Recipes

Pollo Pibil is a traditional Mexican dish from the Yucatan in which chicken is smothered with achiote paste and orange juice and slow cooked in banana leaves. Achiote paste is a dark red paste made of ground annato seeds that can be found in the Latin or Mexican area of most grocery stores that has a soft, earthy flavor, similar to saffron. It is delicious and can be used in many dishes from arroz con pollo to this yummy Achiote roasted chicken. For this spin on a traditional Pollo Pibil, we use chicken thighs (although breasts could be substituted) and slow cooked them in a delicious Achiote spiced sauce until they fall apart. Serve them up in tacos, over rice, or own it’s own.

Crock Pot Pollo Pibil
Servings: 8 large servings
Serving Size: about 6 ounces
Nutritional Info: 139.8 calories, 4.1g of fat, 3.8g of carbohydrates, .5g of fiber, 20.8g of protein * 5 P+

Ingredients

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 habaneros, seeded and diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 onion, chopped into quarters
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 tbsp Achiote paste
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to the crock pot.
2. In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients to form the sauce. Pour over the chicken.
3. Cook for 4 hours until the chicken can be easily shredded with two forks. Shred the chicken and let everything cook for 30 more minutes with the crock pot lid off. Leaving the lid off will help some of the water evaporate so the sauce thickens up.
4. Serve on it’s own, in tacos or burritos, over rice, or on oven baked tortillas for a tostada. Garnish with pickled red onions. This time I added a chopped habanero to the red onion mixture as well. Delicious!