Chicken Fajitas with Peppers and Onions
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Last updated
- Prep
- 20 min
- Bath
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Total
- 2 hr 15 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
Main Coursechickenfajitaspeppers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb plain boneless, skinless chicken breast, portioned within the guide’s size limits
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 8 small flour tortillas
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Method
Prepare
- Trim the breasts into natural portions that meet all three dimensions below. Do not pound, butterfly, or cut them into fajita strips.
- Verify the starting conditions. Season with salt and pepper and seal each portion separately, keeping oil, spices, lime, and vegetables outside the pouch.
Cook
- Set the water bath to 150°F.
- For the breast options, use boneless, skinless chicken breast portions that fit within 1 1/2 × 2 1/4 × 3 7/8 inches, measured from shortest to longest. All three dimensions matter. Trim into shorter natural portions if needed; do not pound, butterfly, or flatten them. Keep the portions whole until the bath method is complete. Use plain, fully thawed meat without injection, mechanical tenderizing, added solution, brining, curing, or marinade. Season with salt and pepper only. Keep oil, sauce, citrus, wine, and other finishing ingredients outside the pouch. Verify a 41°F starting temperature and the selected bath setting with a thermometer. Seal one portion per bag in its natural shape, without folding, rolling, tying, or overlap. Fully submerge each sealed pouch in a verified, preheated circulating bath, leaving water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. The listed time is the complete bath time, including heating. Do not replace it with a center-temperature reading or add another heating interval. Use clean utensils, discard all pouch liquid, and keep cooked food away from raw-food juices, used bags, and utensils that touched raw meat. Cook peppers and onions separately. Dry and brown the whole chicken pieces briefly, then slice across the grain and serve immediately with the vegetables. Do not simmer the sliced chicken or leave it on a hot serving skillet; that continues cooking the center. These methods cover immediate service only. Frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, and holding need separate methods. Colder or unknown starts, larger pieces, bone-in breast, pre-cut strips or cubes, stuffing, and stacked portions are excluded. The breast conditions do not apply to thighs.
- Cook for 1 hour 45 minutes for up to 1 1/2 inches thick; the whole piece must fit within 1 1/2 × 2 1/4 × 3 7/8 inches, measured from shortest to longest.
- Near serving time, heat half the oil in a broad skillet. Cook the peppers and onion in batches until browned at the edges, then add cumin, paprika, and salt. Transfer to serving plates.
- Warm the tortillas and prepare the cilantro and lime.
Finish
- After the complete timed cook, discard the pouch liquid and dry the whole chicken portions.
- Brown briefly in a clean hot skillet with the remaining oil. Keep the portions whole until serving.
Serve
- Slice the chicken across the grain and add it to the plates of vegetables. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately with tortillas and lime.
Want another texture or thickness?
The complete guide has all reviewed settings, safety context, and finishing options.