by Aimee
I‘m late to the grilling party this year, mostly because our ten-year-old gas barbecue finally called it quits earlier in the summer. I flipped a few burgers over a campfire, and even grilled trout over the open flame, but it wasn’t until we were well into August before we invested in a charcoal grill.
Just in time, too, because I can’t go through this time of the year with out grilled fruit salad, cedar planked salmon, or smokey shrimp tacos. This grilled summer vegetable salad is another favourite…and the list could go on and on.
Our Weber came at the recommendation of family grilling expert, Jan, and my photographer/grill master friend, Tim. I have been wanting to make the switch to charcoal for some time, although I wasn’t quite prepared for the learning curve. It’s…challenging. And how I love a good challenge.
So, we settled on the Weber 26-1/2-Inch Kettle Grill
At Jan’s recommendation, I also bought the Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter
I adore fiddling with fire – just ask anyone who has sat around a campfire with me – and learning to cook with charcoal has been ever so interesting. I put a call out for tips to my friends on Facebook, which was every helpful. For the most part everyone said ‘use indirect heat’ and ‘get the chimney’ (I did).
Every second evening or so, I’ve been cooking dinner on the grill. I’ve had a few misses, eggplant burnt to a crisp and dried out sausages, but there was also a batch of memorable, fall-off-the-bone barbecued wings. Like anything, I’m guessing it takes time to get the hang of things.
These Grilled Chicken & Sweet Pepper Fajitas were one of the earlier success stories from my grill. It’s a dinner the whole family can help with – grating the cheese and shredding lettuce, while you multi-task on the grill with the vegetables and chicken.
The charcoal lends such a great smokiness to the chicken and caramelizes the sugars in the sweet peppers and red onion. Delicious!
These fajitas feature more vegetables and less meat, which is exactly how I want to be eating in summer. I loaded mine with the smokey grilled peppers and onions, lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and just a sprinkling of cheese.
It was the perfect dish to celebrate the return to grilling.
| Grilled Chicken & Sweet Pepper Fajitas |
Print
|
- 1 clove garlic, pulverized to a paste
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- dash of chipotle chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 sweet peppers, red, yellow or both
- 1 medium red onion, peeled
- 4 whole wheat flour tortillas
- garnishes of choice (avocado, lettuce, cheese, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, hot pickles, etc)
- Mix together garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl or plastic container.
- Add cumin, paprika, chili powder and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add in chicken pieces and turn a few times with a fork to coat them thoroughly. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 24.
- Preheat grill to 400F. Position a vegetable grill basket or pan partially over direct heat and pre-heat the pan.
- Halve the peppers and remove the core. Cut into 1/2-inch wide slices. Half and core the onion. Slice into 1/2-inch sections. Toss both onion and peppers with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
- Place chicken on the grill over direct heat. Add the onions and the peppers to the grill pan. Cook both over direct heat for 10 minutes. Toss the vegetables frequently.
- Move both chicken and vegetables to indirect heat. Cover the grill and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a serving platter. Place the chicken on a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Toss flour tortillas quickly on the grill, about 10 seconds per side, then wrap in a clean towel to keep warm.
- Slice chicken into strips and serve with the grilled vegetables, toasted tortillas, and additional toppings of choice.
Hook me up with your best tips for charcoal grilling, please!
Grilled Chicken & Sweet Pepper Fajitas is a post from Simple Bites© 2010-2014 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of SimpleBites.net subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact kyle@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.
