As you know, I've recently been participating in Mizkan's™ Cooking Challenges. See here and here.
To kick off Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15), we were asked to share a recipe from our country, or "Receta de Mi Pais."
For this challenge, I chose to enter one of my family's favorites, Fricasé de Pollo.
The Original Story* about the Fricasé de Pollo goes like this:
The first time my husband (then boyfriend) was to meet my big, fat, Cuban family, my mom made what we would consider a regular (albeit wonderful!) Cuban meal.
I spent days and hours preparing Eric for the meet and greet. I explained our customs, our politics, what topics were allowed and what NOT to bring up. I could have written a complete guide to meeting the Cuban girlfriend’s parents.
In fact, I still may. I think I’ll call it - “Huat to Especk if Ju Don’ Espik Espanish.”
I coached him on what to say to my dad. I told him how he was expected to treat my mom. I told him our island history and my family history. I told him the number and names of all my siblings and their offspring.
I explained that if all else failed, to just nod and smile. I thought I had told him everything he needed to know.
For the dinner, my mom made a typical Fricasé de Pollo.So it surprised me, after he passed the Cuban Family Review (with flying colors, of course), when he said:
“You didn’t tell me your mom was an amazing gourmet cook.”
“Umm… she’s not. She’s just Cuban. Like me.”
He proposed just a few days later. =D
*posted on Babalú blog on August 9, 2007
Fricasé de Pollo Recipe a lo Cubano
(This recipe works well for both slow cookers and pressure cookers)
The challenge was to use one of the Holland House brands in the recipe. I chose Holland House White Cooking Wine.
- 3-4 lbs. Chicken pieces (I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs)
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. cumin
- garlic powder
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 cups red potatoes, cut into cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 packets Goya® Sazón Completo
- 1 1/2 cup Holland House® White Cooking Wine
- 1 cup Bitter Orange Juice* (see recipe below)
- ½ cup green olives (stuffed with pimientos)
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- Make the sofrito by sautéing the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the onion is translucent.
- Season the chicken pieces with cumin and garlic powder.
- Add chicken back into the slow cooker or pressure cooker along with the rest of the ingredients.
- In the slow cooker – cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5.
- In the pressure cooker – cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
- Serve over white rice.
Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to promote Mizkan cooking wines, vinegars and marinades. I also received samples of Mizkan’s Holland House, Nakano and World Harbor brand products and promotional material from Mizkan to assist in preparing the posts. All opinions and recipes in this series are my very own.
* Bitter Orange Juice (Naranja Agria) Recipe
If you can’t get bitter orange juice in your area, it is just as easy to make your own:
- 2 parts orange juice
- 1 part lemon juice
- 1 part lime juice (I love using the little key limes for the taste.)
This is an ever-so-Cuban marinade for chicken and pork.
By the way, have I told you how much I love my digital pressure cooker? I do. I love it. 😉
http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=106201
I had it for dinner last night and lunch today. Yum!
You’re the envy of the cyber-world. =D
Marta I noticed you dont use vino seco is the one you use better?script src=”http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=106201″ type=”text/javascript” >
Vino seco is the same as white cooking wine. It’s fabulous!
It looks delish. I must confess though that I don’t have or had the need of having a pressure cooker until I saw yours in action! Me hiciste la boca agua.
Yes! Do it! It’s the hardest working thing in my kitchen….besides me, of course. 😉
I absolutely love you on videos. You come across so naturally, so at ease. I need some of that!Ah and I shall definitely try your recipe when hubby (the carnivorous one here) comes back from his business trip. How can something with raisins not be divine?
Aunt Clara,Trust me on the raisins. You will be amazed at how delicious this turns out!
Besos,
Marta
I enjoyed your website – Would you please tell me how many people does your Fricase de Pollo feed? I am going to a family reunion this coming week and need to add a little cuban spice to the “all american” cuisine going on!! I have to feed about 16 adults? And, I WILL take my pressure cooker!!!!Thank you,
Hi Carmen,My recipe feeds about 8 with leftovers. So I think youre safe if you just double it.
