Fajitas al Guajillo Recipe (With Pics)

Below is a recipe that I've created. It's loosely based on a dish at an Austin Mexican restaurant, Polvos, which serves interior Mexican cuisine. I grabbed the marinade recipe from Pioneer Woman's green chile chicken recipe, and added a few more spices. Don't get turned off by the raisin's...trust me, they are part of the wow factor, along with the nuts. Also, I used chicken in the pictures, but beef is equally as good, if not better.

I'm posting some pictures of the process. You will notice that I left out the al guajillo peppers and red bell pepper. This was not on purpose. I just forgot to buy them at the store. You'd think I would remember the al guajillo peppers...it's in the name of the dish! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Marinade
3/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)
1.5 teaspoon ground cumin
1.5 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (4 tablespoons), or more to taste if desired.
3 cloves garlic

1 to 1.5 lb chicken breast or beef (skirt steak, sirloin, or whatever you wish)
½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup pecans
¼ cup peanuts
1 sweet onion chopped to preferable size
1 red bell pepper chopped to preferable size
5 Dried Al Guajillo peppers, sliced across the width
Mexican shredded cheese to top

Below are a couple pics of the chipotle peppers and raisins that I use:



Look for the al guajillo peppers where all the dried peppers are at the grocery store:


Put marinade ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend thoroughly.



Cut meat into fajita size slices


Put meat in a ziplock and pour ¾ cup marinade (reserve ¼ cup for later) over it. Close ziplock and make sure marinade is distributed well. Put bag in fridge.


Allow meat to marinate at least an hour, preferably overnight.

When ready to cook, start heating cast iron skillet to high heat (do not add oil since marinade has plenty).

Put raisins, pecans, peanuts, chopped onion and slide peppers into a bowl. Pour the reserved ¼ cup marinade into the bowl and mix well. Set this aside for now.


Remove meat from bag and try to drain off any excess liquid, if possible. Once skillet is very hot, add enough meat to cover the bottom of the skillet only. Do not over-crowd the skillet.


Allow meat to cook so that it’s seared, then flip it over (I use tongs) to sear the other side. If you've cooked jambalaya (using jambalaya calculator recipe), then just cook the meat the same way.


If you have more meat to cook, remove what’s in the skillet after both sides are seared and set it aside, then cook the rest of the meat.

Once all the meat is cooked and set aside, add raisins, pecans, peanuts, peppers, and chopped onion. You don't have to strain any excess marinade if you don't want to. I usually just dump it all in the skillet. Cook until onions are translucent and the raisins and nuts are slightly charred.


After all the veggies, nuts, peppers, and raisins are cooked, add meat back and cook for a couple minutes to make sure the meat is hot when serving.


Mix well and serve on tortillas with cheese, salsa, or other toppings.