Easy Chicken Tacos

Name: Easy Chicken Tacos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 chicken thighs; Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning; Cornhusker Kitchen Duck Fat; 8 corn tortillas; 1 cup Chihuahua cheese, shredded; 1 cup romaine lettuce, shredded; 1/2 cup Homes Made Marty’s Green Chile Salsa; Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice, to taste

Apr 23, 2024 • Tom Jackson

This recipe yields 8 servings of mouthwatering chicken tacos infused with bold flavors. Begin by preheating your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF, ensuring the diffuser is removed and the Cast Iron Griddle is set flat side up. Season succulent chicken thighs with Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning before griddling them to perfection with a mist of Cornhusker Kitchen Duck Fat. Once cooked, let the chicken rest while you toast corn tortillas to golden perfection. Layer on Chihuahua cheese, allowing it to melt to gooey perfection, then top with sliced chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, and zesty Homes Made Marty’s Green Chile Salsa. For an added kick, don't forget to drizzle with Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño VIce. Get ready to level up your taco game with this unforgettable culinary experience.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

Chicken thighs instead of breasts is the choice that keeps these tacos juicy: Thighs have higher fat content and more forgiving internal temperature variance — they stay moist whether pulled at exactly 175°F or a few degrees over; chicken breasts dry out quickly in the same window. The Mexicano seasoning also adheres better to the texture of thigh meat than the smoother surface of a breast.
Duck fat on both sides of the tortilla is the technique that produces the right texture: Spraying the griddle before placing the tortillas and then spraying again before flipping ensures both faces are lightly coated — the first side gets a toasted, slightly crisped surface; the second side gets the fat just before the cheese goes on, helping the cheese melt more evenly and the tortilla retain enough flexibility to fold without cracking.
Steam-melting the cheese onto the tortilla rather than just topping the taco with it: Adding water to the griddle and closing the lid creates steam that melts the Chihuahua directly onto the tortilla surface — the cheese fuses to the tortilla rather than sitting as a separate layer on top, producing a cohesive base that holds the filling and is the same technique used in the Will It Taco quesadilla.
Holmes Made Marty's Green Chile Salsa does double duty as acid and freshness: The roasted green chile character of the salsa bridges the seared chicken and the Mexicano seasoning without competing with either. It also provides the acidity that brightens the taco as a whole — a function that sliced lime or raw salsa verde would serve in a more traditional build.

Easy Chicken Tacos

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.0 stars by 5 users

Cuisine

Mexican

Servings

8

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Calories

381

Get ready to savor the delicious simplicity of Easy Chicken Tacos, a crowd-pleasing dish that effortlessly combines savory flavors with a touch of heat. Begin by preheating your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to a toasty 450ºF, ensuring optimal cooking conditions with the diffuser removed and the Yoder Smokers Cast Iron Griddle installed flat side up. Season your chicken thighs generously with the aromatic Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning, infusing them with a burst of southwestern flavor.

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Ingredients

4 chicken thighs
Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning
Cornhusker Kitchen Duck Fat
8 corn tortillas
1 cup Chihuahua cheese, shredded
1 cup romaine lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup Homes Made Marty’s Green Chile Salsa
Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice, to taste

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF with the diffuser removed and the Yoder Smokers Cast Iron Griddle installed with the flat side up.
Season your chicken with Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning.
Spray the surface of the griddle with duck fat. Place the chicken thighs on the griddle. Close the lid and let cook until nicely seared. Flip, then let cook with the lid open until the internal temperature reaches 175ºF. Remove from the grill.
Let the chicken rest for a few minutes while you set up for toasting the tortillas. While the tortillas cook, slice the chicken.
Clean the grill off before toasting the tortillas.
Spray the griddle with the duck fat again. Place the corn tortillas on the griddle. Let cook briefly until slightly browned, but not crispy.
Before flipping the tortillas, spray them with duck fat. Flip, then immediate add the cheese to the tortilla. Add some water to the grill to create steam, then close the lid. Remove the tortillas when the cheese is melted, but before the tortilla gets crispy.
To make the tacos, place the sliced chicken on the cheesy tortilla. Top with sliced lettuce, salsa and hot sauce.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

Why cook chicken thighs to 175°F instead of the standard 165°F?
USDA minimum safe temperature for poultry is 165°F, but chicken thighs benefit from cooking to 175–180°F because of their higher collagen content. At 165°F, thigh meat is safe but can be slightly chewy and under-rendered in the connective tissue. At 175°F, the collagen has converted to gelatin, producing a more tender, juicy result. Unlike chicken breasts, which dry out quickly above 165°F, thighs remain moist well past this temperature due to their fat content.

