Fajitas help!

abfillingame
abfillingame Posts: 8 Member
in Recipes
I am a super picky, super awful home cook.

I am looking for ideas on the best way to cook fajitas. I have seen lots of one pan ideas, etc., but am still not clear on cooking times, is it okay to put raw chicken on the pan with half cooked peppers/onions, etc.

I know this seems silly, but I wanted to reach out and get a) help, and b) see if anyone is willing to help a 36 year old who should know how to cook, start cooking more!

So, if anyone is interested in adding me to share recipes (that are easy/for beginners) that would be awesome, too!

Replies

  • emmamill12
    emmamill12 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi abfillingame
    I usually fry the chicken for a couple of minutes first, then add peppers and onions. You don't have to do this though. I usually add in seasoning once cooked through. Timings will vary I usually cut through a piece of chicken to check it's cooked through and when the peppers are softened to my liking. I'm sure it will be great!
  • TaurOxen
    TaurOxen Posts: 4 Member
    Hello. I usually start with the chicken to get some browning going. If you start with the onions and peppers cooked halfway, you will probably steam the chicken, as there will be liquid coming out of the onions and peppers. It will still taste ok, but the browning is where you get some flavour!

    You can cook the chicken separately from the veggies or cook chicken first, brown it, remove to a plate and then cook the veggies in the chicken browning left on the pan (the veggies will scrape up the chicken brown bits - flavour!).


  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    It is fine to put raw meat in the pan with half-cooked vegetables. You're going to keep cooking them, after all - anything you're worried about on the chicken isn't going to survive on the veggies, either. Also, waiting until the end to season means all of that flavor is just on the outside of the food. Season before and during, adjust at the end if needed.

    If you're worried about meat doneness, invest in an instant-read meat thermometer. Thermapen is the gold standard but there are many of them on the market today. Cutting into the meat lets all the juice run out, and if you're a nervous cook checking doneness every 30 seconds, you'll end up with dry, mangled meat. The thermometer just leaves a tiny hole.

    I prefer to use chicken thighs if I'm cooking chicken, as the thigh meat is more flavorful and doesn't dry out as quickly as breast meat, but the reason for that is because it's higher in fat. If that's something that matters to you, by all means, use breasts. But unless a doctor has advised you to avoid fat, you don't have to. Marinate your chicken cuts whole in a little bit of oil, salt and pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, lime juice, and cayenne/chipotle/chili powder to taste if you want it spicy. I'd use about half a teaspoon of seasoning per chicken cut, maybe a half a tablespoon of oil. I like to use big ziploc bags for marinating, makes it really easy to smoosh it all around and make sure all the meat cuts are evenly coated with the mixture.

    If you don't have a grill, a sheet pan in the oven is a fine way to prepare fajitas. Spread your peppers and onions in a single layer on a sheet pan, put your marinated whole chicken thighs/breasts on top of them, bake at 375-400F for, oh, 15-20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165F. At about the 10-to-12-minute mark, take it out of the oven. Move the chicken to a plate, stir the veggies around a little bit, then put the chicken back but flipped upside down from how it was. When the chicken reads 165F, take the pan out of the oven and set the chicken on a (clean) cutting board to rest for like two minutes before cutting it. Test the veg, see if they need another couple of minutes in the oven. Squeeze a little more lime juice over the veg and chicken to brighten it up. Then, prep your cold toppings (shredded cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream), warm up your tortillas (30 seconds in the microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel will do), and then slice your chicken thinly and against the grain. Plate up and bang, you just did a fajitas!
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    You can always get pre-cooked fajita meat from Wal*Mart if you have one if you're nervous on your first go. That way you can focus on the cooking the veggies first, then next time add in the element of the meat.

    Cooking tip: usually in "one pan" recipes the veggies are put in after the meat. This is because 1) meat generally cooks slower than vegetables and 2) Vegetables cooked with meat take on the additional flavor of the meat, enhancing flavor.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    edited March 2021
    I'm a really big fan of these oven fajitas (it is a one-pan, you slice the chicken up so it will be done at the same time as the veggies), but I'm going to have to try them the @goal06082021 way because that sounds amazing!

