My Favorite Arroz Con Pollo Cubano Recipes

ARROZ CON POLLO (CUBANO)

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 2 wing tips, a back piece, and 4 breast pieces. Reserve the neck, back, and wing tips for stock.
• Mix all the ingredients for the adobo and rub over the remaining pieces. Refrigerate several hours or overnight, or let sit at room temperature 1 hour to absorb the flavors.
• Meanwhile, make the stock. Put the neck, back, and wing tips (and giblets if you like) in 4 cups of water with the garlic, onion, celery, and cilantro. Cook uncovered 2 to 3 hours, then strain out the solids and return the stock to the pot.
• Coarsely chop the recaito ingredients, then process them together in a food processor until finely minced but not watery.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, wide, heavy bottomed saucepan, Dutch oven, or skillet. Add salt pork and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Remove any solid fat pieces but leave the meat in the pot. Add chicken thighs and drumsticks and cook 5 minutes. Add remaining chicken pieces and sausage pieces and cook another 10 minutes to brown all pieces on both sides.
• Remove and set aside. Add the recaito and cook 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, then 3 cups hot stock (or 1 ½ cups stock and 1 ½ cups beer). Add the cumin, paprika, chili powder, turmeric and bay leaf and the rice. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to the pan. Stir in the olives and some salt, if needed. Reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until all the surface water disappears (Cuban cooks say to cook uncovered until the rice is dry). With a wooden spoon, turn up the rice from the bottom of the pot.
• Reduce heat to very low, cover the pot, and cook for 1 hour, uncovering briefly every 15 minutes to turn up the rice from the bottom of the pan.
• Turn the rice and chicken onto a serving platter and garnish with the pimiento strips and the peas. Scrape up the pegao (the bottom crust) with a spatula (it will come off in pieces) and pass in a separate serving dish or scatter the pieces around the edges of the platter. It should be crisp and colored anywhere from gold to brown, but not burned.

ARROZ CON POLLO

Steps:

• Trim any excess fat from the chicken and season with 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Add 1½ teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper to a small bowl. Stir the seasoning mix to combine.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken, skin side down. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes, then turn and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the chicken from the pot and set on a plate or pan. Loosely cover the chicken with a piece of foil, to keep it warm.
• Do not wash the pot. Set it back over medium heat and add the onions. Cook the onions for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the garlic, tomato paste and the prepared seasoning mix (1½ teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper) to the pot. Stir well until combined. and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Carefully, add the white wine to the pot and stir, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom. Cook for 1 minute, or until most of the wine cooks out.
• Add the rice, chicken broth, water, and the bay leaf to the pot. Stir well to combine.
• Add the chicken back to the pot. Arrange it so that it's not stacked.
• Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir the rice frequently while waiting for the liquid to come to a boil.
• Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The rice should now be visible on the surface and should not sink to the bottom of the pot when stirred.
• Give everything a good stir. Lower the heat to low, cover and cook the chicken and rice for 20 minutes. Stir after 10 minutes, then stir again after the 20 minutes.
• Taste a little bit of the rice. If it needs a salt, this is the time to add it. As a reference, we added ½ teaspoon of salt to ours. Stir well.
• Raise the heat to medium-low and slowly add the beer, while stirring. Cover and cook the chicken and rice for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to low and cook another 10 minutes.
• Taste the rice, if it's still not done, cover and let it steam another 15 minutes or until done.
• Garnish with the sweet peas, if desired.

CHICKEN AND RICE (ARROZ CON POLLO)

Steps:

• To make the stock: Place the chicken breast, 5 cups water and the remaining ingredients for the stock in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the chicken rest in the pot for about 15 minutes covered. Let it cool, shred and set aside. Strain stock and measure 2 ½ cups and set aside.
• In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, green peppers, garlic and red bell pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the rice, tomato paste, chicken bouillon and sazon goya. Stir until the rice is well coated about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the peas, carrots and green beans and cook for and additional 7 minutes, add the shredded chicken and cilantro, mix well with a fork, cover and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Serve this arroz con pollo with a green salad on the side and Enjoy!

MY FAVORITE ARROZ CON POLLO CUBANO

Steps:

• Chop the garlic on a cutting board.
• Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the garlic and, with a fork, mash the garlic/salt/pepper into a paste.
• Combine the garlic paste, orange juice and lemon juice.
• Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts.
• Place chicken and garlic/juice mixture in a large zip-lock bag or into a glass dish with a cover.
• Refrigerate for at least one hour, turning the chicken pieces in the marinade midway through the hour.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a paellera or wide, shallow pan.
• Remove chicken from marinade, reserving the marinade.
• Blot the chicken dry with paper towels and brown the pieces in the hot oil.
• If necessary, do this in batches--allow the individual pieces to brown on both sides.
• Remove and set browned chicken aside.
• In the same oil, saute the onion and green pepper about three minutes until onion is translucent.
• Add the broth, saffron, tomato paste, hot pepper, reserved marinade and the chicken and simmer for about three minutes.
• Add the rice and stir just enough to cover the rice with liquid.
• If the rice is not covered, add enough wine to cover.
• Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked, about thirty minutes.
• If necessary, add additional broth and/or wine.
• When the chicken is almost done, warm the peas.
• When the rice is cooked, remove from heat and garnish the dish with the peas and roasted red pepper strips.