Why use corn tortillas instead of flour?
Corn tortillas are the traditional choice for tacos and hold up better to the steam-melt technique used in this recipe. Their denser structure crisps on the griddle without becoming brittle, and the natural corn flavor complements the Mexicano seasoning and green chile salsa in a way flour tortillas don't. If substituting flour tortillas, use street taco-sized flour tortillas and skip the water-steam step — flour tortillas melt cheese without steam and become soggy if over-steamed.

What is Chihuahua cheese and can I substitute it?
Chihuahua cheese (queso Chihuahua) is a mild, semi-soft Mexican melting cheese with a buttery flavor and excellent melt behavior — it goes from shredded to smooth and gooey without breaking or becoming greasy. The closest substitutes are Monterey Jack or Oaxacan string cheese (pulled apart). Avoid cheddar, which can break and become oily; avoid pre-shredded cheese with anti-caking agents, which inhibit smooth melting.

Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Yes, with adjustments. Chicken breasts cook faster and dry out more quickly than thighs. Pull them at 165°F rather than 175°F and let them rest fully before slicing. The finished taco will be leaner but slightly less forgiving in texture. Butterfly or pound thick breasts to an even thickness before seasoning so they cook evenly on the griddle.

What is Holmes Made Marty's Green Chile Salsa?
Holmes Made is a Kansas City-based hot sauce and salsa brand. Marty's Green Chile Salsa is a roasted green chile-forward salsa with moderate heat — not primarily a tomato salsa, which makes it a better taco topping in this context because its bright, roasted chile character complements the Mexicano-seasoned chicken rather than adding a competing tomato-based sweetness.

Can I make this indoors?
4 out of 5 — Great in the kitchen, better on the grill. A cast iron skillet over medium-high heat handles the chicken sear and the tortilla toast equally well. Use the same duck fat spray, apply the same steam-melt technique with a lid on the skillet, and the finished tacos will be nearly identical. What you lose is the faint pellet smoke character from the direct-fire YS640s griddle setup.

Recipe Highlights

Close the lid for the first side, open it for the second: Directions Step 3 specifies closing the lid until the first side is seared, then flipping and finishing with the lid open. Closing the lid during the first side traps heat and ensures the top of the thigh begins cooking while the bottom sears — this produces a more evenly cooked interior. Finishing with the lid open allows moisture to escape and the exterior to finish browning rather than steaming.
Scrape the griddle clean between the chicken and the tortillas: Directions Step 5 specifies cleaning the griddle before the tortillas go on. Rendered chicken fat, seasoning residue, and meat juices left on the griddle will burn at 450°F and impart bitter, acrid flavors to the tortillas. A clean, re-sprayed griddle produces tortillas with a clean toasted character rather than off-flavors from the previous cook.
Slice the chicken while the tortillas toast — not before: Directions Step 4 specifies resting the chicken and slicing it during the tortilla cook. Slicing too early causes more moisture loss from the cut surfaces. Letting the thighs rest intact for a few minutes before slicing allows the juices to redistribute; by the time the tortillas are ready, the chicken has rested appropriately and can be sliced immediately before assembly.
Add the cheese immediately after flipping — not before: Directions Step 7 specifies flipping the tortilla and immediately adding the cheese, then steaming. Adding cheese before the flip would melt it onto the griddle rather than the tortilla. The sequence is: flip, cheese on immediately, water to griddle, lid closed, remove when melted. This window is short — 30–60 seconds — so have the cheese measured and ready before the flip.