My mom is famous for her Arroz con Pollo. Down here, everyone’s mom knows how to make Arroz con Pollo, but my mom’s is the undisputed best ever. There are millions of ways to make this dish, with each country and region laying claim to a different “authentic” variety.
Every Arroz con Pollo starts out with a basic sofrito of diced onions, garlic, bell pepper and spices sauteed in olive oil. Some people make their dish the traditional Spanish way where the rice ends up a bit dry and fluffy. I hate this version. My mom makes hers in the Puerto Rican style, which is very creamy and a bit soupy. Like a Latin risotto. Her secret ingredient? She adds a beer to the pot just before cooking the rice. It plumps the rice up and adds a nice zing to the pot. This recipe reveals her other secret tricks, such as soaking the rice in warm saffron water. I hope she won’t mind.
Arroz con Pollo is the Latin American version of meatloaf. Or pot roast. Or mac & cheese. Everyone’s got a recipe and everyone swears that theirs is the most authentic and the most delicious. Well, they’re wrong. My mom’s recipe is the most delicious. It just is. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.
Mom’s Arroz con Pollo
3 cups arborio rice
2 cups warm water
big pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp. annatto powder (If you can’t find this, just omit or substitute 1 tsp. sweet paprika)
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large red or orange bell pepper
2 slices dry rubbed, center cut bacon (I used Wellshire Farms brand Black Forest variety) (optional – you can also sub black forest ham)
2 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
pinch salt
8 oz. canned tomato sauce (not marinara)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or same amount chicken breasts)
1 pilsner-style beer, such as Corona
4 cups chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lime
salt to taste
Place the rice in a medium-sized bowl. Stir the saffron threads and annatto powder into the warm water, then add the water to the bowl and give it a quick stir. Set aside.
Make the sofrito. Set a large (7.5 qt is best), heavy pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, onions, bell pepper and bacon and cook for 5 minutes, or until the bacon fat begins to render out a bit. Stir in the cumin, sweet paprika and salt and continue to cook for another 5 – 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the pepper is soft.
Once the sofrito is done, add the tomato sauce and chicken to the pot, stirring to ensure the chicken is coated, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, turning the chicken over every few minutes.
When the chicken is mostly cooked through, add the beer and chicken stock and raise the heat to high. When the pot begins to boil, add the entire contents of the bowl with the rice. This may seem like a lot of liquid, but it’ll thicken up and the final consistency will be like a very wet risotto.
Bring the liquid back to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Continue to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in the lime juice, salt to taste and let the pot sit for 5 – 10 minutes, uncovered.
Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread or crackers. You can also garnish with jarred pimentos or pimento-stuffed olives (optional).
This looks amazing! I’m starving now!
Thanks :)
I have been wanting to make this for a long time. The only thing that scared me off was the ‘mine is the best’ or ‘mine is the most authentic’ recipes. So I wasn’t really sure where to start. I’ll start with yours because that picture is inspiring.
ECM – but mine IS the best :)
Just kidding…I’ll leave it up for you to decide.
Dang that looks good! I’m all about with chicken and rice, in its every mutation…
Also, just came across your comment on 101 Cookbooks and your moniker made me laugh. Surely you got it from that song in the ’80s…”bitchin’ Camaro! Bitchin’ Camara! Better get out of my way…”
Friends and I used to smirk at that one, because the dreadful SoCal suburb I grew up in featured a Camaro in every driveway, a symbol of coolness to everyone but us.
And yes, Camaro is a lovely last name. Hopefully I haven’t insulted you if you drive one yourself (well, they go fast…)
Hi Bad Home Cook – Yep, that’s where it’s from :)
And I don’t drive a Camaro, so you haven’t insulted me!
¡Buen Provecho!
This looks so yummy. Glad I was food gawking today… :)
What’s not to love about Arroz con Pollo Cubano. Your mom must be beaming proudly.
I love the stuff, which I learned to make from my mom. And I especially love the beer in it, although, sometimes I forget to add it. But, either way, it’s unbeatable.
Thanks everyone!
Marysol – Yep, I really can’t get enough of the stuff!
Thanks for sharing the recipe! It looks delicious!
Hi there, Your arroz con pollo looks fabulous! I have been searching around for a recipe since I saw the dish featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I don’t have any cumin or sweet paprika in the house and I’m trying to cut the grocery bill – how imperative are these ingredients in the dish? I’ll splurge for them if needed, but figured I could ask first if they could be omitted or if something else could be subbed.
Thanks for the help! :)
This looks great, but my grandma’s is the best. Dry like you don’t like, and we slowly burn the bottom on purpose, and then make balls out of the burnt rice and fight over who gets to eat them. Good, clean, fun. Puerto Rican style.
Elisha – Even though you’re right, I’m not a huge fan of the dry kind, I love love LOVE the dry rice that sticks to the bottom. Yummmmmmm :)
I just made this and it was fantastic, my family loved it! Thanks so much for posting this recipe. Can you believe there are recipes out there that don’t include cumin and annatto!?
If I were a thief, I would steal this recipe, and rename it “Slap Your Cuban Mother-in-Law Arroz Con Pollo.” But I won’t. For the record, I used a whole chicken cut into eight pieces, and browned the chicken first in the bacon drippings. Took the chicken out to think about things while I made the sofrito. At the end, I added some frozen peas, because that’s how they do at Casona de 17 in La Habana. Excellent, excellent. Thanks to you and your mom.
Just finished making this….will let you know what we think after dinner.
jetsmom – Please do! I hope you like it :)
i am going to try this at the fire house,,love your last name,,i am also camero in san antonio
so i made this last night for my boyfriends birthday…..and he is officially in love with it. I grew up with a cuban best friend so i thought that arroz con pollo was always dry and yellow (of course it still tasted amazing) but i have to say that this version very much pleased me! It reminded me of fideo, but some much better!
This dish truly satisfied my boyfriend while leaving his puerto rican momma’s (who insist that a mexican girl cant cook puerto rican food have as good as her) jaw dropped.
Well I will try your recipe but beer is not your mothers secret every cuban that has ever made this always I mean always uses beer i’m 53 and I grew up with my mom makeing it and it was a little soupy and it was made with beer. So it’s not a puerto rican style it is and always has been cuban style again puerto ricans taking credit for something a cuban did first
I made this recipe earlier this week for supper, and my husband and I both really loved it. Sooo good! And I have to say that your blog is one of my favorites! I’ve tried a few recipes now, and they’ve all been great….and so many that I haven’t tried yet look awesome, too. Thanks for sharing them all!
OH MY GOD…that was delicious. This has always been a favorite of mine, but rarely have found a restaurant that makes it the way I like it, so I rarely order it so I am not disappointed. After scouring the internet looking for a recipe that closely resembled what I was looking for….I found yours! I was almost ready to give up with all the dry looking recipes. I know it isn’t typical, but I added in sliced mushrooms and it was awesome. I added this to my recipe book and have bookmarked your blog. Thanks again and your mom rocks!