Chicken Tacos Al Carbon is a perfect recipe for a summer gathering. I admit that we are huge fans of a restaurant chain called El Pollo Loco here in California, which is pretty much some of the healthiest fast food you can find. They are famous for their fire-grilled chicken, stuffed into warm corn tortillas and topped with a delicious avocado salsa.
Although shredded chicken is one of the most popular fillings for street tacos, pork, shrimp and beef are also very popular.
To make these Tacos Al Carbon, you basically grill a whole chicken over the fire and cut it into bite-size pieces. Enjoy it on warmed corn tortillas with a bit of onion and cilantro, fresh squeeze of lime, and your favorite hot sauce, salsa, guacamole or avocado salsa.
Chicken Tacos Al Carbon
Chicken Tacos Al Carbon is a perfect recipe for a summer gathering.Here in Southern California, shredded chicken is one of the most popular fillings for street tacos, but shrimp and beef are also very popular. Enjoy these chicken tacos on warmed corn tortillas with a bit of onion and cilantro, fresh squeeze of lime, and your favorite hot sauce, salsa, guacamole or avocado salsa.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
Marinade
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 packet achiote paste optional for color
- 1 dried ancho chile stemmed
- 6 dried chiles de árbol stemmed
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Instructions
- To begin, place the chicken breast side down and use your kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone from the neck to the tail.
- Remove the backbone and open the chicken up flat. Place skin side up and press down again to flatten the bird.
- To prepare the chicken al carbon marinade, combine the marinade ingredients in a blender. Puree for about a minute.
- Place 1 cup of the marinade in a large Ziplock bag, and add your chicken. Remove excess air, swish it around to coat, and refrigerate for several hours to overnight. Reserve the remaining sauce for basting.
- Set the grill to about 400F. Place the chicken breast side up onto the grill. Grill this until it’s lightly browned – about 15 minutes or so.
- Continue flipping and basting the chicken every 10-15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160-165°F. Once you take the chicken off the grill, it will carry over cook to the recommended temperature of 165F.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
- To serve, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Prepare your tacos al carbon. Place on the warm corn tortillas and top with chopped onions, cilantro and fresh lime. Enjoy!
