Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken Taco Salad

Summer has a rhythm now. Not a schedule — Lisa has the schedule, color-coded on the kitchen calendar with a system of abbreviations that I've learned not to question — but a rhythm. Wake up, feed the troops, sunscreen the twins like I'm buttering corn, get Diego to camp, get Sofia to the library, get the little ones to their program, drive to the school, watch film, run drills with whoever shows up for voluntary workouts, reverse the whole operation by noon. It's a no-huddle offense, every day, and we're getting good at it.

Wednesday was the first day this summer that hit a hundred in Denver, which is not Las Cruces hot but is hot enough that I moved the grill session to seven in the evening and still sweated through my shirt. I made carne asada tacos — skirt steak marinated overnight in lime, garlic, cumin, and a little achiote paste that I found at the Mexican grocery on Federal Boulevard. Charred the steak hard over high heat, rested it, sliced it thin against the grain. Warmed corn tortillas on the flat-top. Topped with diced white onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. No green chile. I'm out. The freezer is empty. I am a man without his ammunition, and September is an eternity away.

Diego asked me this week why I coach football instead of playing it. He's nine. He knows I played at NMSU but not the details — not the shoulder, not the surgery, not the year after. I told him I got hurt and coaching turned out to be better anyway. He said, "Better than playing?" I said, "Different kind of better." He accepted this the way kids accept weather — it just is. Someday I'll tell him the rest. Not yet. Let him have the version where his dad chose coaching because coaching was the dream. It's not a lie. It became true.

Sofia checked out eleven books from the library on Saturday. Eleven. The librarian knows her by name and has started setting aside recommendations, which means my seven-year-old has a personal librarian, which means she is already living a better life than I ever imagined for myself. She read two of them in the car on the way home. I looked in the rearview and she was gone — not asleep, just gone into whatever world was on those pages — and I thought: that kid is going to be something I don't have a playbook for. Good. The best players always are.

Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

That Saturday—Sofia buried in her books, the house quiet in the best way—I wanted to cook something that felt like a celebration without making a big deal out of it, something bright and a little loose, the way the afternoon itself felt. Tequila lime chicken taco salad is exactly that kind of food: it’s got edge to it, a little fire, but it comes together easy and lands on the table looking like you knew what you were doing all along. Here’s how I made it.

Prep Time: 20 min (plus 1 hr marinade) | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min active | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes), plus wedges for serving
2 tablespoons tequila (blanco)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grill
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large romaine heart, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels (fresh, frozen-thawed, or charred off the cob)
1/2 cup diced white onion
1 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
Tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips, for topping

Dressing

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Whisk together lime juice, tequila, olive oil, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl or zip-top bag. Add chicken thighs, turn to coat, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
Make the dressing. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, honey, cumin, and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside—it will hold in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Heat the grill. Preheat an outdoor grill or cast iron grill pan to high heat. Lightly oil the grates. Remove chicken from the marinade and let any excess drip off.
Grill the chicken. Cook thighs 5 to 6 minutes per side over high heat until well charred on the outside and cooked through (internal temp 165°F). Rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes, then slice thin against the grain.
Build the salad. Arrange romaine on a large platter or in individual bowls. Top with tomatoes, black beans, corn, and diced white onion.
Finish and serve. Lay sliced chicken over the top. Add avocado, cotija, and cilantro. Drizzle with dressing, pile on tortilla strips, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken Taco Salad — When the Asada Night Calls an Audible