Menu › Tailgate Favorite · Updated October 2026

Lot Fajitas

Lot fajitas are night-before work and a hot pan on game day. Season chicken and beef in separate bags at home, pack the peppers, then cook low-mess on cast iron or foil. Cook the meat whole, rest it, then slice into strips — that’s how it stays juicy. Build your own at the table.

Yield: about 8–10 fajitas (roughly 2 lb meat total) — feeds 4–6 with sides.

Ingredients

Night before (bags)

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs (leave pieces whole)
• 1 lb skirt, flank, or sirloin steak (leave the steak whole)
• 1 packet fajita or taco seasoning for the chicken
• 1 packet fajita or taco seasoning for the beef
• Splash of oil or lime juice per bag (optional, helps the rub stick)

Veg (home or lot)

• 2–3 bell peppers, sliced
• 1–2 onions, sliced
• 2–4 jalapeños (some for the pan, some to grill whole for the condiment tray)
• Oil, salt, black pepper

Serve

• Flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Grated cheese
• Grilled jalapeños
• Lime wedges (optional)
• Hot sauce (optional)

Method

1. Night before. Put chicken and beef in separate ziplock bags — pieces stay whole, not pre-sliced. Add one seasoning packet to each (oil or lime if you want). Seal, massage, chill. Slice peppers and onions; bag them cold too, or wait and slice at the lot.
2. Pack tortillas and condiments in a ready-to-eat cooler lane. Nest meat bags on ice in the food cooler.
3. At the lot: heat a cast-iron skillet on the grill (or build a foil pack for the veg). Oil the pan. Cook onions, peppers, and sliced jalapeños until soft and blistered — about 8–12 minutes. Pull to a clean tray.
4. Same hot pan (or a second zone): cook the whole chicken pieces until they hit 165°F in the thickest spot. Cook the whole steak to your preferred finish. Rest a few minutes on a clean board.
5. Then slice both into strips — chicken across the grain, beef thin against the grain. Cutting after the cook keeps the juices in the meat instead of on the pan. Don’t mix raw trays with cooked.
6. Warm tortillas on the grate or in foil. Set out salsa, sour cream, grated cheese, grilled whole jalapeños, and lime. Build and eat.

Foil lane: Toss peppers, onions, jalapeño slices, oil, and salt in heavy foil. Seal and grill until soft. Meat still wants a skillet or hot grate for a real sear — whole pieces first, then slice.

Lot notes

• Cook whole, slice after. Pre-cut strips dry out fast on a hot pan; whole chicken and steak stay juicier, then you strip them for the tortillas.
• Two bags, always. Chicken and beef stay separate from fridge to fire. See Food Safety on the Lot.
• Packet seasoning is the point — low mess, no spice drawer on the asphalt.
• Cast iron browns better; foil keeps the veg lane nearly dish-free. Use both if you have the grate space.
• Condiment tray is make-your-own — label dairy if guests need a clear lane.
• Weather acting up? Lot Grill Weather Play.
• Homegate: same bags overnight; skillet on the stove, tortillas in a warm oven.

Bag, sear, slice, build, done.

I Love To Tailgate — feed the crew like you mean it.

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