Arroz con Pollo (Cuban Chicken and Rice)

Recipe tips

It’s best to use dark meat chicken in this dish. There’s a long cooking time required to cook the rice and that can make chicken breasts dry out. Use chicken thighs, chicken drums or both. Skin on and bone in chicken will add great flavor and won’t be dry.

Things move quickly in the beginning for this recipe, have everything ready to go before starting.

Traditionally, Cuban arroz con pollo gets its yellow color from either saffron or Bijol.

Saffron is a spice that comes from a flower called crocus sativus. It infuses food with a beautiful yellow color. In Spanish it is called azafran – and some prepared Cuban seasoning mixes will contain saffron. We don't use it because it pricey. So much so, that it’s known as the world’s most expensive spice.

Bijol, also called achiote or annatto comes from the seeds of the achiote tree. Bijol is used in Mexican, Cuban and Latin American cuisine for its color and flavor. We don’t we use it in this recipe, but we can, and we have. Until recently, Bijol is what we used to color yellow rice. It works really well, and it’s very affordable.

When it comes to getting that beautiful yellow color in this recipe we use turmeric. I know it’s not a traditional Cuban spice, but it does impart that beautiful yellow color we’re looking for. Plus, it’s affordable and boasts health benefits. As for taste, it’s mild and earthy which works well in this dish.

Arroz con pollo around the world

We’re making a Cuban-style arroz con pollo here, but this dish is popular in the Caribbean and all over Latin America. Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic (just to name a few) all boast impressive arroz con pollo recipes.

Every country puts their own spin on it of course, and recipes also vary from cook to cook. I think arroz con pollo is so popular because the ingredients are basic and affordable. It’s also a big-batch kind of meal, making it perfect for family gatherings.

Ingredients

• 8 pieces of Dark Meat Chicken, bone in and skin on (about 2½-3 pounds)
• 3 - 3½ teaspoons Salt, divided (1 teaspoon for the chicken, 1½ teaspoon for the seasoning mix and ½ - 1 teaspoon to add at the end if needed)
• 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoon Paprika
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon Cumin
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
• ¼ cup White Wine
• 2 cups Long Grain White Rice
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Water
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 12 ounces Light Beer, at room temperature
• 15 ounce can Sweet Peas for garnish, drained – optional

Instructions

Brown the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken, skin side down. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes, then turn and cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the chicken from the pot and set on a plate or pan.

Tent the chicken with a piece of foil, to keep it warm. Don’t worry that the chicken is not cooked all the way through. It will finish cooking with the rice.

Also, some of the chicken skin might come off during the browning process, that’s ok. The chicken skin will flavor the sofrito beautifully. Just make sure to gently scrape it off the bottom of the pot while you cook the onions so it doesn’t burn.

After browning the chicken, do not wash the pot. Set it back over medium heat and make a sofrito. Add the onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the garlic, tomato paste, 1½ teaspoon salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper, stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Sofrito is the base of many Cuban dishes. It’s a combination of aromatics (like onions and garlic), spices and tomato sautéed in a little bit of oil. Sofrito is used in soups, stews, seafood dishes, bean dishes, certain meat dishes and rice dishes. It adds a unique and deep flavor.

Carefully, add the white wine to the pot and stir, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom. Cook for 1 minute, or until most of the wine cooks out.

Add the rice, chicken broth, water, and the bay leaf to the pot. Stir well to combine.

Add the chicken back to the pot arranging it so that it’s not stacked. The chicken pieces should be covered with the broth, it needs to finish cooking.

Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir the rice frequently while waiting for the liquid to come to a boil (it should take about 4-5 minutes). Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

At this point, the rice should be visible on the surface and should not sink to the bottom of the pot when stirred.

Give everything a good stir. Lower the heat to low, cover and cook the chicken and rice for 20 minutes. Give everything a good stir after 10 minutes. Then stir again after the 20 minutes.

Taste a little bit of the rice. If it needs a salt, this is the time to add it. As a reference, I added ½ teaspoon of salt to our arroz con pollo. Stir well.

Raise the heat to medium-low and slowly add the beer, while stirring. Cover and cook the chicken and rice for 10 minutes. Stir, lower the heat to low and cook another 10 minutes.

Taste the rice, if it’s still a little hard, cover and let it steam another 15 minutes or until done. Garnish the arroz con pollo with the sweet peas, if desired.

You may also like these Cuban recipes:

• Ropa Vieja
• Fricase de Pollo
• Sopa de Pollo
• Vaca Frita de Pollo
• Crema de Malanga
• Yuca Frita