Once I had my Corn Esquites Salad ready I decided to try it out in tacos. I settled on using a whole oven roasted chicken because the meat is tender and shreds easily so its perfect for tacos. I was thinking about which spices I wanted to use to season the chicken and I thought chipotle and lime would work well with the corn salad. I settled on a simple dry rub of chipotle pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, allspice and oregano. While the chicken was roasting the kitchen started to smell heavenly and I couldn’t wait to try them out! The tacos were really tasty and easy to put together. The smoky flavor of the chipotle and the tangy lime juice were a great combination. The recipe makes 12 tacos, or enough for two people for two dinners (3 tacos each).
Chipotle-Lime Roasted Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 lb whole chicken
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 2 tbsp oregano leaf
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 lime juice and zest
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 batch corn esquites salad (recipe link above)
- 12 corn taco shells warmed
- lime juice for garnish
- handful cilantro chopped
- cotija cheese crumbled for garnish
Instructions
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In a shallow glass pan, rub the chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make 2 one inch incisions along the middle of the skin on the breast.
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In a bowl, mix the dry spices together.
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Coat the chicken in the spice mixture and rub the spices underneath the skin on the breast meat.
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Add the honey, garlic, lime juice, and lime zest evenly onto the chicken.
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Pour the water onto the bottom of the pan and cover with foil.
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Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 90 minutes, or until an internal thermometer reads 165F.
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After cooking, let the meat rest for 5 minutes before shredding.
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In a bowl, shred the meat and pour a little of the juice from the pan into the bowl.
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Add a handful of the meat to the taco shells along with a spoon of the corn salad. Top with cilantro, lime juice and cotija cheese.
Yum! These look so awesome!
Thanks Sarah! 😀