Taco Tuesday 4: Taco Thursday

There is something to be said for a quest. I enjoy adventures almost as much, but a solid quest is where it is at. Where an adventure is an exciting or unusual undertaking, a quest is the search to obtain something and that something is typically of value to the quester. What started for me as an adventure in baiting the family into some togetherness wrapped in a tortilla shell evolved into a personal quest for a series of tasty taco recipes that I am able to execute to my own satisfaction. 

This most recent attempt, Taco Thursday, was done with chicken breast. I love the traditional ground beef taco. I just have tons of experience with cooking and seasoning ground beef. My last go round with chicken was disappointing to me as I mentioned in my previous post on the subject. 

I decided that I wanted to figure out a way to make shredded chicken work in a taco. Allow me to amend that thought. I like the texture of shredded chicken, and after my previous attempt I was disappointed with the flavor that came out of the experiment. I stuck to the method of slow cooking the chicken because I wanted to see if I could work out a technique of infusing the chicken with a spicy taco flavor. 

I accomplished it, but I believe in that success I discovered a flawed methodology. Either I am really tired of flour tortillas or shredded chicken is not a satisfying texture for tacos. I think pan frying diced chicken would make a better feeling taco. The bite SHOULD be better. 

Here I am already thinking about how to improve on the recipe and I have not even shared the experience with this go round!

I picked up two pounds of chicken breast. I dropped them in the slow cooker and drowned them deep in chicken broth. I sat them up on low at about nine this morning and left them there. Normally I would have hit the chicken breast with a bit of salt and pepper. I am trying to reduce my sodium intake a bit just because it feels good to do so. I skipped any seasoning at all having formulated a secret evil plan. 

I worked through an insanely busy day. The house smelled like boiling chicken all day. It was not as pleasant as the last two slow cooks I have attempted with cooks in seasoned marinades. 

I was shocked to find I was not really hungry after work. I did not run in and start prepping food for about an hour and a half. Unusual for me, but I had a big lunch. I have been avoiding eating big at lunch or supper. Today it was just easier to snag leftover spaghetti from Spaghetti Tuesday. 

I was so dedicated to the idea of the slow cooked chicken tacos that I moved Taco Tuesday to Taco Thursday this week. I did not get a chance to grab groceries until Tuesday evening, and the method matter to me this time. I flipped my meal plans and made the end of the week Spaghetti to Tuesday night. I have a bad habit of cooking too much of everything so there are still leftovers. 

When I finally got around to pulling the chicken out of the slow cooker I was thrilled that it was just falling apart on the fork. I did a quick but thorough shred into a bowl. I tossed in my seasoning blend, tossed on the lid, and I did my best impression of shaking it like a salt shaker. I don't know why I get my whole body into the mixing complete with a little two step but I do. I mixed up my spice blend and the seasoned chicken and was thrilled with the result. 

I had my preheated cast iron skillet on the eye with a nice coat of olive oil. I dropped the newly spiced chicken in along with about a cup of my chicken broth and a dash of lime juice. I let a little bit of the juice cook off on medium hit before letting the whole mess simmer down for about twenty minutes. I kept a pretty sharp eye as I was stirring because the goal was keeping the chicken moist and tender. People may hate the M word back there, but it is really important in cooking. 

The result was tasty. There is something about the seasoning mix I need to tweak, but I haven't laid my finger on it. I plan on trying leftovers at either lunch or dinner tomorrow and then I hope to know. The good news is for the first time in many weeks I am not unhappy with my result. 

I actually sat here for a few minutes listening to a song and staring out the window and I realized why the slow cooked tacos don't have the savory flavor I am expecting. The act of frying the raw meat with the seasoning renders a tanginess that isn't present with the boil of the slow cooker. Simmering the already cooked chicken in the pan improved it, but it wasn't the same. Interesting. 

Yeah ignore me. Half this post is me talking to myself. 

The tacos turned out well this Thursday. I am getting burned out of the flour tortillas, rice, and beans. I am probably going to take a step away from tacos now that I feel like I accomplished chicken tacos at an acceptable enough level using my own weird and unnecessarily complicated steps. Then again if that isn't a good definition of the things I do then what is? 

I still have ideas for my proteins. I want to make up some New York Strip or Ribeye Steak Tacos. I want to make my own enchiladas in beef and chicken varieties. It may just be time to take a break from the current run of Taco days that start in T. 

Almost nothing tastes good if you aren't in the mood for it.