Chicharrones de Pollo are perfectly crisp golden chunks of chicken that are a great addition to any meal - rice and beans, mofongo, tostones, you name it! The secret is starting with bone-in, skin-on chicken, that is then lightly dredged and fried until irresistibly crispy. You will not be able to resist the crunch!!
Ingredients:
4-5 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken
Marinade:
8 cloves garlic
2 tbs olive oil
1.5 tbs lime juice
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbs adobo
Dredge:
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup corn starch
1 tbs salt
1 tbs granulated garlic
2 tsp sazon (2 packets)
Now first things first, let’s talk about the chicken. Most commonly, chicharrones are made with split chicken breast if you like white meat; or whole thighs if you like dark meat. That said, you can make chicharrones with any part of the chicken you feel like, you just want to chop the chicken up into smaller pieces, in order to help it cook faster and get really crispy.
For the breasts, I like to first cut the breast lengthwise and then cut each strip into three or four pieces. Since there are bones in this meat, you’ll need to use a big sturdy knife and a firm push to cut through.
For the thighs, I like to cut them in two, across the bone. Just cut down through the meat until you feel the bone and then use the palm of your hand to tap down on the knife, until you’ve cut through the bone underneath.
As you are preparing your chicken, use some paper towel to remove any excess moisture from your meat. This is important to ensure that your batter doesn’t get too thick and heavy. Just make sure to handle the paper towel carefully as it has come in contact with raw chicken.
Once your chicken is cut, add it to a large bowl and let’s prepare the marinade.
To make your marinate, just add all of the ingredients to a food processor; your garlic, your oil, your oregano, your lime juice, and your adobo.
Then pulse your food processor to blend all of the ingredients together. You will likely need to remove the top and scrape off the sides, in order to get it all chopped up.
Once your marinade is blended, add it to your chopped chicken and mix to incorporate. Once your chicken is marinated, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in your refrigerator for three to four hours.
Towards the end of your marinating period, begin making your flour mixture that you’ll use to batter the chicken.
To do this, just add all of the ingredients to a wide casserole dish; your flour, your corn starch, your granulated garlic, your salt, and your sazon. Then mix all of the ingredients together, until they are evenly distributed.
Once the chicken is done marinating, take it out of the fridge and begin battering it. To do this, just place your piece of chicken in the casserole dish with the flour mixture and roll it around until it is covered with batter. Then shake off the excess flour and transfer it to a rack. As you transfer your chicken to the rack, take your time and try to remove as much excess flour as possible by tapping the chicken against the rack. This way, the excess flour doesn’t burn in your oil as you are frying the chicken.
Once all your chicken is battered, prepare your frying pan. I like to use a heavy, wide pan and fill it with about one inch of oil. Heat the oil to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and once hot, add your chicken. As you add your chicken, be careful not to crowd it, or else it won’t cook at a hot enough temperature to get the outside nice and crispy.
Fry your chicken for 10-12 minutes, flipping periodically, until the chicken is a deep golden brown and crispy. Once cooked, remove your chicken and place it on a rack to dry off.
Wait for a bit until your oil heats up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit again and then continue frying the rest of your chicken. Keep flipping periodically and pull it out once its a deep golden brown. Then you are ready to eat.
Check out our instructional video, showing how to make this recipe step-by-step HERE.