    I really dislike handling raw chicken, so my preferred way to trim and cut it up is to use kitchen scissors instead of a knife - it makes the work go a little bit faster in my experience.
  • queanmum
    queanmum Posts: 28 Member
    edited March 2021
    I make Shrimp Fajitas on the stove. First cut off both ends of the onions. Then cut 2 sweet onions in half around the middle, peel, and slice each in half. Peel and slice into half rounds, then separate the half rings. Melt 1/2 to 2 TBSP unsalted butter in a nonstick skillet. I set the electric stove on 4 out of 10. Put the onions in and turn to coat with the butter. Cover and set timer for 15 min. Cut 1 tall green pepper into strips and set aside. Stir the onions when the timer rings, cover and cook another 15 min. We buy 12 oz packages of frozen extra large raw shrimp. Run 12 of them under cold water in a collander until you're able to peel them. When the timer rings again, stir the onions, add shrimp and bell pepper, cover and turn the heat down to "3" for 10 min. Done. We like the flavor that the carmelized onions gives the shrimp and don't use any salt/seasoning/or marinade. We serve with flour tortillas with a little sour cream inside. Makes 4 fajitas. We found that store bought tortillas weren't very tender. Now we buy Tortilla Land uncooked flour tortillas. I cook them in a dry cast iron skillet heated to "7" while the onons are cooking. I watched youtube videos to see how to cook/turn them. 1 fajita is 338 cal if you only use 1/2 TBSP butter in the onions. (I can only have one) Fat 8gm, Sodium 698 (with no added salt!), Carbs 46gm This is a "treat" I have to save up carbs for. Count toppings like sour cream separately.
  • literatilana
    literatilana Posts: 1 Member
    This is a great recipe, with seasoning.
    https://therighteouskitchen.blogspot.com/2019/03/michelles-chicken-fajitas.html
  • HarleyBeau09
    HarleyBeau09 Posts: 4 Member
    Here is one where you just throw it all in a pan and bake it! I like this idea if I don't have time to watch the pans.
    https://www.budgetbytes.com/oven-fajitas/ you can also get a fajitas spice mix packet at the store in the Mexican aisle :) Hope that helps! Instead of flour tortillas, I recommend Tumaros wraps they are 80 calories a wrap and you can get about two fajitas out of one :)
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    I’m not a very good cook either. I cook the vegetables in one pan and the meat in another, just because I’m not a good enough cook to get everything all done at once in one pan. In 2 pans, you can take the meat off when it’s done, Take the veggies off when they’re done.
    I’m glad for all these tips, and definitely gonna try a sheet pan style. Thanks, everyone, for the hints.
  • Tuesdaicooper
    Tuesdaicooper Posts: 1 Member
    Not the best to ask for this but I'm hoping that someone answers and I can see it lol
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    For a change of pace, I really enjoyed this easy sheet pan fajita recipe:

    https://karalydon.com/recipes/sheet-pan-salmon-fajitas/
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Living in New Mexico, fajitas are pretty much a part of life. I'm not personally a fan of doing everything all at once in the same pan. I use a large fry pan with oil and set to medium high heat and do the veggies first...the pan should be hot enough for everything to sizzle the entire time and you pretty much stir constantly like you would a stir fry in a hot Wok. Veggies should be cooked, but not soft and limp. I remove to a holding plate and then add the meat...same thing, it should sizzle the whole time. If you cook it at a temperature that is too low, everything will start giving off a lot of water and you start braising rather than pan frying...in general, it should be hot enough that neither the veg or the meat are giving off much liquid, and what they do give off evaporates out immediately. It all cooks very fast. Once the meat is pretty much done, I crank up the heat a bit more and toss back in the veg for a quick sizzle and to mix everything up.

    Marinade/seasoning is important...as is the cut of chicken or beef you're using. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are most commonly used for chicken fajitas as it will hold up to the high heat better than breasts and remain juicy and tender. For beef, a skirt steak is most traditional here and is cut thinly across the grain...again, it needs to be cooked quickly and shouldn't be over done...skirt steak that is thinly sliced against the grain and cooked to just medium remains nice and tender...it gets very tough when it's over done. Flatiron steaks are also a common cut for fajitas...same thing, thin cut against the grain.

    I'm a pretty good home chef, but I made some absolutely nasty fajitas this week by being lazy and throwing it all in a pan at once. Good description of how I should have done it!

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