3. Cooking and Resting Chicken
After your chicken has time to soak up the marinade in the fridge overnight, it’s time to get started with preparing the meal. Before you think of heating a skillet, take your chicken out of the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for 15 to 20-minutes.
Placing cold chicken cutlets or breasts on the skillet causes the surface of the meat to contract, making the chicken tough and chewy. Leaving the chicken to rest for a few minutes ensures that your fajitas have soft and flavorful chicken.
When placing your chicken in the skillet, make sure you drip off all of the excess marinades before you put it over the heat. This strategy helps the chicken sear in the skillet, keeping all of the moisture in the meat. Turn the chicken every three minutes to ensure even cooking and cover the skillet to retain the moisture.
After cooking, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5-minutes before adding to the fajitas. Resting removes the fluids from the chicken, leaving it soft and tender.