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Monday, April 30, 2012

Chicken Fajitas Don Pablo Style

Way back when Todd and I were newlyweds we could drive half an hour into the big city to eat mexican food quite often [some things don't change]. Our favorite was Don Pablo's [We can't find them anymore].  I loved the fajitas there and the tortillas....yum!  Several years later when we lived in said big city we still went there quite often.  A friend of mine once asked the server about their chicken fajitas and how they made them.  This is what he told her [to the best of my recollection, which might be way off].  

Either way these are great fajitas.
I promise.  
And EASY!




Start with teriyaki sauce.  I know, this is mexican not chinese.....just stick with me here.  I always intend for my food blogs to have a beautiful picture of all the ingredients beforehand all "PioneerWomaney", but I never remember.  I did, however pick this bottle out of the trash because it's the most important part.  There are different types of teriyaki sauce and this is the only one that works....it's thin like soy sauce and perfect for this recipe. Do NOT buy the thick stuff....just don't.



I pour an entire bottle of this sauce into a ziploc bag along with garlic, lime juice, and sliced onions, and of course.....the chicken all cleaned up and ready to soak up perfect deliciousness.


I occasionally turn and squish the bag.  If you plan ahead you can leave this in the fridge overnight, but I usually just let it work its magic for a few hours on the countertop.


I grill up the chicken [my rule of thumb is 6 minutes per side for a regular sized chicken breast] and cover it with foil while it rests for a few minutes and I get all the other goodies ready.




I pour the marinade through a strainer and cook the onions on the stovetop.  I sometimes use a cast iron skillet that can go on the grill....sorry this pic is so blurry, I think my hands were full or dirty while I was trying to handle my camera. If my camera survives food blogging it will be a miracle.


This is where you would add sliced green peppers if you are into those in your fajitas.




After the meat has rested for a few minutes, just slice it up and it's ready to stuff into warmed tortillas with the onions, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese.  


At least that's how we like it. 







Chicken Fajitas Marinade
1 bottle teriyaki sauce
2 pounds chicken breast, cleaned and pounded to uniform thickness
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (or 6 cloves fresh)
2 Tablespoons lime juice


Mix all marinade ingredients, add chicken and allow to marinate for a few hours on the counter or overnight in the fridge.  Grill chicken 6 minutes per side.  Cook onions in a little bit of oil until they are tender and brown. Serve with warmed tortillas and toppings of your choice.




8 comments:

  1. Yum, Jamy! I just looked at some colored peppers in the fridge and thought "I need to make fajitas!". Can't wait to try this marinade!

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  2. Yum, glad to have a good marinade recipe, can't wait to try it! I think the teriyaki might add the thing my usual marinade is missing! Thanks for sharing! (:

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  3. Can't wait to hear how it turns out for you! We sure do love it!

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  4. Really awesome fajitas! I loved Don Pablo's and they closed where I live. The only variation I made to the recipe is that I added 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and cut the chicken into strips before placing in the marinade. YUMMY!!!

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  5. looking great.can I taste it?I was just kidding.I'm definitely try it tonight.
    Chicken fajita recipe

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  6. spicy and delicious.I wanna try it.nice share.

    Chicken fajita recipe

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  7. I worked at Don Pablos for 6 years in my early 20s. I can confirm Teriaki (specifically this brand, Kikkoman) was part of the marinade. There were no sliced onions though. The onions and peppers were cut up together in big bags and just chilled in the cooler together until it was time to fire them on the griddle with a squirt of oil. The Chicken itself was in a marinade of teriaki and garlic powder but I forget the rest, there MAY have been a dash of liquid smoke or mesquite flavor. we DEFINITELY used mesquite firewood in our grill. There was also a final component which we just called "chicken grill seasoning" or 'chick dust' for short (restaurant cooks abbreviate everything, guacamole is guac, a plate of rice and beans is "hot set" and a plate of lettuce, cheese, pico, and sour cream is "cold set"... you get the picture. But I remember the chicken dust was KEY to the flavor. I dont for the life of me recall what it was, came in huge gallon jars and was a thin fine white powder. I imagine it was brown sugar, mesquite seasoning and had a savory sweet flavor. We took the chicken (at first it was tenderloin and the breasts were just for the Pollo Parilla dish, then they moved to whole breasts for both dishes (fajitas and the parilla pollo (literally means "grilled chicken" in Spanish, very creative Don Pablos)... But yeah, anyhow, we took the chicken out of the marinade and threw it on the mesquite grill to cook, then sprinkled it with chicken dust and when it was time for a fajita to be made, we took the freshly cooked chicken, whacked it with a kitchen knife a few times, and threw it on the skillet with onions and peppers and sent it to the waiters across a steel table on a wooden trivet. Pretty simple. We also put a small ladle of oil and a sprinkle of water on the skillet right before sending. They were SCREAMING hot skillets that sat on a flame all day. Thats how they make them smoke on the way to the table, just oil and water around the edge after the onions/peppers and chicken were placed on the skillet. It had to arrive at the table steaming or the guest could ask for it to be free initially. But as the company failed they stopped that whole mess. Shame, that place was AMAZING when I started, everything made from scratch. A year before my unit closed its doors forever, everything was frozen or coming from bags except the chicken, guac, and salsa... Shame... Cook fresh if you own a restaurant. People can buy frozen shit from the grocery store. Hope this helps. If someone knows what the chicken grill seasoning was, Ill PAY YOU for the recipe, that stuff was clutch to getting the flavor right and that chicken that went on the fajitas and quesadillas is still the best chicken Ive ever had in my life. I miss DPs

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