Puerto Rican Chicken Wings and Rice

Charlie asked for these two items and after a little study to find out what some of the ingredients were and a trip to Bonito Michoacan grocery, I found everything I needed and they turned out well.  I used chicken wings instead of chopping up a whole chicken and did not fry the chicken at 400º but rather about 385º because the oil was starting to smoke and I thought it was hot enough. I cooked them initially for a little over 2 1/2 minutes. The second fry time was about 5 minutes. They checked out as done and still tender and juicy. I did not cook them a third time. If I had cooked them the full time according to the recipe, they'd have been crispy crunchy and probably dried out and nearly burnt.  We both thought they were very good.

Chicharones de pollo Puerto Rican Fried Chicken  

4 cl. garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. vinegar

2 tsp. orange or lime juice

1 tsp. oregano

1 3/4 tsp. salt

2 whole black peppercorns

Chicken

3 lbs. chicken, bone-in and skin on

2 C. flour

1 packet Sazon

1/4 tsp. Black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

Combine all the seasoning ingredients in a mortar and pestle and mash it all together, set aside. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle you can do this in a food processor.

Take 3 pounds of chicken and trim off any excess skin, but do not remove the skin. Next, cut the chicken into chunks leaving the bone in. Using your biggest knife cut into the flesh of the chicken until you reach the bone, lay a towel over the back of the knife and pound it until it cuts through the bone. Do not saw into the bone because it can cause it to splinter. Lay the chicken in a glass dish (do not use metal as it could react with the vinegar) and pour seasoning over the chicken. Massage the seasoning evenly into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to prepare chicken, heat enough oil to cover chicken in a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat oil to 400 degrees.

While the oil heats combine flour, Sazon and pepper in a large zip loc bag, shake to combine ingredients. In batches, place chicken in the flour bag and shake until well coated. Shake off excess flour and place on baking grid until all chicken pieces are coated.

When oil reaches 400 degrees, fry chicken pieces in batches for 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Once you’ve finished with all of the chicken, lower the heat of the oil to 300 degrees and place all of the chicken back into the pot. Cover and fry for 10 minutes. Remove chicken from oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Raise the heat again to 400 degrees. Fry the chicken in batches until dark golden brown, without burning. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towel lined plate.

The rice was done after the first  covered cooking of 20 minutes. I used medium grain white rice. That is probably why it was done sooner. The Mexican store did not have alcaparrado which is Manzanilla olives that have been pickled like capers.  I used regular Manzanilla olives. Charlie does not like capers anyway.

PUERTO RICAN RICE

yield: 9-12 SERVINGS prep time: 20 MINUTES cook time: 40 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR

Arroz con gandules - Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas. Seriously the best rice you've ever had!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups medium or long grain white rice, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 heaping tablespoons sofrito
• 4 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 ounces) gandules (pigeon peas), partially drained
• 2 heaping tablespoons alcaparrado
• 1 packet Sazón with Achiote (I use Goya brand)
• 1/2 packet ham flavoring (I use Goya brand Jamón)
• 1 teaspoon adobo
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste (start off with 2 teaspoons of salt)
• 4-6 cups hot water

• Rinse rice well in water and set aside.
• In a medium caldero or large pot (about 6 quarts or so), heat oil and sauté sofrito until softened. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Stir in gandules, alcaparrado, all of the spices and 4 cups of water. Taste and readjust seasonings, adding additional salt 1 teaspoon at a time. Broth should be heavily seasoned and on the salty side.
• Bring to a rapid boil, then add rice and stir. You may need to add more water to ensure rice is covered by 1 inch of water. Reduce heat to a soft boil and let most of the liquid absorb and evaporate, stirring occasionally, very gently, so rice does not turn gummy.
• Carefully mound rice towards center of pot, top with foil and cover with lid. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Stir by folding rice from the bottom up, but do not disturb bottom of pan. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, testing after 20 to see if rice is tender and cooked through.