FRIED CHICKEN & WATERMELON TACOS
Tacos are really good. Like really really good. But it was to my surprise that some people in the Twitterverse didn’t think that fried chicken tacos were good. Weird flex, but I can not relate.
With Cinco de Mayo here and the start of the warm weather season, I decided to prove Twitter and any body else wrong with this great & fabulous recipe. I made fried chicken tacos with black plum salsa a few years back and I’m putting a new spin on another fried chicken taco here. I played on the “fried chicken & watermelon” myth (hey, btw that’s a centuries old racist stereotype ) and deconstructed the watermelon part and turned it into a flavorful watermelon pico de gallo, pickling and using both the watermelon and the rind.
Did You Know, freed slaves sold watermelon as a way to entrepreneurship & economic freedom. Read more here
I used fried dark meat chicken thighs because I wanted the juiciness and texture of what you feel when you bite into a piece of fried chicken and everything else thats fabulous here because, why not. Show of your Chef skills for the next taco Tuesday with a platter of these bad boys. Take that Twitter !
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Fried Chicken & Watermelon Tacos
Your favorite tortillas
4 chicken thighs, deboned with the skin on
2-3 Tablespoons of cornstarch, optional
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded & minced
1/4 white onion, minced
parsley or cilantro, rinsed, dried and chopped
1/2 small watermelon, green skin removed
1 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
6 Tbsp white sugar
3/4c. water
2 avocados
Ground cumin
The juice of 1/2 a lemon
Olive oil
Ground Cotija cheese
Salt
Pickled Watermelon:
*** please feel free to use pre-cut watermelon for this as well. Just make sure it has the rind on it. I used a small watermelon I purchased at Target
On a flat surface, cut the top and bottom of your watermelon off and remove the outer green layer. Cut watermelon in 1/2 and then into 1/4 for easy handling. Reserve 1/4 of watermelon, cut up for later use. Cut the watermelon away from the rind and place both watermelon and rind into a large bowl.
Add apple cider vinegar, sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer and when the liquid comes to a simmer, pour over the watermelon, making sure all of the fruit and rinds are submerged in the pickling liquid and allow to pickle for 2hrs or longer. You can pickle the watermelon 1 day prior to serving, just place in the fridge in an air tight container.
Pickled Watermelon Pico de Gallo:
Remove pickled watermelon and pickled watermelon rind from pickling liquid and place on a cutting board and chop in small pieces. Place chopped pickled watermelon in a large bowl along with chopped fresh watermelon, 1 Tablespoon of pickling liquid, minced white onion, minced serrano pepper, 1/2 of your chopped parsley or cilantro if using and a few spoonfuls of olive oil. Toss and season with your desired amount of salt and set aside.
Fried Chicken Thighs:
Add cornstarch to your flour mixture and season and fry your chicken as you normally would. Once chicken is done frying and cooled, gently remove fried chicken skin and crumble in your hands into a small bowl. If the skin isn't crunchy place it back in the hot grease and fry till crispy. Slice the fried chicken thighs and set aside.
Avocado:
Scoop avocado out of shell in a bowl and season with your desired amounts of ground cumin, salt and lemon juice. Mix until smooth and set aside.
Tacos:
Toast your desired tortillas to your liking then spread a layer of avocado on the tortilla followed by sliced fried chicken, then top with pickled watermelon pico de gallo. Next sprinkle cotija cheese on top, then chopped parsley or cilantro if using and finally crumbled chicken skin. Serve immediately and eat fabulously.