This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Learn more on my Private Policy page.
A marinade can also be a sauce. Marinades can have such great ingredients and so much flavor. Reserve the marinade, cook it down and you have a very developed sauce.
To impart deep flavors in your dishes does not have to be difficult or a lot of work. It usually starts with having the right ingredients. I always have a few bags of dried chilies in my lazy Susan. How did the name LAZY SUSAN develop? Not quite sure how it got its name but the origin is that it evolved from the class of tools known as dumbwaiters. In this case, it was a tool that sat in the middle of the table that turned fully around enabling food to be passed around to everyone at the table.
As you well know, I love Mexican flavors. To make a marinade and/or a sauce is as simple as rehydrating the chilies and adding in a variation of complimentary ingredients. In this marinade, I included garlic, a roasted red pepper, vinegar, olive oil, sugar and cinnamon. The basic aim is to have a balanced set of ingredients which means to have sweet and some acidity included.
The marinade was added to the adobo seasoned chicken quarters and left in the fridge to pick-up flavor. Go for an hour, or even better, overnight. After pulling the chicken out of the marinade, just take the reserved liquid and place in a pot. Make sure it is boiled so it is safe to eat. You can add more of the ingredients you started with if you wish to enhance the sauce or add a little stock. If you want to serve it as a clear sauce, you will need to run it through a sieve.
The couple of other things I did in this recipe that I totally loved was to serve it on top of cheesy polenta – using masa, Mexican corn meal and cubes of PANELA. I was in my local Whole Foods in the cheese section. I saw this cheese labeled Polena. I had to ask what it was. The wrapper said it was the Mexican paneer (Indian cheese). I treated it just like paneer with the idea of having charred chunks of this cheese in the dish. It was so tasty. This cheese was a little more melty than paneer but pretty much held its form. Using the cheese was totally different than other Mexican chicken dishes I have made including my recent ONE POT MEXICAN CHICKEN AND RICE and MEXICAN CHICKEN BURRITO BOWL.
The cast of characters for the marinade.
The spiced and marinated chicken quarters.
The onions and Panela added to the chicken.
The New Mexico Chili Marinated Chicken plated.
New Mexico Chili Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken & Spices
- 4 Quarters Legs & Thighs
- 2 Tbsp Adobo Seasoning
New Mexico Chili Marinade
- 3 Whole Dried New Mexico Chilies
- 2 Cloves Garlic rough chopped
- 1 Whole Red Pepper
- 1 Tsp Vietnamese Cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp White Distilled Vinegar
Cheese
- 4 ounces Panela
- 1/4 Whole Red Onion
- 1 & 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Chicken & Spices
-
Spice all the chicken with the adobo seasoning. Set aside.
New Mexico Chili Marinade
-
Place a red pepper on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Place in a 350 degree oven and cook for 20 - 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a paper bag for 20 minutes. Peel the skin and place in the blender.
Begin by hydrating the chilies in boiling water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the chilies, seed and place in the blender.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until fully combined.
Add 1 tbsp of the oil to a cast iron skillet. Heat on medium high heat. Add the chicken and brown on each side. Next, pour the the marinade over the chicken and place in a 350 degree oven and cook for 20 minutes. Add in the onions and the panela and cook for another 10 minutes.
Let rest for a minute. Serve over polenta with enchilada sauce. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply