Mexican Orange Chicken Recipes

POLLO ASADO RECIPE (MEXICAN ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Marinate the Chicken. Mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, sazon, achiote, paprika, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes and a bit of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to a large platter or dish and pour in the marinade. Alternatively, you can use a large sealable bag. Refrigerate and marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour. 3 hours is best.
• Grill the Chicken. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Heat your grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grates. Sprinkle the chicken with extra sazon and achiote powder. Grill the chicken pieces 5 minutes per side.
• Roast the Chicken. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Set the grilled chicken into a baking dish or cast iron pan and roast the chicken for 20 minutes, or until the chicken cooks through, turning half way through and basting often with the reserved marinade. The chicken should measure 165 degrees F. internally when checked with a meat thermometer.
• Garnish and serve!

POLLO ASADO (OVEN ROASTED, GRILLED)

Steps:

• Mince garlic, juice lime and orange, and collect remaining ingredients to make marinade.
• Pollo Asado Marinade: In a wide bowl, combine all marinade ingredients. Taste and adjust salt and lime to sharp bold taste before adding chicken. Reserve 1/4 cup aside for basting and add remaining marinade in a large bowl.
• Add chicken. Rub marinade paste over the chicken, cover all sides. Cover and refrigerate for at-least 30 minutes to marinate. (up-to overnight).
• Heat grill to medium heat, about 375 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (Oven instructions in notes) When ready to grill, brush hot grill with oil. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.
• Grilled Pollo Asado: Place marinated chicken on the hot preheat oiled grill. Cover and grill chicken until internal temperature (in thickest part of thigh) reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit. (about 20-30 mins). After first 10 minutes, light brush chicken 2-3 times with marinade reserved in Step - 2.
• Serve with side of beans, rice, salsa. Add to tacos or burrito bowls. Extra splash of lime before serving is highly recommended.

GRILLED CITRUS-MARINATED MEXICAN CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring the orange juice, lime juice and chili pepper to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until the chili pepper is re-hydrated. Turn off the heat and let cool.
• Once cooked, pour the juice mixture into the bowl of a blender and add the salsa, olive oil, and salt. Puree until smooth. Place the chicken in a plastic zipper-close bag, then pour the marinade over the top. Let marinate at least 2 hours, or up to 10 hours.
• Preheat your grill to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit (high heat). Once hot, place the chicken breasts on the grill rack and cook 12-20 minutes (depending on thickness of breast), turning every few minutes to prevent burning.
• Once cooked through, remove the chicken from the grill and place on a platter. Garnish with the orange slices and cilantro.

MEXICAN ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x12-inch baking dish with a cover.
• Place the chicken drumsticks and thighs in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Evenly distribute the ham, pineapple chunks, bacon, and raisins over the chicken.
• Stir together the orange juice and chicken bouillon granules in a bowl, and pour the mixture over the top of the dish. Dot the top evenly with chunks of butter.
• Cover, and bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is very tender and the sauce has started to reduce, about 1 1/2 hours. Uncover, baste the chicken pieces with the juices in the bottom of the pan, and return to the oven until the chicken is golden, about 30 more minutes.

MARINATED ACHIOTE CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Add the Guajillo peppers and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it stand for 20 minutes.
• Remove the stems and seeds from the hydrated peppers. (Leave some seeds is you prefer more heat.) Add both the peppers and water they hydrated in, to a blender.
• Add the achiote paste, orange juice and garlic to the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Add the skinless, bone-in chicken pieces to a large zip-lock bag and pour in the achiote marinade, which shouldn't be hot because of the addition of the orange juice. Move the chicken pieces around to be sure they're all well coated, remove the air from the bag and seal it. Then put this in another large zip-lock bag to ensure it doesn't leak. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and ideally overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F and once the chicken is done marinating, add it, and all of the marinade to a large enough baking dish to hold the everything snugly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake in the preheated 375°F oven just until it's cooked through, about 45 minutes. Flip the pieces over about halfway through the cooking time and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once it's cooked through, flip the chicken over once more, sprinkle sightly with a bit more salt, and serve.

MEXICAN PULLED (SHREDDED) CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix the olive oil (2 tablespoons), smoked paprika (1 tablespoon), ground coriander (1 teaspoon), ground cumin (1 teaspoon), garlic powder (1 teaspoon), kosher salt (1 teaspoon), black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), and lime juice and zest (from one lime) in a small bowl or glass measuring cup.
• Place the chicken thighs in a container, bowl, or large plastic bag. Pour the marinade on top (it will be thick) and or stir to coat each piece of chicken evenly (if in a bag, just smoosh it around until everything is evenly coated). Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or as long as 24 hours.
• Heat a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat (see notes for other skillets). Add marinated chicken; sear without moving on one side for 5-7 minutes (check that it's not burning after 2-3 minutes- you may want to turn the heat down to medium if you have very hot burners or flip it earlier if it's cooking fast).
• Once the seared side is browned and looking crispy, flip to other side and sear, until chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees F or meat is no longer pink (another 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness and size of chicken. Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low if both sides are seared but inside is not yet cooked the whole way). If you have a lid to your skillet, you can cover it to speed up the cooking time a bit.
• Remove chicken from skillet to a cutting board. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then shred with two forks. Optional: for an extra punch of flavor, you can return the shredded chicken to the skillet to coat in the cooking juices.
• Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice garnished with fresh cilantro, if desired. Use in enchiladas, on tacos or burritos, in bowls, or on its own as a main course.

CROCK-POT MEXICAN ORANGE CHICKEN (POLLO CON NARANJA)

Steps:

• Set crock pot to high.
• Add orange juice, garlic, pepper, cumin, cayenne, jalapeno and salt to blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
• Place chicken pieces in crock pot and pour orange juice mixture over chicken. Top with onions and potatoes.
• Cook for 6 hours on high. Internal chicken temperature should reach 160 before serving, and the meat should fall off the bone.
• Great served over rice!

GRILLED MEXICAN CITRUS CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. Prepare marinade in a resealable plastic bag.
• 2. Tenderize chicken with kitchen mallet and place in marinade bag.
• 3. Seal bag and refrigerate, turning chicken occasionally, at least 30 minutes to 3 hrs.
• 4. Then throw them on the grill. They will only take 15 to 20 minutes to cook. Ole'!