It seems that a chicken fajitas recipe means different things to different people, particularly when it comes to chicken fajitas recipe ingredients. There have been several specific searches for “chicken fajitas ingredients”, so I think it’s about time to clear up what fajitas ingredients are normal, for want of a better word.

To begin at the beginning:

There is evidence that Mexican cowboys, the vaqueros, in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, used to eat skirt and flank steak because it was cheap. They called the dish Arracheras. But it was tough (remember we are talking beef here), so one of the ways they tenderised it was to marinade it in something acidic like lime juice. But they ate it in steaks, not any other way.

Meanwhile in the 1950s many cowboys were working on the ranches between the Texas and Mexico borders. They were fed the cheapest meat, usually ground up for Chili con Carne and Carne Quisada (Beef Stew). However beef prices shot up in the early 60s, and one enterprising Head Cowboy on the Chaparosa Ranch noticed that their butcher was throwing away meat called the strap muscle, because it was deemed too tough. He asked if in future it could be supplied to his ranch hands. The spanish for belt, or strap, is faja, so fajita means a little belt or strap, because they used to cut it into strips, again a way of making it less chewy.

You can see that the term fajita should really only apply to beef, poultry doesn’t have a specific cut of meat called strap muscle. But, hey, who cares? I love tuna steak strips as an alternative, and you’ll see prawn fajitas as well.

It looks like fajita has come to mean the style of food and the way it’s cooked, and has lost its specific reference to an obscure cut of meat.

The other must-have main ingredients are the tortilla – historically corn based – again cheap and easy to prepare; onions; and bell peppers.

For the accompaniments its Guacamole (see my other post on this) and Pico de Gallo.

Pico de Gallo – literally the “beak of the cock” (or rooster) it’s also a play on words on the spanish verb picar, one of the meanings of which relates to spicy, hot food “picante”.

This is a simple sauce or salsa of chopped tomatoes and onions, and sometimes chilis. (You can also include lime juice, cilantro (coriander), cucumber, radish, or any other fresh, firm vegetable, as well as fruit like mango – but not for the purists).

So to summarise, for your traditional, standard, chicken fajitas recipe you need:

Strips (little belts) of chicken breast marinaded in lime juice

Tortillas

Onions

Bell peppers

Guacamole

Pico de Gallo.

And that’s it for your chicken fajitas recipe ingredients.

Any thing else, like soured cream, is fine, but it’s not original.