This is a baked chicken with rice recipe. It has vegetables. That's it, sorry. No elaborate stories about my childhood or amusing anecdotes. If you want this to be like most online recipes, just keep reading this paragraph over and over for the next 15 minutes before getting to the recipe.
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| Chicken | 1 5-6 lb bird |
| Green Peppers | 2 large peppers |
| Yellow Onion | 1 large onion |
| Carrots | 1 lb |
| Brown Rice | 2 cups, uncooked |
| Vegetable Broth | 3 cups |
| Mojo Criollo | as needed |
| Salt | half tablespoon plus as needed |
| Black Pepper | half teaspoon plus as needed |
| Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Dutch Oven with Lid | |
Chicken Preparation
Cut up chicken into pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings—tips cut off). Cut breasts off the bone and into 2-3 parts, each. Reserve back and wing tips. Put chicken parts (except back, wing tips, and breastbone with ribs) into bowl with enough mojo to barely cover. Mix chicken parts in mojo with hands. Mix the chicken pieces every 15-20 minutes throughout the following steps until stock is finished (see "Stock Preparation"). At that point, take the chicken out of the mojo and let it sit on a rack over a cooking sheet to drip.
Stock Preparation
Put chicken back, breast/ribs, and wing tips in saucepan with enough water to cover and season with some salt and pepper. Bring to boil, skim, and turn down heat to medium. Simmer one hour, covered. After an hour, strain bones from stock and pick off meat. Set meat aside. Boil stock down to 2 cups volume. Add three cups of vegetable broth. Bring back to boil and turn down to low simmer, covered.
Vegetable Preparation
While making and reducing the stock, chop onion and carrots into roughly half-inch chunks. Roast and peel peppers and cut into short strips.
Bring it Together
Heat Dutch oven and splash in a bit of olive oil. Brown chicken pieces in oil, starting skin side down (if any skin on the piece). Do not crowd the chicken. Do it in shifts if you have to. Once chicken is browned, add a bit more olive oil to the pan and cook the onions and carrots together, with a bit of salt and pepper, until the onions are translucent. Then pour in hot stock/broth mixture, the peppers, the meat picked from the bones, and the rice. Add a bit more black pepper. Stir. Layer chicken onto mixture, putting the nicest looking pieces on top. Skinless pieces shouldn't go on top. Cover Dutch oven. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour, 15 minutes covered. Remove cover and continue to bake until liquid is absorbed into the rice. Remove from heat and cover. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
