Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice
This chicken and rice recipe is a staple of Puerto Rican cuisine. This is very similar to Mexican and Cuban chicken and rice dishes with a few different ingredients. Preparing this in one pot makes this quite easy. And it cuts back on dishes, which is a plus for me since I cook all three meals a day. This dish can be prepared with thighs and drumsticks, or you can cut up a whole chicken to 8 pieces. The best part of this dish is all of the chicken juices dripping down into the rice while it's baking in the oven. So much flavor. DO NOT USE BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN FOR THIS RECIPE!
Servings: 3
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 3 large whole chicken legs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 packet Sazon
Chicken and Rice
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into strips
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 2 cups uncooked long grain rice
- 1 can pigeon peas
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 cup pitted green olives
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 packet Sazon
- 1 tsp paprika
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Separate the drumstick from the chicken thigh. You should be able to feel the joint that holds them together. Cut right through that.
- Pull back the skin from the chicken pieces, still leaving it attached.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and a Sazon packet.
- Pull the skin back over the chicken.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the cooking oil over medium high heat. Sear the chicken skin side down for 5-6 minutes.
- Flip over and cook for another 5-6 minutes. You will have to cook the chicken in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the dutch oven. When all of the chicken is seared, set aside.
- In the same dutch oven, sauté the onions, garlic, red pepper, cumin, cilantro, and bay leaves for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the uncooked rice and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken stock, sazon packet, pigeon peas, green olives, white pepper, and paprika. Give it a quick stir.
- Add in the chicken pieces and bring to a boil. Put the pot into the oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Cook for 35 minutes, uncovered.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Bam! Enjoy this!
