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Puerto Rican Pollo

The traditional arroz con pollo - Puerto Rican chicken and rice.
Prep Time 6 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 7 hours
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup Achiote Oil recipe follows
  • 8 - 10 chicken thighs
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups chipotle BBQ sauce.
  • Fine sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
  • 8 ounces finely chopped roasted red peppers
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons seasoned salt
  • 2 tablespoons adobo seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • Pinch ground cloves
  • 4 cups long-grain rice
  • 5 cups chicken broth
  • 1 large bottled roasted red peppers cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)

Achiote Oil

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons achiote annatto seeds

Sofrito

  • 2 medium Spanish or yellow onions cut into large chunks
  • 1 red and green bell pepper rough chop
  • 3 jalapenos diced
  • 8 cloves garlic diced
  • 1 large bunch cilantro washed
  • 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes about 1 pound, cored and cut into chunks
  • 8 ounces frozen peas

Instructions

Achiote Oil

  • Fill a pot with about 2 cups of water and add the annatto seeds.Bring to a low boil and let stand for an hour.
  • Strain and reserve in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Reserve the seeds.

Marinate chicken

  • Add the stock to a broiling pan with the spices and chipotle BBQ sauce.
  • Also add in the saved annatto seeds.
  • Marinade for 3 - 6 hours and overnight if you have time.
  • Remove the chicken and cook in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.
  • Let sit until ready to return to Dutch oven.
  • In a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, heat the Achiote Oil over medium-high heat until the oil is simmering.
  • Add the 2 tablespoons of the annatto oil and then add the Sofrito.
  • Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
  • Add the cumin and cloves.
  • Stir in the rice until coated.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the stock and mix the rice.
  • Return the chicken to the pan.
  • Cover the pan and cook until the liquid is absorbed, the chicken is cooked through, and the rice is tender but firm, about 20 minutes.

Sofrito

  • Chop the onion and Cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients 1 at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully.
  • *Cook's Note: Ajices dulces are little sweet peppers that look similar to the fiery hot Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, only smaller. They have a wonderful fresh herbal flavor, almost like cilantro, but only a tiny bit of heat. Culantro is an herb with broad, round-tipped leaves. Its flavor is similar to cilantro, but much more intense. Both ajices dulces and culantro are available in Latin markets. If you cannot find them, simply increase the amount of cilantro to 1 1/2 bunches.

Notes

Test your rice for doneness.
The chipotle BBQ sauce is made from scratch. But use any store bought sauce.