I’ve mentioned it in a previous blog post; and I’m sure I’ll mention it again in the future: there are a few dishes I came to absolutely love from my time living in Tucson Arizona. This is one of them. I picked up the recipe from some of the friends I made along the border.
Many of them used achiote paste, but when not available they used achiote seasoning from Goya. They can usually be found at. A good grocery with an international section or at any Hispanic grocery store. I will admit the paste is much more robust, but the seasoning works fine as well. Additionally I would normally use anaheim and chipotle peppers in the marinade, but I’m taking some of the heat down for the benefit of the kids. If you choose to use the peppers you’ll dice them up and put them in the marinade as well as adding them into the fajita vegetables. If you don’t care for heat, this method comes out packed with flavor and really hits a home run for a good Mexican chicken dish. Truth be told I didn’t miss the peppers, and really enjoyed how flavorful it is. I used chicken breast for this, but boneless thighs come out great also.
For the marinade you’ll need:
Vegetable oil
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 2 limes
achiote paste or seasoning
Cumin
Paprika
Tajin seasoning – optional
Thinly sliced onion
I garlic toe
Cilantro
Butterfly the chicken breast and season them with salt pepper garlic powder or your favorite chicken seasoning.
Add them to a ziploc and put the onion , cilantro and marinade on top, saving a small amount to use as a bbq sauce when grilling.
Shake the bag and work the marinade into the chicken well, and then let it marinade for a minimum of 4 hours. -overnight is even better. Some people let them marinade for 48 hours.
For the fajita vegetable:
Sliced onion
Red bell pepper
Garlic
Jalapeño
Lime juice
Chicken stock
Get your cast iron or skillet nice and hot, add a touch of vegetable oil, and the vegetables. Let them get good and cooked through, but not quite soft. As soon as you see them starting to char on the edges add in the lime juice and chicken stock. When the liquid has reduced into a thick pan sauce, turn off the heat and move to the next step.
Pico de Gallo
Diced and seeded tomato
Diced red onion
Diced jalapeño
Cilantro
Lime juice
Salt pepper and garlic powder
Add all ingredients to a bowl and fold together. – it’s that easy
Grilling the chickens
Get your grill good and hot, add mesquite to a smoke box, foil pouch or coals. When you start to smell the mesquite burning add the chicken to indirect heat first. Flip and let it continue to cook while adding some of the marinade. When it’s almost done add or move them to direct heat and add more marinade.
When the chicken cooks through remove from heat and warm up your vegetable.
I love this on warmed tortilla, but in an effort to cut out some calories, I chose to eat it on a salad made of spring greens, the fajita veg, Pico, sweet corn, pinto beans and a touch of mozzarella cheese. The kids ate them on the warm tortillas.
Either way you eat this you will love having this easy to make Mexican dish at home! It’s perfect for grilling season!