January 21, 2021

Chicken Tacos

These chicken tacos are yet one more way to use every last shred of that Positively Perfect Roasted Chicken.

(Jump to the Soft Taco Shells recipe file here and the Chicken Tacos recipe file here.)

They may or may not be authentic; it’s my very own recipe, so I don’t really know! (I’d love to hear any opinions, so if you make it, let me know what you think in the comments! I think the most genuinely authentic thing about this recipe is that I tend to use it to use up things on hand – the best mark of time-tested national cuisines, in my opinion.)

The spice mixture in these is pretty much what I use in most dishes for which I don’t have a recipe, it’s a pretty standard flavor profile in my house: onions & garlic sautéed in olive oil with onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, chile powder and cayenne. (Omit the garlic and onion powder, add cocoa powder, and swap cumin for cinnamon, and you’ve got my occasional morning coffee mix to boot!)

If you’d like, you can also make your own corn tortillas without too much trouble. They’re like corn & flour crepes, so you don’t need (or use) a tortilla press. I have to say, I really like them! The tortillas recipe came from my Mother-In-Law, Caroline, after Kevin asked me to give them a try; I hope you will too!

Here goes:

Chicken Tacos

You’ll Need:

For the Tortillas (makes about 1 dozen tortillas):

1 ½ cups cold water
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
¼ tsp salt
1 egg

For the Chicken Taco Meat (makes about 1 dozen tacos):

2 Tbs olive oil
½ onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp mild chile powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
A pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)
½ to 1 whole bell pepper, sliced
12 oz. shredded chicken, fully cooked

For The Guacamole Fresco (makes 1 cup):

1-2 avocados
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tbs onion, finely diced
1 Tbs tomatoes, diced
1 slice bell pepper, minced
2-3 Tbs fresh cilantro, minced
The juice from ½ a lime
2-4 jalapeño slices, diced, optional

For All The Other Taco Toppings:

½ cup rice, optional
1 tsp neutral-flavored oil (for cooking the rice)
1 cup black beans or refried black beans
2 oz (50g) green leaf or red leaf lettuce, shredded (that’s about 2 large leaves)
1 oz (25g) fresh cilantro, leaves plucked from the stems
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced (seeds plucked)
4 oz (100g) tomatoes, diced (that’s about 12-14 small, grape tomatoes)
2 oz (50g) black olives, sliced
5-6 oz (150g) good salsa
6 oz (150g) mixed shredded cheeses (usually along the lines of white cheddar, sharp cheddar, cojita, and Monterrey jack)
4-5 oz (100g) sour cream

Start by making the tortillas!

To me, these are from my mother-in-law, as I mentioned above, but originally they are from an old Betty Crocker cookbook from the ‘70s, so they’re time-tested by now. (My mom’s blueberry muffins are also from a 1970s Betty Crocker cookbook, actually a series of cooking encyclopedias by Betty Crocker, and still one of my all-time favorite recipes to this day, not just for blueberry muffins, but of all recipes of all time. They’re one of those nostalgic ones for sure, just like this taco shell recipe is for Kevin.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup cornmeal, ¼ tsp salt. Beat your 1 egg and add to the bowl, then add your 1 ½ cups cold water.

Whisk everything together thoroughly to get rid of any lumps.

(If any lumps do remain, I just touch the top of them with my fingertip once poured into the frying pan, and those lumps disappear, so get as many lumps out of the batter as you can, but don’t stress over them.) (Alternately, you can mix the ingredients in a blender – you just have a bender carafe to clean afterwards, vs a bowl; your choice!)

Heat a couple non-stick skillets over medium heat and wait until they are hot. (You can test the heat by dropping a couple drops of water onto the skillet, and if they dance around, you’re hot enough.

Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter into the hot pan and swirl around to get the tortilla size you’d like. I do mine at about 6”. (If portioned out at a scant ¼ cup, you should get a dozen 6” taco shells.)

Allow the tortilla to cook until slight bubbles are visible, and the top looks shiny and you can touch it lightly without its sticking to your fingertip. (This takes me about 2 to 3 minutes.)

At that point, flip the tortilla into your second heated, non-stick frying pan and cook for about 1 minute more on the other side. In the meantime, pour another scant ¼ cup of batter into the first frying pan and swirl around to get the right size and shape.

Check your first tortilla regularly after 1 minute to see if it has formed those nice browned bubbled spots that look so appetizing; do this by simply flipping it over in the pan. You can flip it back over to cook the first side a little more as well.

(They may also puff up a bit from the egg in them, which is another good indication of their being thoroughly cooked.)

Once that first tortilla is cooked, shape it into a taco-shell fold. I have some cannoli molds that work perfectly for this, but my mother-in-law drapes them over the rack in her oven and allows them to “hang out” until serving time. Genius!

Flip the second tortilla (the 2^nd one that’s in the first skillet) onto its other side in the second skillet and pour another scant ¼ cup batter into the first skillet, swirl and let cook.

Repeat manning the two skillets and shaping the taco shells a few more times, until you’ve cooked all your shells. (This generally takes me about a half hour.)

I store my finished taco shells in the oven so it doesn’t get lonely on taco night. (You can turn the oven on, but very low, like 150˚F or 200˚F max, to keep the taco shells slightly warm until dinner time. They will need to be shaped either over something along the lines of cannoli molds, spoon handles, or the oven rack if being held in a warm oven.)