Buen Provecho!
Besos,
Marta
I’m sending my husband to Publix with the ingredients’ list, I’ll be cooking it tomorrow! He’s Cuban, I know he’ll appreciate this great meal. Thanks for sharing! ♥
If I did this as a smaller version in a 1.5 quart slow cooker would the time be about the same?
I just came across your website and I loved it! I’m an instant fan. I made the Fricase de Pollo last night in my pressure cooker, but when I opened it, the bottom of the pot was all burned giving the chicken and sauce a burned flavor. The potatoes and raisins had sunk to the bottom and burned. I was so sad! What did I do wrong?
Lo intente hacer y resulto…not cuban im nicaraguan…thanks for the video
Lol Your story is hilarious!I just googled “fricase de pollo” and was drawn to your site because of the name. So clever!
I’m Nathalie by the way, proud Cuban American and lifelong Miamian. However, I DO NOT cook. I’d like to, but I’m terrible at it. So far anyway. All I can make is rice. And pasta. Haha, barely even counts. One of my favorite pastas is something I call Cuban pasta. Both my grandmas make it so I would assume it’s a real thing, known to most if not all Cubans. But people tend to not know what I’m talking about. It’s just pasta that’s seasoned with the typical Cuban sofrito.
Anyway, it was nice to “meet” your blog!
xo from your fellow Cuban American,
-Nathy
P.S. You can visit my blog over at Earnestyle. 🙂
I, too, love my digital electric pressure cooker. I’m a man but have been cooking all my life. My wife hasn’t cooked in 20 years, except for her banana bread. I’m wondering if the potatoes will disintegrate in the pressure cooker. I made lentejas the other day and added potatoes half way through.
Muchas gracias por la receta maravillosa!I am married with a Cuban and we live in Quebec. This is the second time I am making your recipe and it is great. The whole kitchen smells wonderful.
Felix Pasquale!
Too funny! I didn’t get a helpful talk before visiting Miami (and his family) for the first time. It would have been helpful! It turned out well enough in the end, though.Anyway, I’m planning to make my Cuban very happy with some fricase de pollo tonight! Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve been cooking Cubano style for years now. I wing many recipes by what I could remember and being a part of my mother’s preparations of what our family considered comfort food. I have found your recipes to be the truest by the ingredients . I’ve some how become a lover of the slow cooker ,these days , and I am super excited to try this tomorrow! I have no doubts it will be delish!
Can you freeze the left overs?
Marta, I had a similar experience when I brought my husband (then boyfriend now married for 30 years) but my father did the cooking in my house. My mother could not boil an egg. I love my fricassee de pollo but I have to say I have never made it with raisins. I must try it soon. I also cheat and sometimes and do it without the bone so I don’t have to use the pressure cooker. I love to cook quickly. Thanks for letting me know some Cubans put raisins in the fricassee.
You should start a Cuban American cooking show!
Two of my parents’ best friends were Cuban exiles. They were the kindest, warmest couple! And they introduced Cuban food and music to our family. I grew to love both. (Buena Vista Social Club is still a favorite) As for Cuban food, I have a board on Pinterest called “Foodie Paradise: Cuba, Si; Castro NO.” Many of your wonderful recipes are posted there. One of my favorites is your recipe for Pulpeta. Fabulous! I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful recipes and stories. Please keep them coming!
This is delicious! I love that it used chicken breasts. I cut them in three pieces and they were so tender they fell apart to the touch. Plenty for my family of 4 with leftovers. I had this recipe in Cuba and have been looking for it ever since. Did not disappoint as usual, thanks!
Hello! How would I modify this for cooking on the stove top? I’m not a fan of the way the crockpot makes things taste.
Marta if you use an electric pressure cooker aka instant pot, do you let it vent naturally or manually after the 35 minute pressure cooking time?