Street Taco Inspired Dinner w/ Recipe!

The other day I began on the topic of street tacos and pretty much how the very idea of them monopolizes my every thought! The ideas were making my head spin so hard I just had to make some as soon as possible or I think my body might have shut down. So today I busted out the faithful tortilla press and sat, looking at the simple kitchen tool and contemplating the endless possibilities of what tortillas can hold. Eureka! It hit my thoughts like a bolt of lightning; I’m going to braise some chicken for this joyous occasion. And because I’m such a nice guy, I’m going to give you my recipe! Just a warning before we start… these tacos are highly addictive and you will not be able to stop eating them until either all the tortillas are gone or your stomach is hurting; that’s the reason why I am keeping the recipe to 8 tacos.

Alright lets have some fun!
Slow Braised Chicken “Street” Tacos
You are going to need:
A pound of chicken, your call on white or dark meat
Some olive oil
One nice sized poblano pepper (anaheims work too)(and if you’re lucky, HATCH)
One large onion (going to be using it two ways)
Four garlic cloves
One big old jalapeno
Cilantro
2 Bay leaves
1 Tbs cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
A pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of chicken stock
Aluminum foil
8 tortillas (make ‘em fresh or go the hell home!)

GOT EVERYTHING? Let’s get going

Half an onion, use the first half put the other half to the side. Cut the onions into strings. Smash up your garlic and clean your chicken and get it ready to cook. I used skinless boneless breasts today because that’s what I had and I makes shredding easier too. Heat up a nice sized pan with enough olive oil to coat the bottom and toss in your onions and garlic until aromatic. Then place your chicken, salt and peppered, in the pan and get a nice seer on the outside, should be about 3 min. Flip the chicken and immediately add all of your seasonings, bay leaves, and of course the chicken stock just to where it covers the chicken.

Bring it up to a boil and then simmer it slow and low covered with foil for anywhere from 30-45 min, depending on the size of the chicken. Most important part is to get that chicken to 165 degrees so it’s safe. While that is going down, you can take out your mandolin, if you have one, or your sharpest knife and literally make paper thin slices of the other half of the onion and the poblano pepper. You want them crunchy and squeeze them tight after done so the excess juice is no longer in the way. These babies are juicy enough without the help of onion water. After the chicken is done, let it cool and rest for a second and then begin pulling that chicken like a champ.

Once pulled, reincorporate about toss in the shaved peppers and onions. You’re going to throw all the goodness on skillet top to get a nice char and throw that on a taco. Garnish with fresh sliced jalapenos, cilantro, and your favorite salsa.

BUT these tacos have to have fresh tortillas right? Of course! And I love corn. Its easy, believe me. Take 2/3 a cup of warm water and put it with a cup of masa, aka corn flour.

Pinch of salt. Knead it until you have a semi moist ball that still tears a bit. This is what it should look like.

Take that ball and make it into 8 golf sized balls. Each ball goes in your tortilla press and then straight into a hot skillet with nothing in it at all. Cook each side for 50 seconds and place in a moist warm towel. Repeat until you’re sick of making tortillas! Quick, easy, and you can tell the difference in every bite!

Seriously, these tacos are bad, like uber bad! I was eating one over the other so that they would catch the juices. I was sopping up the leftover juices after the second one with the tortillas. These things rival anything you can buy on a taco truck and the best part is, the cost comes out to around 5 bucks. Can’t beat that with a stick! I definitely had my fix and I hope you get yours soon too. Continue to follow me on twitter as @ChefGrantKeaton or on Facebook and feel free to send me any suggestions of cuisines you want to adventure next with me. I’m thinking Thai curries… We shall see, until next time, FOLLOW THE FLAVOR!!