Rolled Tacos
Rolled tacos, some call them Taquitos but in San Diego, California we say, “No way, Jose!” I grew up on rolled tacos back when you could get five on a tray for two dollars! It’s some of the cheapest and best-tasting food on the planet. Which means you could feed a village. If you didn’t know, now you do! This is a San Diego staple and I’m sharing it with the world so you can start planning your next trip!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours and 30 minutes
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients
1 pound of Chicken Breasts
1 pound of Chicken Thighs
2 cups Water
8 oz. Tomato Sauce
1 Bunch of Green Onion, chopped
1 Sweet Onion, chopped
1 tablespoon. Garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of Jacobs Baja Taco Seasoning
2 teaspoons of Herb Ox Chicken Bouillon
1 package of Corn Tortillas
1 8 oz block of Colby Jack Cheese
2 cups of Canola Oil
1 Avocado halved, pitted, skin removed
4 oz Sour Cream
2 tablespoons fresh Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
*Optional Pico de Gallo
Directions
1. First begin by combining avocado, sour cream, fresh lime juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Mix well until well incorporated and smooth then cover and refrigerate saving for later use.
3. Now you can grate cheese and set it aside to use later as well.
4. Next, make sure the chicken is completely cleaned.
5. Once clean and loose fat is removed, place chicken into a large enough pot for boiling. It helps if the pot has a lid to steam and break the chicken down faster than if you don’t have a lid, but it’s perfectly fine. It will just need longer cooking time. Adjust heat temperature to medium.
6. Now add water, onion, green onion, garlic, tomato sauce, Jacobs Baja Taco Seasoning, and Herb Ox Chicken Bouillon to the pot making sure everything is mixed well together. The liquid should be just enough to cover the chicken.
7. Adjust the heating source to medium-high heat. The liquid will soon start to boil. Continue to stir and taste the liquid to see if more seasoning needs to be added. Tasting is important because this tells you exactly what your meat is going to taste like. As the cooking continues the flavors will intensify so take care when adding additional seasoning. At this point the muscles in the chicken will start to weaken as the chicken continues to boil and that is precisely what we are looking for. Once the chicken starts to break with a slight turn of a fork it’s ready to start shredding.
8. Remove the chicken and shred the meat by itself in a separate bowl.
9. Grab a skillet, cast iron is ideal for this, and pour in canola oil. Then adjust the heat to medium. Allow the oil to heat up to begin frying.
10. Now use tongs and add corn tortillas one at a time into the hot oil. You are only frying enough to soften the tortilla so that it is easy to roll. Once soft enough remove it from the oil and set it aside. Continue this step for the desired amount of rolled tacos you would like to make.
11. Now turn the heat source for the oil off or keep warm as you will be fully frying the rolled taco once it is fully assembled.
12. Now that all of the tortillas are softened, you can start to roll chicken into them. Use about two spoonful’s of chicken in each one. Continue to roll to the end.If needed, you can use toothpicks to hold them together until ready to fry. However, as you are continuing to roll all of your tacos, as they cool, the tortillas will start to adhere.
13. Once you’ve finished rolling your desired amount of tacos, it’s time to start the frying process again.
14. Heat the oil used earlier in the skillet to medium-high heat and when it comes to temperature, start adding in rolled tacos and cooking them until they start to crisp and turn golden brown.
15. This process should take 3-4 minutes per batch.
16. Once removed from the oil, set aside and allow any access oil to drip off.
17. Continue this process until done.
18. Once all rolled tacos are done, plate them, and slather sour guacamole over them and top them with cheese and Pico de Gallo and serve immediately.
19. Pro Tip: A deep fryer is ideal for frying these rolled tacos and makes life a little easier when you are frying many rolled tacos. And you use less oil in the skillet to soften each tortilla. Otherwise, putting rolled tacos back in the skillet will work just fine.
