Chicharrones de Pollo
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These Chicharrones de Pollo are bite size chicken thigh pieces marinated in a garlic, lime and rum marinade, dredged through flour and fried to perfection. They’re perfect in tacos, served with rice or even dipped in your favorite dipping sauce.
It is, in fact, quite true that I love to add alcohol to my food. Whether it’s wine, rum, tequila or whatever alcohol I have lying around, I will use it in my food because it brings lots of great flavor to my dishes. So it may come as no surprise to you when I tell you that there is lots of rum in this recipe!
This chicken is is one of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. The chicken is marinated in a garlic, lime and rum marinade for a couple hours. The rum is a great tenderizer for the chicken and this marinade gives the chicken a lot of lime and delicious garlic flavor.
The chicharrones is then dredged through a very well seasoned flour mixture with lots herbs and spices, after which it’s fried to a crisp perfection. Squeeze a wedge of lime on your chicken piece before you pop it in your mouth, serve it along with some Mexican rice, serve it on tacos, or even dip it in your favorite dipping sauce.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – Boneless and skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts. I prefer chicken thighs because they are juicier and have more flavor.
- Oil – Vegetable oil for frying, choose something with a high smoking point like canola or peanut.
Marinade
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like, however I prefer lots of garlic in this marinade.
- Oregano – Dried oregano, use the best you have.
- Lime – Fresh juice and zest are a must.
- Rum – Some light rum for lots of flavor and to tenderize the chicken.
Flour mixture
- Spices and Herbs – Sweet paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and salt.
- Flour – All purpose flour to coat our chicken in.
How To Make Chicharrones De Pollo
- Marinate the chicken: Add all the marinade ingredients to a bowl or ziploc bag with the chicken and toss everything, making sure the chicken is all covered in the marinade. Cover the bowl with wrap or seal the plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 8 hours.
- Prep the flour mixture: In a shallow plate whisk together the ingredients for the flour mixture.
- Heat the oil: Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or a deep frying pan.
- Dredge chicken through flour mixture: While the oil is heating up, dredge the chicken pieces through the flour mixture making sure the chicken is fully covered in flour.
- Fry the chicken: Fry a few pieces of chicken at a time, make sure they don’t touch each other. They should take about 5 minutes before they’re cooked through. Continue frying in batches until done.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with lime wedges.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Chicharrones?
This savory delight is typically made by dredging and frying pork belly and allowing it to fry to crispy perfection. Chicharron can also often be made from chicken, as in this recipe, mutton or beef.
Can I make this alcohol free?
Yes, you can! You can substitute the rum for pineapple or white grape juice.
Can I use something else besides chicken thighs?
Chicken breast is also great in this recipe.
Can I bake these?
You can bake these in the oven at 375F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Tips
- Don’t skip marinating the chicken, it’s important to ensure maximum flavor.
- You can also use chicken thighs with bone and skin on, you’ll just have to be careful when cutting it into pieces. Also it will take a bit longer to cook, but the chicharrones will also be juicier and more flavorful.
- While you can bake these, to get the true experience of the delicious chicharron, they are best fried.
Storing Leftovers
You can store chicharron fully cooked in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Feel free to crisp them up by baking them in the oven for a few minutes when ready to feast.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
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Chicharrones de Pollo
Video
Ingredients
- 1½ pound chicken thighs (boneless and skinless, cut into bite size pieces)
- vegetable oil (for frying)
- 1 lime (cut into wedges, for serving)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped for garnish)
For marinade
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup lime juice (from about 4 limes)
- ¼ cup lime zest (from the 4 limes)
- ¼ cup light rum
- 1 teaspoon salt
For flour mixture
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon oregano (dried)
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Add all the marinade ingredients to a bowl or ziploc bag with the chicken and toss everything, making sure the chicken is all covered in the marinade. Cover the bowl with wrap or seal the plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 8 hours.
- Prep the flour mixture: In a shallow plate whisk together the ingredients for the flour mixture.
- Heat the oil: Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or a deep frying pan.
- Dredge chicken through flour mixture: While the oil is heating up, dredge the chicken pieces through the flour mixture making sure the chicken is fully covered in flour.
- Fry the chicken: Fry a few pieces of chicken at a time, make sure they don't touch each other. They should take about 5 minutes before they're cooked through. Continue frying in batches until done.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with lime wedges.
Notes
- You can bake these in the oven at 375F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- You can use thigh or breast meat for this recipe.
- You can substitute the rum for pineapple or white grape juice.
- You can store these fully cooked in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Feel free to crisp them up by baking them in the oven for a few minutes when ready to feast.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
