This particular oven roasted chicken (pollo horneado) recipe is very simple to make and very flavorful! The chicken always comes out tender, juicy and it makes a great meat dish to compliment a good plate of
rice and
beans.
To make this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
2 lbs Chicken drum sticks and thighs (with skin, 2 lbs is about 8 pieces, less if using chicken breasts)
1/2 cup Vinegar
1 tsp Oregano
4 cloves of Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 limes
1 small red bell pepper
1 small green bell pepper
1 small onion
3 tbsp of Olive Oil (may use vegetable oil)
Take the chicken pieces and cut a couple of slices through them. Doing this, will ensure that they can absorb the seasoning better.
Once all of the chicken has been sliced, add the chicken to a container and add some water and the vinegar.
Let the chicken soak in the water and vinegar for a few minutes.
Then drain and rinse with fresh water a few times. I like to wash my chicken with vinegar instead of limes because it’s more affordable (a gallon of distilled white vinegar costs about $2).
Once the meat is rinsed and clean, drain all of the excess water. Sprinkle the salt over it.
Then add the oregano.
Chop the garlic and add it to the chicken.
Squeeze the juice of the limes.
Stir the chicken with the seasonings and make sure it’s nicely coated.
Once the chicken is nice and marinated, let it rest for atleast an hour. I usually marinate mine the night before to get more flavor into the meat.
To cook the chicken, take a large skillet and put it on high heat, then add the oil (about 3 tbsp) and turn the pan to lightly coat it.
Prepare a large baking dish, large enough to hold the chicken by covering it with aluminum foil, this will make clean up much easier later.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Once the oil in the skillet is very hot, add the chicken the sliced skin side down to sear it.
Spread the chicken so it sears nicely, if you crowd the pieces the chicken will start to “sweat” its juices and that will slow down the searing process.
Do not discard the marinade, we will use this later on.
Sear it for about 8 minutes, until it starts to turn into a golden color then start flipping (this is only precooking, you don’t want it to get too golden).
The second side will brown faster, about 5 – 7 minutes.
Once the chicken is brown (it’s still raw inside), transfer the pieces onto the baking dish.
Save the pan drippings!
Transfer the chicken into the hot oven and bake for approximately 40 – 45 minute.
While the chicken is baking, thinly slice the peppers and the onions.
Add the sliced vegetables to the marinade.
Take the skillet and remove the excess oil (not all, you want some of that delicious flavor). You can skip this step if you prefer, but I try to keep my dishes light in oil, therefore, I prefer to remove the excess fat.
Put the skillet back on the stove and place the heat on medium high. Then add the marinated vegetables.
Saute for about 6 – 8 minutes until the vegetables are soft, but firm. If the vegetables are getting dry, add a splash of water to make sure they have a little bit of sauce. Usually the vegetables sweat enough moisture and I don’t add water, but if you cook them at a very high temperature, they can dry out. Turn off heat and set aside.
Once chicken is nice and golden brown (after baking for about 45 minutes), remove from the oven.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter.
Once all of the chicken has been transferred, pour the vegetables over the chicken evenly.
Now the chicken is ready to serve!
This “pollo horneado” is an excellent substitute to pollo guisado for “
La Bandera.”
Buen Provecho!