Name: Tremendous Chicken Fajitas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs; 1 red bell pepper, sliced; 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced; 1 green bell pepper, sliced; 1 large yellow onion, sliced; 3 tbsp, divided olive oil; 2 tbsp lime juice, fresh; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp chili powder; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1.5 tsp kosher salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped; 8 flour tortillas, warmed; 1 lime lime wedges (for serving); to taste sour cream, salsa, and shredded cheese (for serving)

Tremendous Chicken Fajitas

Prep

15m

Cook

12m

Total

27m

Bigly says

I'm just gonna say it. The fajita situation in this country has gotten BAD. Really bad. You go to a restaurant, you order fajitas, they bring you a sizzling platter — fine, the sizzle is great, the sizzle is theater, I respect the sizzle — and then you bite into the chicken and it's DRY. It's RUBBER. A sad little hockey puck some line cook murdered twenty minutes ago and reheated on a flat top. A disgrace to fajitas everywhere. The fajita industrial complex has FAILED us, and nobody is holding them accountable.

The best chicken fajita I ever ate was at a gas station in west Texas, somewhere outside Marfa. You have never heard of it. Nobody has. A man behind a hot griddle, no menu, no napkins, just a stack of warm tortillas and a face that had seen things. He did not speak. He nodded once and slid the plate across the counter. That fajita changed me as a combover. These fajitas are ALMOST as good as that man's, and I do not say almost about much. Hand on heart.

The secret — and I am giving it to you free — is THIGHS. Chicken thighs, never breasts. Breasts dry out. Breasts are a one-way ticket to disappointment town. Breasts are the reason your last fajita night was sad and your spouse went quiet at the table. Thighs stay juicy. Thighs take char. Thighs forgive you when the pan gets too hot, and the pan WILL get too hot, because the second secret is the pan has to scare you a little. If your pan does not scare you, your pan is not hot enough. Plain and simple.

Ingredients

1.5 lbboneless skinless chicken thighs(thighs, never breasts, do not argue with me on this)
1red bell pepper, sliced
1yellow bell pepper, sliced
1green bell pepper, sliced
1large yellow onion, sliced
3 tbsp, dividedolive oil
2 tbsplime juice, fresh
4 clovesgarlic, minced
1 tbspchili powder
2 tspground cumin
1 tspsmoked paprika
1 tspdried oregano
1.5 tspkosher salt
1 tspblack pepper
1/4 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
8flour tortillas, warmed
1 limelime wedges (for serving)
to tastesour cream, salsa, and shredded cheese (for serving)

Steps

1
In a large bowl, whisk 2 tbsp olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper.
2
Slice the chicken thighs into 1/2-inch strips. Add to the bowl and toss to coat. Let marinate 15 minutes at room temperature.
3
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and swirl to coat.
4
Add the chicken in a single layer and sear undisturbed for 2 minutes. Stir and continue cooking 3-4 minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through and well-charred. Transfer to a plate.
5
Return the skillet to high heat. Add the sliced peppers and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes, until softened with deep char marks on the edges.
6
Return the chicken to the skillet with the peppers and onion. Toss together for 30 seconds to combine and reheat.
7
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve immediately, straight from the hot skillet, with warm flour tortillas, lime wedges, and toppings on the side.

One more thing

That is the move. Twenty-five minutes from grocery bag to a skillet sizzling on the table while your family stares at you like you have performed a magic trick. Because you HAVE. You are a magician now. The Houdini of the cast iron. Wrap that chicken and those peppers and that onion in a warm flour tortilla, hit it with a squeeze of lime, add a little sour cream if you must — I will not stop you, I will judge you a little, but I will not stop you — and eat it standing up at the counter. Fajitas are not a sitting food. Fajitas are a standing food. Now go eat.