Grilled Chicken Burritos / Chimichangas

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This method is probably only useful if you have a propane grill. I wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of lighting a charcoal grill just to grill these chicken burritos for a few moments. However, it is well worth wandering outside to slap these on a gas grill or even inside on a *gasp* Foreman-style grill. During cooler weather, I make chimichangas in the oven. I do not have the patience to deep fry much other than chicken and the occasional donut.

Grilled Chicken Burrito on a plate with a green salad and sliced watermelon

 

Currently, I buy leg quarters when they are on sale, throw -or place them gently, depending on my mood— in the slow cooker, which is then set on low and placed on the deck or in the garage for 4 – 6 hours.

If can avoid the smell of cooking chicken, I do.

Placing the slow cooker in the garage has the added bonus of not heating the house. Please use a little common sense with the placement of your slow cooker. Do not balance it on the railing of a balcony in a high-rise apartment—for some reason, that image brings the farm animal over the castle wall scene from Monty Python to mind.

When the chicken is done, separate it from the bones and skin, then shred. If you know the chicken will be used for Tex Mex recipes, throw in a few cloves of garlic, some onion, or even salsa while it is cooking.

Since I hadn’t decided on this chicken’s fate when it was cooked, it was naked to prevent flavor clashes.

Stir 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken with 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa. Gee, Heather, what a complicated recipe.

Fill 6 tortillas with the chicken mixture. Fold into burritos.

Light the grill, brush with olive oil, and grill directly for a few minutes on each side. Start with seam side down, or they may flop open.

Now is where you can get creative. You can serve as is or with your favorite toppings:

It was about 8 million degrees last night, so we had the grilled chicken burritos plain with just a little sour cream. Ok, fine, you caught me, it may not have been 8 million degrees, but it was too hot for effort. A simple salad and slices of watermelon rounded out the meal perfectly.

Enjoy.

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12 thoughts on “Grilled Chicken Burritos / Chimichangas”

  1. Ah ha! So that’s how you fold burritos. I’ve never thought of grilling them…I bet they taste fantastic!!! 🙂

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  2. @caroline I thought some people might wonder. The secret is to not overfill the burrito no matter how much you want more goodness stuffed inside. I’m a big fan of the burritoes you get at places like Chipotle crammed with all kinds of crazy good things. I’ve just learned at home, to pile the stuff on the outside.

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  3. I love this idea! It is perfect for summer cooking. We love to grill quesadillas, but I never thought to grill other things that used tortillas.

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  4. @shelnew19 my kids are pestering for them again today. Well not the 3yo, she took the chicken out and just ate the tortilla, but she’s weird like that.

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  5. I love this idea for cooking the chicken. I imagine you could cook up a bunch and then freeze it when chicken quarters go on sale.

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  6. @Dr Alice Absolutely. Sometimes I do whole chickens, just be sure to remove the giblets first. While I’m not a big fan of the meat as is, it’s perfect for adding to other recipes AND you get all the pan juices with no effort.

    Reply
  7. Oh. My. Goodness.

    Being born and raised in San Antonio, this blog post nearly had me salivating. Those look AMAZINGLY delicious. The Bay Area has great Hispanic food, but it’s nothing like back home in San Antonio; I definitely miss a good chimichanga!

    SO pumped to have you on Livefyre, especially if you’re posting about great food like this 😉 Let us know if you ever need anything!

    Reply
  8. Yummm…… Looks good and like something my kinds would go for too.

    When you say “throw the chicken in the slow cooker”, I have two questions. Yes, I am a geek, not a chef! Is a slow cooker the same as a crock pot? And what do you put in there to start with the chicken? Just water? Or? I have no idea how to throw chicken in a slow cooker. 🙁

    I do know how to throw cows or Trojan-rabbits over castle walls though! So go away or I shall taunt you a second time. You silly English k-nigits!

    Reply
  9. @JMattHicks I think you may be a tad easily impressed. 😉

    So far, I’m thrilled with the comment system and your team has been very helpful with the questions I have had. Here’s hoping everyone around here adjusts to the new system (you know how we all are about change). Thank you.

    Reply
  10. @JMattHicks I think you may be a tad easily impressed. 😉

    So far, I’m thrilled with the comment system and your team has been very helpful with the questions I have had. Here’s hoping everyone around here adjusts to the new system (you know how we all are about change). Thank you.

    Reply
  11. @carnellm CrockPotTM is a registered trademark and for a while they were protecting that trademark enthusiastically. So people started using the term slow cooker even though it’s like Kleenex and now interchangeable. Appstore anyone?

    Don’t put anything in with the chicken. Cooking chicken in the skin and on the bone will keep enough moisture present. If you want to flavor the chicken you can toss in some onion, garlic, or your favorite spices. The danger with doing this is that you’ll limit what the chicken can be used for. Cooked this way the chicken is a blank slate and can be added to many different items: chicken salad, jambalaya, chimichangas, chicken pot pie, chicken soup etc. If you strongly season the chicken it’s use in other dishes will be limited, unless you enjoy bizarre flavor combinations.

    Reply

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