Fidel Gastro's Carolina Fried Chicken Taco

25 mins Prep Time

1 hours 0 mins Cook Time

Written By

Robin Winship

Fidel Gastro's -- helmed by chef Matt Basile -- is one of Toronto's best catering companies and a long-time participant at TasteToronto festivals. This award-winning recipe from Taco Fest remains a crowd favourite and a sure-fire way to appease taco cravings. Below is the original recipe from chef Matt Basile for all eager cooks looking to re-create this dish at home!

If you give this recipe a shot, make sure to post up your creation on Instagram and tag @tastetoronto and @fidelgastros!

Ingredients

Carolina BBQ Sauce

1 ½ cups yellow mustard
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup pilsner beer
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot sauce
¼ cup water

Fried Chicken

4 large boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 5 oz each)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cajun spice
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp hot sauce
Canola oil for frying

Accoutrements

Corn tortilla shells
Salsa
Pickled jalapenos
Queso fresco
Slaw
Lime wedges

Directions

Carolina BBQ Sauce

1 Steps

Step 1

Heat all the ingredients in a pot, stirring occasionally. Let simmer for 45 minutes. Remove pot from heat and cool to room temperature.

Fried Chicken

2 Steps

Step 1

Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a shallow dish. Combine the flour, black pepper, salt and cajun spice in another shallow dish.
Step 2

Dip the chicken thighs in the buttermilk mixture and then in the flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken thighs in batches for 10 minutes on high (300°F-350°F) or until internal temperature reads 165°F on a probe thermometer. If you don't have a deep fryer, you can simply fry the chicken thighs in a heavy-bottomed deep pot.

Assembly

3 Steps

Step 1

Warm the corn tortillas.
Step 2

Brush the fried chicken with the cooled Carolina BBQ sauce.
Step 3

Cut the fried chicken into pieces for each taco. Layer the fried chicken, slaw, salsa, pickled jalapenos and queso fresco in a taco shell and enjoy with a squeeze of lime.