The Best Chicken Quesadilla

This Chicken Jack Quesadilla makes all the difference between what you’d get served at your favorite fast food joint or a dine in restaurant.  Whether you choose to use an extra large burrito sized flour tortilla, like I do, or a small to medium, these quesadilla’s are packed with flavor.  I use marinated grilled chicken, Monterrey and Colby Jack Cheese and, of course, my secret sauce; made from the Fire Roasted Salsa that I showed you how to make, last post.  I’m talking about a thick creamy quesadilla that any good restaurant would dream of having on the menu.

Quesadilla Grilled Chicken

It’s very important to make the chicken as tender and as flavorful as possible, when making a restaurant style quesadilla.  You can make it lean, if you want to, by using breast meat, if you prefer, but I highly recommend using chicken thighs, instead.  In my experience, it makes tastier quesadilla’s.  Just chicken thighs isn’t going to be enough, however.  Adding a spicy marinade will take it to the next level, infuse the meat with flavor and insure tenderness.  30 minutes of soaking is all it’s going to take before you take it to the grill.  Then an additional 20 minutes of cooking will add the smokey taste everyone loves from great barbecue.  Just be sure the meat is cooked all of the way through and hits a core temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Quesadilla Secret Sauce

The difference between a fast food quesadilla and a restaurant style quesadilla is huge.  Fast food quesadillas just consist of cheese, meat (if you’re lucky),possibly some onions and/or green chili’s.  There usually isn’t much bulk and generally made thin and small.  A good restaurant, however, will serve up a large to extra large sized tortilla, packed with more ingredients than it can usually hold; grilled marinated chicken, 2 cheese’s and a secret sauce that makes it extra creamy when the cheese melts into it.  My secret sauce consists of 3 ingredients: Sour Cream, Mayonnaise and my Fire Roasted Salsa.

Quesadilla Cheese

The cheese you choose will completely change the flavor of your Quesadilla and there are several winners.  Cheddar, medium or sharp, and Jack Cheese are generally among my favorites.  Queso asadero is the original cheese used to make Quesadillas but these are great alternatives.  In this recipe, I like to use Monterey and Colby Jack Cheese together because it’s very crowd pleasing and not to spicy for my kids.  If I’m making them for my wife and I, I’ll change out the Monterey and use Pepper Jack, instead, for a little kick.  Some folks even spread cream cheese inside the tortilla but you use what you like.

Chicken Jack Quesadilla Ingredients:

6 Boneless Chicken Thighs
1 pkg Extra Large Tortilla’s
1 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 lbs Colby Jack Cheese, grated
1 Cube Butter, salted

Chicken Marinade
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Mexican Oregano
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Fish Sauce
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Secret Sauce
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Fire Roasted Salsa

Follow the instructions in the video recipe to make this Chicken Jack Quesadilla.