas, any way you like. Just so as you don’t let ’em get cold!
As always, Shannon and I thank you for watching our videos and sharing our food with your friends and family. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook. We’ll see you next week at 2:30 for a new episode!
Chicken Fajitas - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
Fajita Seasoning
- ½ tablespoon crushed dried ancho chili
- 1 cascabel chili crushed
- ½ tablespoon crushed dried cumin
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3 teaspoons crushed whole oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon Kent’s Mesquite seasoning or your favorite all purpose Mesquite Seasoning
- 1/2 tablespoon coarse coarse ground black pepper
Fajitas
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 ½ sticks butter divided
- 1 large white onion sliced
- 2 red bell peppers thinly sliced
- 2 yellow bell peppers thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 4 jalapenos seeded and thinly sliced
- Juice of ½ lime optional
- Juice of ½ lemon optional
- 12 - 14 flour tortillas
Instructions
- Mix the Fajita seasoning in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the chicken breast in a plastic bag and beat with a rolling pin to flatten the breasts slightly. Remove the chicken from the bag and generously season both sides of the chicken. Generously season the chicken thighs. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the seasoning.
- Place the chicken breasts on a sheet of tin foil and place 2 tablespoons of butter on top of each breast and wrap up tightly. Place the thighs on a sheet of tinfoil and place 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each thigh, and wrap up tightly.
- Place the chicken, butter side up, on a grill/smoker preheated to 400 degrees F. Shut the lid and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a large cast iron skillet or pan on the grill with the chicken. Melt the remaining ½ stick of butter. Stir in the onion, bell peppers, jalapenos and reserved seasoning. Continue cooking, until the vegetables become tender, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the chicken from the tin foil and place on the indirect side of the grill or smoker. I like to run the grill/smoker temperature around 350 degrees F. Cook the thighs for about 3 minutes per side, and the breasts about 8 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature is165 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the grill/smoker and let cool slightly. Slice and stir into the pepper mixture. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon onto tortillas and top with your favorite toppings.
Green Salsa - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 4 tomatillos
- 1 serrano
- 1 large white onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilis
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons whole oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and core the tomatillos. Place the tomatillos and serrano pepper on a greased cookie sheet, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the onion and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until the onion is tender.
- Strain the contents of the saucepan and place in a blender. Add the tomatillos and serrano, green chilies, oregano, cumin, salt and chicken broth. Blend until smooth. Serve with fajitas or your favorite Mexican dish.
Homemade Tortillas
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup bacon grease cooled
- 1/4 cup lard or shortening
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- -In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. If you like a fluffier tortilla add and additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.
- -Cut in the shortening and bacon grease with a spoon just until the big chunks of lard/grease or broken up and incorporated.
- -Add the hot water and stir until combined. With your hands, work the dough into a ball.
- -Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough about 2 minutes, adding more flour if needed to take away the stickiness.
- -Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 -15 minutes.
- -Turn the dough back out onto the floured surface and turn to lightly flour the outside. Pinch the dough off into pieces slightly larger than a golf ball. Work the dough into balls and then press down lightly to form a round roughly the size of your palm.
- -With a rolling pin, roll each round out into a extremely thin circle. Repeat with the remaining rounds. If you like a thicker tortilla don't roll out as thin.
- -Place the tortillas onto a large greased HOT cast iron skillet. As the tortilla begins to bubble pat down and flip. Cook just until light brown circles appear. If your skillet isn't hot it will cook, but brown circles will not appear. The longer these cook, the crispier they become so adjust you cook time and temp as needed.
- -Wrap in a towel and place in a warm oven until you have finished cooking all of the tortillas and are ready to serve. Serve warm or at room temperature.
