Taco Chicken*

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008

Taco Chicken

Okay. I'm being a board hog today. I'm also craving Mexican food. One of the major diadvantages to living in the South is that there is very little in the way of good Mexican food, so I have to make it myself. I'll be posting a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup on Friday, but I wanted to share some tips with you today as well as a recipe for chicken that you can use for anything--fill small flour tortillas with this chicken, some cheese, a little cabbage, guacamole, and pico de gallo, and you'll think you've gone to heaven. Make taco salads with this instead of ground beef. The best thing about it is that you probably have (or will have) all or most of the ingredients in your house and that it's EASY.

Here's the lineup (other than chicken of course):

Taco Chicken
Click to print recipe text only

1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs (I can tell you right now that I'm a breast girl and Sara prefers thighs.)
A couple of juicy limes
A splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken. Isn't raw meat disgusting-looking?


Grill about 7 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn't lose its juiciness. You can either eat the chicken as it is, maybe with Mexican rice and beans, or use slice it up and use it as you would taco meat.