Pollo Guisado | Recipe
I’ve been making pollo guisado for close to 30 years now. Like most people who grew up eating pollo guisado, I equate its flavor and aroma with comfort. For me, the taste of its garlicky, aromatic sauce surrounding tender chicken reminds me of trips to Brooklyn and the Bronx to visit family when the military took us too far away. Back then, and even now that I’m an adult, I prepare pollo guisado for dinner at least once a month.
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Table of Contents
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Serve
Ingredients
●4 cloves garlic, peeled
●1 tablespoon kosher salt
●2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
●2 teaspoons black peppercorns (or 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper)
●1 lime juiced (about 2 tablespoons or 30 ml)
●3 to 3 1/2-pound roasting chicken, cut into 10 pieces (breasts cut in half across the width)
●1 tablespoon vegetable oil
●1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, optional
●3 1/2 cups (875ml) chicken stock (or water)
●1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced (about 1 1/2 cups or 170g)
●2 bay leaves
●2 packets (3 teaspoons) sazón con achiote y culantro
●2 teaspoons adobo con pimienta, plus more to taste
●3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 cups or 745g)
●3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (about 3 cups or 295g)
●1/2 cup (125g) recaito (or sofrito)
●1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
●8 manzanilla olives stuffed with pimentos
●2 teaspoons capers
●2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
●Steamed white rice, for serving
Method
1.Marinate the chicken:
Begin by mashing together the garlic, salt, oregano, and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle (pilon) or blending it until smooth in a small food processor. Stir in the lime juice to create a thick paste.
Add this mixture to a large mixing bowl, followed by the pieces of chicken. Rub the marinade into the chicken, ensuring it’s covered completely. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the chicken for 1 to 12 hours. The longer the chicken marinates, the more flavorful the guisado will be.
2.Simmer the chicken:
In a 6-quart Dutch oven or caldero, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar to the oil in the pot and stir it to dissolve it. After 1 1/2 minutes, the sugar will turn a light brown and begin to bubble up. Quickly add the marinated chicken to the pot, tossing it to coat it in the sugar. Next, add the chicken stock, onions, bay leaves, sazón, and adobo. Bring the liquid in the pot up to a boil, stirring once after the liquid starts to boil.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the chicken to simmer for 20 minutes.
3.Add the potatoes, carrots, recaito, tomato sauce, olives, and capers:
Stir to incorporate these ingredients and allow the liquid in the pot to come back up to a simmer. Cover the pot and allow the guisado to simmer until the potatoes and carrots are slightly tender, about 20 minutes.
4.Reduce the sauce slightly:
Uncover the pot and stir the guisado. Increase the heat to medium-high and allow the liquid to come to a rapid boil. Boil the liquid, stirring the guisado frequently to keep the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot, to reduce the sauce slightly, about 10 minutes.
5.Serve:
Turn the stove off and remove, then discard, the bay leaves. Stir the parsley or cilantro into the pollo guisado just before serving over steamed white rice.
Allow leftover pollo guisado to cool before transferring it to a food storage container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.