Tag: Mexican
Smoked Chicken Tacos
Smoked Chicken Tacos
Tacos are always a great idea when thinking of what to eat. I happened to have some chicken thighs and felt that it was taco time. I wanted to do a little more then just chop the thighs up and sauté them. So I smoked them. They don’t need to be brined, but I recommend marinating the thighs overnight for optimal flavor. Smoke the thighs at 250 degrees for 2 hours until the thighs reach 180 degrees internal temperature.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Dry Rub
- 1 tbsp guajillo chili powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
Smoked Chicken Tacos
- corn tortillas
- white onion/green onion/cilantro mix
- smoked salsa
Wood Chips
- mesquite wood chips
Instructions
- Mix the dry rub ingredients together.
- Coat the chicken thighs in vegetable oil. Season with all of the dry rub. Marinate overnight for best result.
- Let the chicken thighs rest at room temp for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Smoke the chicken thighs for 2 hours until they reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees.
- Let the thighs rest for 15 minutes before chopping.
- Dice the chicken thighs.
Smoked Salsa
Why not smoke the ingredients that go into a salsa? If I’m making smoked carnitas tacos, I have plenty of time to smoke jalapeños, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. I think I’ll keep smoking and continue to come up with these great ideas. Smokedy, smokedy, smokedy…Also, this salsa will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- food processor
Ingredients
- 5 Roma tomatoes
- 1 head garlic left whole
- 1 medium white onion peeled; sliced in half horizontally
- 4 jalapeños
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 4 tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
- pecan wood chips
Instructions
- Arrange the vegetables on the smokers rack.
- Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees according to the manufacturer’s directions. Place the rack in the smoker.
- The garlic and onions will take 2 hours to smoke. The tomatoes and jalapeños will take 4 hours. Let cool before pureeing.
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor. Make sure to peel the garlic.
- Blend until it reaches the consistency of your liking.
Tuna Empanadas
Tuna Empanadas
I’m a huge fan of empanadas and their various forms. These tuna empanadas are quite exquisite. There just isn’t any old can of tuna in the filling. I like to use this fancy Mexican brand of tuna that is actually whole chunks of yellowfin. It only costs $1 more than your Starkist or Chicken of the Sea and is light years ahead in quality. The dough to these empanadas has ancho chili powder in it. You can find ancho chili powder in your grocery store’s international aisle in the spice section. You can also use a whole dried ancho chili pepper and either grind it in a spice grinder or soak it in warm water for 25 minutes, then purée it in a blender. Either way is good. You can skip adding the ancho all together, but it does give the dough a nice color and some added flavor.You will need to use a tortilla press to flatten the dough. I like to take a gallon sized ziplock bag and cut it apart in 2 pieces to use as a barrier for the press. Place a dough ball in the center of the press on top of one of the plastic sheets. Place the other sheet over the top. Flatten the dough ball to a little less than 1/4” thick. Take off the top plastic sheet. Place 2 tbsp of the filling in the center of the dough. Using the bottom plastic sheet, fold the dough over in half, crimping the edges. Now you have an empanada. The empanadas only take 4 minutes a side to fry. Serve them on a bed of shredded cabbage with the hot sauce of your choosing. You can make large batches of the empanadas and freeze them down on a baking sheet. Store them in freezer bags.
Equipment
- tortilla press
Ingredients
Empanada Filling
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1 can yellowfin tuna drained
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Empanada Dough
- 1 cup masa flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the tuna and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
- Mix together all of the dough ingredients. Roll into 6 equal sized balls.
Empanada Assembly
- Place a dough ball on the center of a tortilla press. I like to cut apart a gallon sized ziplock bag to use as a barrier for the press.
- Mash it down to 1/4” thick.
- Place a couple of tbsp of the filling in the center of the dough.
- Using the bottom piece of the ziplock bag, fold the dough over the center and crimp the edges.
- Make the rest of the empanadas and let sit on parchment paper.
- Heat up a 1/4” deep of vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Place the empanadas in the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pan.
- Fry for 4 minutes a side.
Avocado Ice Cream
Avocado Ice Cream
Avocado in ice cream you say? Let me tell you something…eating avocado sweet is the way to go. This ice cream recipe only has 4 ingredients. Yes, you use a lot of appliances and kind of make more dishes than you need, but holy shit! This is some of the best ice cream you’ll ever eat.
Equipment
- food processor
- upright mixer or hand mixer
- ice cream machine
Ingredients
- 2 avocados
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 lime juiced and zested
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Add the avocado, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and zest to a food processor.
- Purée until smooth.
- Add the heavy whipping cream to an upright mixer with a whisk attachment.
- Beat the cream on medium speed until it peaks and is light and fluffy. If you over whisk the cream, you will get butter.
- Fold in the whipped cream to the avocado batter.
- Add the batter to your ice cream machine. Churn it for 25 minutes.
- Turn off your machine. Scoop out the ice cream into a container and freeze for 4 hours before serving.
