Chicken Fricassee or Pollo en Fricasé, a Boricua Cozy Classic

Chicken fricassee is a belly-filling Puerto Rican abrazo. This time-honored cozy meal starts (as so much Boricua cooking does) with juicy chicken thighs: skin on, bone in. (Confession: I’ve been known to break every rule in the Puerto Rican cook book and sneak in white meat to the pot, just to add a lighter alternative for non-dark meat lovers como yo). The pollo is then braised on low for a nice long time in a tomato sauce with salt pork, onion, sofrito and lovely salty things like capers and pimiento-stuffed olives. It is perfeción.

This delicioso dish is a Proustian double whammy. One, it is so flavorful, so comforting, it comes right behind Puerto Rican arroz con pollo on my list of all-time favorite chicken dinners. (No light statement: We Puerto Ricans take our pollo very seriously.) Two, it invariably sends me to 1950s San Juan, Puerto Rico. I imagine it’s one of the dishes my mom, Marisa, and her sister, my Titi Gloria, grew up eating in their Ashford Avenue red-tiled home, after church. I can see their Sunday dinner table covered with an embroidered table cloth de hilo and the good silver laid out. Chicken fricassee was surely a favorite of my very serious grandfather and my gentle, elegant grandmother Rocío, who we called Nani.

Because this is exactly the kind of criollo meal Puerto Rican families have been gathering around for generations. Braising meat in the acidity of salsa de tomate reliably breaks down even the toughest chicken cuts into rich, juicy sabroso bites that fall off the bone. Serve a big spoonful of this stew over white rice with a fresh lettuce and tomato salad. Add a slice or two of avocado, sprinkled with salt. Sigh. Hello, Sunday.

I had one big problem, though: I didn’t have a chicken fricassee family recipe. So, I asked one of Familia Kitchen’s favorite Puerto Rican food cocineras, Michelle Ezratty Murphy, a gifted homecook who is a childhood friend of mine, for a recipe recommendation. Michelle, as always, was happy to oblige and went straight into her kitchen to make us a how-to video.

It’s ”different from the French version, which has a creamy white sauce,” explains Michelle. ”Instead of butter and flour, Puerto Rico’s fricasé en pollo is simmered in a tomato sauce. The flavors come from the sazon, adobo and sofrito, giving this dish a definitively Boricua taste. My version includes potatoes, peas and carrots, making it a classic one-pan meal, a stew associated with the ultimate comfort food.”

Among this dish’s many joys is its set-it-and-forget-it quality. ”We usually eat chicken fricassee on weekends or when having company over,” says Michelle. ”Because it’s slow-cooked and can simmer on low heat until dinner is ready, the process of cooking helps to slow you down and really enjoy the meal without the weekday rush. While we pair this chicken with rice most of the time, it also tastes delicious with plantain maduros. I love the added sweetness from the fried plantains.”

If you like this classic plato Borinqueño, check out more of Michelle’s signature Puerto Rican dishes, including her Familia Kitchen Grand Prize-winning arroz con pollo, crispy tostones, lasagna-like pastelon with layers of plantains and ground beef, stuffed alcapurrias, and her can’t-stop-at-one empanadas with beef picadillo.

Thank you, Michelle, for this chicken fricassee recipe. I will make it next weekend in your honor. Your dish is a Sunday blessing. I hope my grandparents, now together in el cielo with mi Titi Gloria, get wind of it and can somehow savor your heavenly fricasé, with all of my earthly love. — Kim Caviness, Familia Kitchen co-founder

Ready to Make Puerto Rican Chicken Fricassee?

Chicken Fricassee or Pollo en Fricasé, Puerto Rican-Style

Recipe by Michelle Ezratty Murphy

5.0 from 1 vote

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• For the Chicken Marinade or Mojo

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 lime, juiced

• 3 Tbsp garlic, minced

• 1 1/2 Tbsp adobo seasoning

• For the Chicken Fricassee

• 6 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 roasted red pepper, chopped

• 2 packages sazon with achiote

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1 cup red wine

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

• 16 oz tomato sauce

• 2 Tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 2 Tbsp sofrito (see recipe)

• 1 cup peas and carrots, frozen

• 12 pimento-stuffed green olives

• 1/2 cup Yukon potatoes, small, quartered

Directions

• Marinate the Chicken
• In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lime juice, garlic and adobo.
• Place chicken thighs in a glass or ceramic dish.
• Pour the marinade or mojo over the chicken and massage into the chicken parts on both sides. Marinate chicken for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. When ready, bring to room temperature before cooking.
• Make the Fricassee
• In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium high.
• Place the marinated chicken, skin side down, into the hot oil. Cook for 3 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Turn chicken over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
• In the same skillet you sautéd the chicken, add onions and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until they become translucent.
• Add roasted red pepper. Stir well.
• Add wine to deglaze the pan, while scraping the flavor bits from the bottom.
• Add salt, pepper, cilantro, oregano, sazon, cumin, sofrito, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir well to combine.
• Add the frozen peas and carrots, olives and potatoes.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve with white rice and a green salad. Spoon a rich serving of sauce over the chicken and rice.