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a plate of Puerto Rican fried chicken

Crispy Chicharrones de Pollo (Puerto Rican Fried Chicken)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Salima Benkhalti
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Entree, Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
  • Method: Fried
  • Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Latin

Description

Chicharrones de Pollo are perfectly crispy pieces of Puerto Rican fried chicken made with a simple but flavorful marinade and traditional island spices. These bite sized pieces of chicken are crisp and crunchy on the outside, and juicy and flavor-packed on the inside.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Marinade:

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 tsp sazon seasoning (see note for substitute)
  • 2 tsp adobo seasoning (see note for substitute)

For the Chicken:

  • 56 chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces (about 3 lbs)
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp sazon seasoning (see note for substitute)
  • 1 tsp adobo seasoning (see note for substitute)
  • 5 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

  1. Marinate the chicken. In a glass container combine the marinade ingredients and mix well before adding in the chicken pieces and mixing to coat. Seal and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
  2. Prepare the dry ingredients. Once the chicken has marinated for at least 2 hours, combine flour with sazon and adobo seasoning in a large bowl or ziplock bag and mix to combine.
  3. Fry the chicken. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add a few pieces of chicken to the bowl/bag and toss to coat each piece with flour. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches, for about 6 minutes or once they reach an internal temperature of 165.
  4. Serve the chicharrones de pollo. Garnish with lime juice. Buen provecho!

Notes

Seasoning Substitutes:

  • buy sazon seasoning or use ½ tsp each of ground annatto seeds, garlic, oregano, cumin, and coriander
  • buy adobo seasoning or use ½ tsp each of garlic, onion, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper