It’s virtually impossible to claim which meal is my all time favorite, but we sure eat a hell of a lot of tacos at my house! Taco night has to be up there in, at least, the top 5 can’t-live-without dinners for me. This latest batch, I decided on an easy street style roast chicken taco dinner. Plus since it’s been so cold out, turning the oven on to roast meats and veggies is a delight these days. The earthy, sultry and herbaceous aroma of chicken thighs spiked with Cumin, Mexican Oregano, TexJoy Chili and Smoked Paprika slowly roasting away in my oven transforms the entire house into a radiant TexMex haven, which is another of those simple things that brings me so much joy. So, when it’s bleakly gray and wintery out, whip this recipe up for dinner and I guarantee you, you’ll feel like it’s summertime again and might even find yourself tempted to mix up a Margarita or two to go along with. ‘Cause who says summer gets to have all the fun anyway?

Roast Chicken Tacos

Ingredients: 

4 good quality skin-on, bone-in Chicken Thighs

1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil, or oil of choice

1 tbsp TexJoy Chili Powder, or to taste

1 tbsp Cumin Powder, or to taste

1 tbsp Smoked Paprika, or to taste

1 tsp Mexican Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 – 6 Corn Tortillas, charred over a flame or warmed in a skillet

Garnish Options: Lime Wedges, Diced Red Onion, Fresh Cilantro, Shredded Lettuce, Fermented Cabbage, Salsa Fresca

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, chili powder, cumin powder, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, salt and pepper until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Place the chicken thighs in a casserole dish and thoroughly coat the chicken in the seasoned oil. Once coated, lay the chicken thighs skin side up in the dish and then roast in the oven 45 minutes, basting the chicken with the seasoned oil from the bottom of the casserole dish once or twice while roasting, if desired. To finish the thighs, turn the oven up to 350 degrees and roast the chicken about 15 – 20 minutes more, or until an instant read thermometer reads 175 degrees.

Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board to cool. Remove the skin and enjoy as a snack, save to chop up with the chicken, or discard. Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove the chicken from the bones and discard bones. Chop the chicken into bite sized chunks, or desired size. Squeeze up to half a fresh lime onto the chopped chicken and toss together. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.

Serve the chicken immediately with corn tortillas, chopped red onion, additional lime wedges, and any garnishes and/or condiments of your liking.

Alternately, toss leftover or Rotisserie chicken in a small amount of warmed oil seasoned with the same seasonings above to make this a super quick and simple weeknight dinner.