Arroz Con Pollo

A family favorite around here!

For the Chicken:
5 heaping tablespoons minced garlic. (I buy the jarred type)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 chicken breast halves with bone, halved crosswise
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs

For the Rice:
3 oz. Mexican chorizo
2 medium onions, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
5 tablespoons
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3 bay leaves
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and chopped , or 1 large can chopped tomatoes
12-oz. bottle beer (not dark)
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups long-grain white rice (14 oz.)
Bijol or 2-3 saffron threads

Create a paste from garlic, lime juice and oregano, this will be a marinade for your chicken pieces. Be sure to remove all the fat before tossing in marinade. Then cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Cook chorizo in olive oil in a large pot. Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, paprika, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add chicken with marinade to chorizo mixture and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add your chicken pieces and cook until browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces and deglaze your pan with your beer. Add in tomatoes, broth, Bijol or saffron strands and rice and bring to a boil, making sure rice is submerged. Put your chicken back in at this point.

Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover mixture directly with a round of parchment or wax paper and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Cook, stirring once or twice, until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. At this point you can add some frozen early peas if you like. They are wonderful in this dish!

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

This dish is super yummy with tortillas, my hubs prefers corn and I like flour myself. We also squeeze lemon wedges over our dish.

*Some variations I like to add in are 1 teaspoon in cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg or some chopped cilantro when cooking. If using the cinnamon and nutmeg I recommend not adding lemon over the top and if you like, adding raisins when you cook the rice.