Mexican Chicken Tacos Recipes

AUTHENTIC SPICY CHICKEN TACOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F Wrap tortillas in foil and bake until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, season chicken with salt. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat until very hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring, until they start to brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, garlic, jalapeño and cumin. Cook, stirring, until peppers are bright green but still crisp, 2 to 3 minutes more.
• Stir in salsa and reserved chicken. Cook, stirring, until chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Spoon into warmed tortillas and garnish with scallions, queso fresco, tomatoes and sour cream.

WORLD'S BEST CHICKEN TACOS

Steps:

• Start by rinsing and stemming 7-8 plum tomatoes. Roast them in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes.
• For the chicken, add the seasoning ingredients to a bowl: 2 tablespoons crushed New Mexican chile (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a dollop of oil. Chop up two chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and combine well with the seasoning.
• For the rice, start by adding a dollop of oil to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup of rice and saute until the rice is turning opaque and golden brown. Meanwhile, add 1-2 of the roasted tomatoes to a blender along with 1/2 onion and a single garlic clove. Combine well and add this puree to the rice, cooking for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of stock and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until all of the liquid is absorbed. Set aside and cover, letting it sit its own steam for a few minutes. Salt to taste. (Note: it's okay to pull the roasting tomatoes from the oven a bit early when you need them for the rice.)
• When the tomatoes are done roasting add six of them to a blender for the Salsa along with 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 jalapeno, and a pinch of salt (optional). Pulse blend, leaving it a bit chunky. Taste for seasoning and for heat level. You can always add more jalapeno if you want a more fiery Salsa.
• To cook the chicken, I usually saute 3-4 tablespoons of chopped onion in some oil until tender (over medium-high heat) and then add the seasoned chicken. Form a single layer as much as possible and let the first side cook through all the way, then flipping and briefly cooking the second side. When done, add the chicken to a bowl and cover with foil until serving.
• For the guacamole, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped onion, and the juice of 1 lime to a bowl. Combine with the flesh of two ripe avocados. Taste for seasoning. I added another pinch of salt and another squeeze of lime to this batch. (I usually crush the chopped onion with the back of fork to mimic a molcajete and release some additional oils.)
• I recommend half-assembling the tacos for your family and friends, i.e. crisping them up on a comal or skillet before serving. First, put the chicken, guacamole, and salsa on the table in serving bowls. Then add 4-5 corn tortillas to the comal or skillet over mediumish heat (or as many as you can fit). Add a layer of refried beans, cheese, and rice to each tortilla. Cook until the cheese is melted or the bottom of the tortilla is turning golden brown, approx. 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately and let your peeps add the chicken, guacamole, and salsa themselves.

MEXICAN CHICKEN TACOS

Steps:

• Place the chicken breasts in a dish and sprinkle with the lime juice. Cover and marinate for up to 12 hours.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 140°C, 300°F, Gas Mark 1.
• Stack the tortillas, wrap in aluminum foil and place in the oven to warm through.
• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onion, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, or until just tender.
• Meanwhile, cut the chicken into 6mm/1/4-inch pieces.
• Stir in the chicken pieces into the frying pan, season with the cumin, salt, and black pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time minutes, until the chicken is opaque and cooked through.
• Add the chopped tomato, coriander and the lemon juice, mix well then remove from the heat and transfer to a warm serving dish.
• To serve - Stack 2 tortillas (to prevent tearing) and place the chicken, salsa, lettuce on the tortilla stack. Roll it up and lick your fingers.

MEXICAN CHICKEN TACO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add ground chicken and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until onion is mostly tender and meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; stir until well combined.
• Bring mixture to a low simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Taste mixture and adjust the seasonings as desired.
• Spoon a couple of good-sized scoops of meat mixture onto the bottom of the prepared casserole dish, and spread into a thin layer. Lay about half of the tortillas over the sauce, breaking them in half as needed to make a fairly even layer without too much overlap. Add remaining meat mixture over the tortilla layer. Top with remaining tortillas, again breaking into pieces as necessary to evenly cover the surface.
• Cover with shredded cheese. Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray, and set the sprayed side against the cheese to cover the casserole dish (this helps prevent "cheese loss" when you remove the foil).
• Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is bubbly and cheese is nicely melted, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into wedges or scooping out to serve.