Next, I like to start the rice if I’m making any for a taco filler,

which is completely optional. I like a little bit in my taco if I’ve (a.) made the taco meat particularly spicy, or (b.) if I’ve gone the extra mile and spiced the black beans. (Spiced black beans are tasty with some rice.)

To cook rice, place ½ cup rice into a deep saucepan; pour in 1 Tbs olive oil and toss the rice to coat. Place on the stove and turn the heat to low. In either a water kettle or another pan, bring 1 ¼ cups of water to a boil, when the water is boiling, add it to the rice pot. Set the heat to medium-low, which should be at a simmer, cover the pot and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, fluff the rice and remove from the heat. If not ready to serve yet, keep it covered and off the heat, though you can place it back on the still-warm burner, with the heat turned off.

Next, while all your fresh taco shells hang out, and while your rice simmers, make the chicken taco filling:

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan. Slice your ½ onion very thin (and reserve 1 or 2 slivers for your guacamole) and mince 2 cloves of garlic (and, again, reserve 1/8 tsp for your guacamole). Add to the pan and allow the onions to soften and the garlic to become fragrant; sauté for a few minutes.

Then add all your spices: ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp mild chile powder, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, a pinch cayenne pepper (depending on taste.) Sauté for another couple minutes. The onions at this point should be releasing their juices and smelling delightful with the spices.

Slice your bell pepper (and reserve a sliver for your guacamole) and add to the pan and toss around. Allow to cook for about a minute.

Now add your 12 ounces of shredded chicken, breaking or tearing into whatever size pieces you’d like in your tacos. (And use as much chicken as you’d like, this is my approximation of how much will yield 1 dozen tacos.)

Toss the chicken and sauté for about 3 minutes, allowing it to soak up all the flavor from those vegetable juices and the spices.

Turn off the heat and cover.

Heat your beans and allow them to simmer and bubble for 4 or 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and cover.

>>>>Now, if you want to add another 15 minutes or so to your taco prep, and want to put your beans over the top, you can make a really flavorful spice blend to flavor your beans. This is a good option to include if you’ve invited vegetarians over to your taco party, since these are flavorful all on their own. (Though remember: your home-made taco shells contain eggs, so if this is the case, send a loved one to the store to get some store-bought flour tortillas.) Also, I didn’t include ingredients for this bean preparation above in the ingredients list of the post; this is just a small bonus for those die-hard taco fans that have read this deeply into the blog post:

Spiced black bean blend: You’ll need 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 clove garlic, minced, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 or 2 slices of onion, finely chopped, 1 tsp lime juice, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp cumin and ¼ tsp chili powder and your 1 cup black beans. To make: heat the olive is a small saucepan and add the minced garlic and onion, black pepper, and salt and sauté for a minute or two. Add the lime juice, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and chili powder and stir to combine, then add your black beans with only about a tablespoon or two of the liquid from the can. Bring to a simmer, stir often at a simmer for several minutes, then turn off the heat and leave covered until it’s taco time.) End of bonus recipe within a recipe. >>>>

Make your guacamole:

(I once read that it’s a good idea to wash avocados with a drop of dish soap before slicing in to protect against slicing into bacteria that’s likely to be on the skin, and since I read that, I’ve always done it.) Wash, rinse and slice your avocados and use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a medium-size glass bowl.

Use a fork to mash the avocado to the consistency you like. I like some bigger chunks of avocado in my guacamole, so using a fork works really well for me. (I’ve seen people use two knives and go across the bowl in a scissoring action, which also works; I nearly always use a fork though.)

Add your 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.

Add your reserved minced garlic. Mince your reserved onion slice and add that as well.

Dice up your bell pepper slice and add that too.

Mix everything to combine.

Juice ½ a lime, and, you guessed it, add and mix.

Next, pluck the leaves from several stalks of cilantro and mince them, and add those.

Dice 2 or 3 grape tomatoes and gently stir those in too.

If you want, you can also add some diced or minced jalapeño slices too. I usually leave these out of the guacamole and just serve the jalapeño slices as a topping choice on their own since my 11-year-old LOVES avocado and does not love jalapeños.

Taste for seasoning and see if you’d like more salt or lime juice.

Guacamole is done! I usually just wipe the edge of the bowl I made it in with a paper towel to clean it up, stick a spoon in it and set it as is at the taco topping spread.

Last steps! Just a few more!

Stack your lettuce leaves atop one another and chiffonade them: that means to slice them into thin slices while they’re stacked or rolled on top of one another. Move to a small plate.

Dice your tomato into ¼” dices pieces, or if using grape tomatoes, quarter them. Place in a bowl.

Pluck the leaves from several stems of cilantro and place them in a ramekin.

Slice the rest of your jalapeño. And if you’re feeling really giving, you can sacrifice the hyponychium under a fingernail or two to pluck out the little delicate seed piths from each slice.

If your black olives are whole, slice them… and next time buy sliced black olives for taco night. 😉

Pour some salsa in a bowl.

Either shred your cheeses and toss together… ….or that’s right, pour your pre-shredded, just-for-taco-night cheese mix into a bowl.

And place some generous dollops of sour cream into a bowl.

Now stand back and admire your taco spread!

Go ahead and call everybody to the table as your bowl up the rice, bowl up the beans, and place a trivet on the table for the taco meat.

You can either have everyone grab their taco shells out of the oven, (just warn them if the oven is warm,) or transfer to individual plates, or put them all on one serving platter. It’s however you’d like taco night to go!

Transfer everything to the table and stand back and take a picture. And then start passing those dishes of toppings around so everyone can start digging in!