Thursday, May 4, 2017

Easy Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken

A quick and easy marinade recipe for delicious, Tex-Mex grilled chicken breasts perfect for tacos, nachos, salads, burritos... you name it! Skip to recipe.

Easy Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken by www.smokeandvanilla.com - A quick and easy marinade recipe for delicious, Tex-Mex grilled chicken breasts perfect for tacos, nachos, salads, burritos... you name it! http://bit.ly/2qGn3SS

Glance over our recipe index and, given the relatively young age of our blog, you might get the idea that my husband and I have an affinity for Mexican food. This is absolutely true. I don't think you can live in Southern California (or California in general) without developing an appreciation for the delicious flavors from our southern neighbors. I am fully convinced that good street tacos are a gateway drug to a lifelong addiction to light and spicy Latin flavors.

On the Grill from Easy Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken by www.smokeandvanilla.com - A quick and easy marinade recipe for delicious, Tex-Mex grilled chicken breasts perfect for tacos, nachos, salads, burritos... you name it! http://bit.ly/2qGn3SS

This doesn't mean we don't occasionally enjoy Taco Bell and the like; we do have a mean recipe for what we call Gringo Tacos (ground beef, lettuce, cheese-- check back for that recipe later!), but there's something about grilled meat in tacos that takes them to the next level. I mean, look at that picture, perfectly grilled chicken always makes my mouth water, yummmm!

Serving Suggestion from Easy Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken by www.smokeandvanilla.com - A quick and easy marinade recipe for delicious, Tex-Mex grilled chicken breasts perfect for tacos, nachos, salads, burritos... you name it! http://bit.ly/2qGn3SS


That's not to say that this chicken recipe has to be eaten in taco form, you could also use the chicken in a salad, burrito, tostada... or on its own as a main dish. However, if you do decide to go one of the aforementioned Tex-Mex routes, we highly recommend tacos topped with our Better-Than-Chipotle Corn Salsa, a bright, fresh side dish that pairs perfectly with grilled meats. Side note: I feel like there should be a California version of the phrase Tex-Mex like Calexican food or Mexicalin food or Cal-Mex... what do you think? 😉

Give it a try! Grilled chicken makes some of the best tacos around... Happy grilling!

Easy Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken by www.smokeandvanilla.com - A quick and easy marinade recipe for delicious, Tex-Mex grilled chicken breasts perfect for tacos, nachos, salads, burritos... you name it! http://bit.ly/2qGn3SS




Ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
⅓c olive oil
1-2 lemons, juiced (*see tip)
4T chili powder
1T garlic powder
1T cumin
1T dried onion flakes (*see tip)
1 ½t salt
1t fresh ground black pepper

Instructions:
  1. Optional: Lightly pound thicker end of breasts a few times with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or canned food (e.x. can of chili, not can of Coke).
  2. Combine all ingredients in a gallon-sized zip-topped bag and refrigerate up to 4 hours (or grill right away, whatever works for you!).
  3. Pre-heat grill. Go here if you need tips on how to start a charcoal grill.
  4. Grill chicken over direct heat for 6-8 minutes per side, until thickest part of breast is 165°F. (*see tip)
  5. Remove from grill and let it rest for ~5 minutes before serving.
Tips:
  • Use either lemons or limes here, 1-2 lemons or 3-4 limes will work just fine. Microwave your citrus fruit of choice for 10 seconds before juicing to increase juice yield.
  • Granulated onion will work in place of onion flakes in a pinch.
  • I highly recommend an instant read thermometer, it takes the guess work out of cooking meats and really helped to boost my cooking confidence when I was just starting out.

Are you interested in trying out this simple grilled chicken recipe? We'd love to hear from you in the comments!


1 comment:

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