Chicharron de Pollo – Dominican Fried Chicken

This Chicharron de Pollo Recipe is a step by step guide to making crispy delicious traditional Dominican fried chicken.

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month. We wanted to use this time to highlight different recipes from different cultures. As you start to read and prepare recipes from different cultures it starts to become more clear that while we are all independent and so different, we are also so similar. There is so much crossover between these dishes and how they are done. But each culture’s traditions and recipes lend a different perspective into how to prepare something and what ingredients are involved.

Today we are going to look at a universal favorite, fried chicken.

What is Chicharron de Pollo

Every country, every region, every family has their version of fried chicken (like our Pollo Frito). This is our recipe for Dominican fried chicken or as Dominicans call it, “Chicharron de Pollo.” The combination of flavors from the marinade to the breading make everything about this chicken crave-worthy.

Chicharrón de pollo, which are chicken bites that are coated with flour and seasonings and deep-fried. Anyone who has been blessed enough to have travelled to the Dominican Republic comes back talking about the same things, the beaches and the food. This is the exact sort of thing they are talking about.

A platter of this crispy Dominican fried chicken paired with tostones, White Rice, Pink Beans and an ice cold Presidente is a simple way to transport you right to the beaches of Casa de Campo. Where summers are spent enjoying all the adventure and beauty this Caribbean island has to offer. 

You can also try it with our Yuca Fries!

Our Tips for Making Chicharron de Pollo

• We chose to use skinless boneless chicken thighs for this recipe because it is a lot easier to cook and eat without the bones. There is an argument to be made for bone in chicken, but the truth is, when you are shallow frying chicken, it is quicker without a bone and it just easier and it’s a quick fry you don’t have to worry about drying it out.
• Try to marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes but 2 hours or more is ideal. You want the marinade to really penetrate, the more time the better.
• We strongly suggest only dipping the chicken in the flour once you are ready to start frying. You don’t want the chicken to just sit in the flour, we just find it won’t get as crispy.
• Check the oil is hot enough before you put the chicken in. You also want to watch the temperature as the chicken cooks. It should be cooking the chicken but watch that the outside is not browning too much, if so drop the temperature.
• Be careful not to splatter the oil and not to overcrowd the pan with too much chicken. The chicken will cook more evenly this way.
• If you are doing several batches, keep the oven warm on 300 degrees and place them there until all of the chicken is ready. 

Let’s Cook!

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Chicharron de Pollo – Dominican Fried Chicken

Recipe by Abuelas Cuban CounterCourse: Entree

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of skinless and boneless chicken thighs  

• Juice of 8 limes

• ¼ cup of soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

• 3 culantro leaves

• 2 cups of All purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons of paprika

• 1 teaspoon of salt 

• Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

• Slice the chicken into long even strips about ¾-inch thick.
  
• In a large bowl add the chicken, soy sauce, olive oil culantro leaves, lime juice, ½ teaspoon of salt and freshly cracked pepper. Allow that to marinate for 15 minutes or up to 3 hours if you have the time. 
• In the meantime add the flour, paprika, garlic powder, freshly cracked pepper and ½ teaspoon of salt to a large shallow dish. Whisk everything together. You will dredge the chicken pieces with this. 
  
• Once you are ready to eat, set up a frying pan with the vegetable oil. It should be 1 to 2 inches up the side of the pan. Heat the oil to medium. 
• Mix the marinaded chicken one more time to be sure all the pieces are completely seasoned. Start dredging the chicken in the flour mixture piece by piece. Discard the culantro leaves and any marinade at the bottom of the bowl.  
• Once the oil is hot you are ready to fry. The oil should be about 355 to 360 degrees if you are using a thermometer. Or you can add in a small piece of flour. If it quickly bubbles, it is ready. 
• Shake off any excess flour before placing in the hot oil. Fry the chicken in batches, be careful not to splatter the oil and not to overcrowd the pan with too much chicken. It will take about 4 to 7 minutes per side.
• As the chicken is ready drain on a wire rack or line a plate with paper towel. If you are doing several batches, keep the oven warm on 300 degrees and place them there until all of the chicken is ready. 
  
• Enjoy while it’s warm and crunchy or at room temperature with a little lime.