Pollo Ajillo Recipe Spanish Garlic Chicken

POLLO AL AJILLO - SPANISH GARLIC CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the chicken pieces into a plastic bag together with flour, salt and pepper. Shake to coat.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan that has a lid and add the chicken and garlic. The frying pan should be big enough to fit the chicken in one layer. Fry, turning it over from time to time until the skin begins to brown.
• Add the wine and bay leaves and boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and cook over low heat for 25-30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Pour a little bit of the garlic sauce over the chicken and serve. You can also squeeze out the cooked garlic from its skin. It's really good. Enjoy!

POLLO AL AJILLO (CLASSIC SPANISH GARLIC CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Cut chicken into 10 to 12 pieces. Rinse and pat dry. Place the chicken in a large glass dish and squeeze lemon juice over it.
• Peel 2 garlic cloves and chop finely. Rub the garlic, salt, and pepper into the chicken. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, pour 3/4 cup of the olive oil and heat over medium heat.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and drain well. Place the chicken in the hot oil and brown on both sides.
• Remove the chicken from the frying pan and place in a Dutch oven or a covered, deep frying pan. Add the white wine and bay leaf. Cover and simmer on low until the wine is reduced.
• While the chicken simmers, peel and cut the potatoes into thin round slices or small cubes.
• In a small frying pan, heat the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil on medium high and fry the potatoes. Remove potatoes and add them to the chicken. If more sauce is desired, add the cup of broth now. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer, covered.
• Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle over chicken.
• Peel the remaining 4 cloves of garlic and cut into thin slices. In the same pan used to brown the chicken, lightly sauté the garlic, and add the hot pepper, if using. Add Spanish paprika, vinegar, and sugar.
• Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan. Pour over the chicken. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.
• Enjoy.

CHICKEN IN GARLIC SAUCE - POLLO AL AJILLO

Steps:

• Wash the chicken thighs and pat them dry with paper towels. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add as many of the chicken thighs, skin side down, as will fit without touching.
• Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Remove the pan from the heat and spoon off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat, leaving all the lovely brown bits behind. Return the pan to low heat, stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until the garlic starts to turn golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the sherry, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Let it boil a minute or 2, then return the chicken to the pan skin side up. Reduce the heat to low, pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan tightly and cook 20 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces (or rotate them top to bottom if using a smaller pan) and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.
• Note: If you like a mix of white and dark meat, substitute a 4-pound chicken cut into 10 pieces. Let the thighs, drumsticks, and wings cook in the sauce for 15 minutes before adding the browned breast pieces. If you'd like to use all white meat, cut the breasts in half crosswise, brown them as described above, but let the sauce cook down 10 to 15 minutes before adding the chicken breasts.