Grilled fajita chicken built on a pollo rojo street taco blend, cooked as butterflied cutlets on the Ninja FlexFlame and sliced after resting. Batch-cook scale for the week plus freezer.
Cuisine: Latin · Dish Type: Main Dish · Prep: 40 min · Cook: 60 min · Servings: about 18 portions at 5 oz cooked (roughly 5 lb 8 oz cooked from 7 lb 12 oz raw) · Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ingredients
Chicken and rub — scaled to 7 lb 12 oz / 3,515 g boneless skinless chicken breast:
- 7 lb 12 oz chicken breast, butterflied horizontally into 3/4-inch cutlets
- 1/2 cup pollo rojo street taco seasoning (brand confirmed as Riega)
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- No added kosher salt — confirmed on the cook at this scale: the pollo rojo blend carries all the salt this needs
- 1/4 cup neutral high-smoke-point oil, plus a little more for the grates
Finish, added after slicing:
- 4 limes, juiced
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Scaling note: the rub above is built for 7 lb 12 oz. Per pound it is 1 tbsp pollo rojo blend plus 3/8 tsp each cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and onion powder. No salt at any scale.
Instructions
- Butterfly every breast horizontally into two cutlets about 3/4 inch thick. Even thickness is the single biggest factor at this volume. Budget 30-40 minutes of knife work for a full 7 lb 12 oz batch.
- Mix the rub in a large bowl, dry spices first: pollo rojo blend, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder. No salt. Stir in the oil last to make a loose paste.
- Toss the cutlets in the rub. Spread on a sheet pan and rest uncovered in the fridge 1-4 hours, or overnight. This is a dry brine.
- No lime in the rub — acid on breast for hours turns the texture mealy and it scorches on a hot grate.
- Set the Ninja FlexFlame to 2-Zone: front and middle burners on, back burner off. Target 450°F with the lid closed and give it a full 15 minutes so the lid temp is stable, not climbing. Remove the upper rack — it blocks flipping across three loads. Scrape the grates hot, then wipe with an oiled paper towel held in the tongs.
- Load 1: cutlets on the hot side in a single layer, about an inch between pieces. Lid closed 4-5 minutes, flip once, lid closed 4 more minutes. Pull at 160°F onto a resting sheet pan. Anything under 160 moves to the back-burner indirect zone, lid closed, 3 minutes, re-check.
- Rest cooked cutlets uncovered — covering traps steam and softens the crust.
- Repeat for Loads 2 and 3. Three loads is the working estimate for this weight.
- Before slicing each load, spot-check two or three pieces at 165°F with an instant-read thermometer. Anything short goes back to the indirect zone.
- Slice across the grain into 1/2-inch strips — not thin, thin strips shred and dry out on reheat later in the week.
- Squeeze 4 limes over the full batch and toss. Fold in chopped cilantro. Pour every drop of the resting-pan juices back over the sliced chicken.
- Portion into containers for the freezer half and fridge containers for the front of the week. Get a little of the juice into each container — that protects texture on reheat.
- Burn off the FlexFlame at high for a few minutes, scrape the grates, empty and check the grease tray.
Tips
Salt is settled: no added kosher salt, confirmed on the cook at 7 lb 12 oz. The pollo rojo blend is salt-forward and carries the whole batch — adding kosher salt on top will overshoot.
Cook whole cutlets, then slice — don't slice into strips before cooking, or expect six-plus batches and dried-out edges on reheat.
Watch for flare-ups from the oiled rub; move affected pieces to the back zone and close the lid 30 seconds to starve the flame.
If a cutlet sticks, leave it — it releases once the sear sets. Forcing it tears the crust off.
At 450°F use vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil — never avocado or sesame.
Timing: about 2.5 hours door to door including prep and cleanup resets.
Unrated for kid heat tolerance as of this cook. Macros are estimated for a 5 oz cooked portion including the rub oil, not measured (per serving: ~250 cal, 44g protein, 1g carbs, 7g fat).