Authentic Chicken Tacos

Seriously, how much Mexican food can one family eat?

Some of my favorite Mexican food is the simple "authentic" kind. Not the Tex-Mex that most of us are used to.

By simple I mean . . . simple.

Yummy flavors that pop.

Minimal ingredients that are maximum on taste.

And finally, not covered in yellow, stringy, gooey cheese (like Tex-Mex can be).

Here's a recipe for authentic chicken tacos. You might see it called pollo asado, which means "roasted or grilled chicken." That's pretty simple!

Chicken Tacos

Choose what type of chicken you're going to use. It does need to be with the bone and skin.

I used quarters (which includes the leg and thigh).

My package of quarters had 3 quarters -- which was enough for my family of 4.

Marinade:

1/2 cup of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 cup lime juice

2 lemons, juiced

2 tsp. vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Pour the marinade over the chicken in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and marinate at LEAST for 24 hours. Yes, if you're short on time you can cheat yourself -- and if you've already planned into next month, you can go a little longer than 24 hours. The point is this: let it marinate!

Pre-heat the grill. You'll want to cook this chicken H.O.T! You want the inside to be done (Really!) and you want the outside to be crispy, without being burnt! See the picture above! You do have to watch this while it's cooking. But it's worth it!

Once the chicken is done, bring it inside and let it rest for a few minutes.

Pull the chicken off the bone. If you're lucky, you'll have some crispy, grilled skin with the chicken. If that grosses you out -- pull all the skin off before you pull the chicken.

To assemble the tacos you'll also need:

white corn tortillas (my preference -- the cherubs like flour tortillas)

fresh pico de gallo

cotija cheese (found in the dairy case in most stores. It's a white Mexican cheese that crumbles)

(This is a picture of cotija cheese)

That's it!

Take your tortilla, put a bit of grilled chicken, topped with fresh pico and a sprinkle of cotija cheese.

Fold over and bite into your Mexican concoction!

Ole!

Comments

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