Printable Recipe: Pollo Rojo Mexican Chicken Recipe

Pollo Rojo Mexican Chicken Recipe

This Mexican main dish recipe is often served with rice and black beans. The combination of savory flavors with cocoa powder is unique to Mexican foods. The effect is deeply flavorful, but not difficult to execute.

Eat on its own as a main dish with tortillas. Or shred up the chicken and serve this fabulously flavorful chicken on warm flour or corn tortillas with a ton of cilantro, salsa fresca, and guacamole (recipe below) for tacos. Or use it to stuff a burrito. Or make enchiladas! This filling is good in almost any Mexican food recipe.

Note: This recipe has you put the tomatoes under the broiler to remove the skins. Want to make this easy Mexican food recipe even easier? Skip that step, or use canned tomatoes. It still tastes great!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs chicken meat, white or dark
6 tomatoes, large and ripe
1 white onion
3 tbsp. oil
2 C. chicken broth mixed with 2 C. water
2 tsp. Mexican oregano, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. red chile powder or paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I like plenty)

Instructions: 1. Liberally salt and pepper the chicken. In a large pan heat 1 tbsp. vegetable oil on high. Brown the chicken pieces on each side. Slowly pour chicken broth over chicken and reduce heat to medium high. Bring to a low boil. Reduce to a very low simmer.

2. While the chicken broth comes to a boil, cut the top off of each tomato and put cut side down in a casserole dish. Peel and quarter the onion and place in the dish. Drizzle remaining oil over them. Place the dish under the broiler and remove when the tomato skins become wrinkled and shriveled. These will need to cool for 1 minute.

3. When the broth simmers stir in the red chile powder, oregano, garlic, cumin and cocoa. Turn the chicken over in the pan.

4. When you remove the tomatoes, let them cool for one minute and then peel the skin from each tomato and remove the seeds. Break apart the tomatoes and onions and add to the pan with the chicken. The sauce will reduce as the chicken finishes cooking and reaches 170 degrees. Add salt and pepper to taste.