Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo is a traditional Cuban dish made with chicken and yellow rice. Like many Cuban dishes, it’s not fancy but it is hearty, soul-satisfying comfort food.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Cuban

Keyword arroz con pollo, chicken and yellow rice, chicken recipes, cuban chicken recipes, cuban food

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 505kcal

Author Elizabeth

Ingredients

8 pieces Dark Meat Chicken bone in and skin on (about 2½-3 pounds)
3 - 3½ teaspoons Salt divided
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 room temperature
15 ounce can Sweet Peas drained, for garnish optional

Instructions

Prep Work

Trim any excess fat from the chicken and season with 1 teaspoon of salt.
Add 1½ teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper to a small bowl. Stir the seasoning mix to combine.

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. Loosely cover the chicken with a piece of foil, to keep it warm.

Make the sofrito

Do not wash the pot. Set it back over medium heat and add the onions. Cook the onions for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, tomato paste and the prepared seasoning mix (1½ teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper) to the pot. Stir well until combined. and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
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.

Make the arroz con pollo

Add the rice, chicken broth, water, and the bay leaf to the pot. Stir well to combine.
Add the chicken back to the pot. Arrange it so that it’s not stacked.
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.
Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The rice should now 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. 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, we added ½ teaspoon of salt to ours. Stir well.

Add the beer

Raise the heat to medium-low and slowly add the beer, while stirring. Cover and cook the chicken and rice for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to low and cook another 10 minutes.
Taste the rice, if it’s still not done, cover and let it steam another 15 minutes or until done.
Garnish with the sweet peas, if desired.

Nutrition