Name: Easy Dominican Braised Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 5 h 10 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: chicken
Ingredients: 1 whole 4-5 lb chicken, cut into 12 pieces, or store bought cut up chicken; 1/4 cup sofrito; 2 tbsp ground cumin; 1 tbsp salt; 2 limes; 3 Tbsp vegetable oil; 1 Tbsp white sugar; 1 8oz can of tomato sauce; 1 Tbsp soy sauce; 8 oz can of stock or water; 1 chicken bouillon cube; 1/4 cup Spanish Olives; 1 large red or white onion, sliced

Change up your weekday meal rotation with this Flavor packed Easy Dominican Braised Chicken! Your taste buds will thank you;-)

I grew up eating this easy Dominican braised chicken, aka Pollo guisado a couple times a week. It’s a very popular dish in the Caribbean and Latin American countries. Pollo Guisado is basically a braise/stew made with bone in chicken and depending on the country, some of the ingredients vary. The gist is bone-in chicken, first browned then stewed in tomato sauce and spices. Definitely a staple in Dominican households and just like sofrito, every one has their own recipe.

close up of brown chicken in a gray pot on a gray surface

Mise En Place

First things first, let’s get what we need in place before we make this easy Dominican braised chicken.

Equipment:

Bowl with lid or ziplock bag for marinating
Cutting board and chef knife
Large pot with a lid
Stirring spoon

raw chicken in a glass bowl with green seasoning on top. resting on a brown cutting board with vegetables surrounding it.

Ingredients:

Chicken – Its more cost effective to buy a whole bird and cut it into 12 pieces yourself (cut each breast in 3). Butchering is not your thing? Cool beans, supermarkets and butcher shops sell cut up chickens.
Sofrito – a multi purpose seasoning and marinade.. the building blocks of flavor. Get the recipe here.
Limes– The limes provide flavor and help tenderize the chicken
Kosher Salt – seasons the chicken and also helps to tenderize.
Cumin – a spice made by grinding the aromatic seeds of a plant related to the parsley family. Cumin is pungent, earthy and warm with just a touch of citrus.
Veg. Oil– Helps brown the chicken
Sugar – lets you know the oil is ready for the chicken and it aids in giving the chicken a nice caramel color. The braise won’t be sweet, trust me.
Tomato Sauce – base of the stew, also adds flavor and weight.
Spanish olives – adds a different level of salinity to the dish
Chicken bouillon cube – used to amp up the chicken flavor and season the stew as well
Soy Sauce– adds another level of flavor.
Stock or water – whenever presented with an opportunity to add flavor, always go for it, So pick stock over water any day.
Onion – this is an optional but I love the crunch of slightly tender onion in my braise. It’s a texture thing fo me, plus it adds a subtle sweetness to the dish.

Let’s make Easy Dominican Braised Chicken!

The first step to all Dominican chicken dishes is “washing” the chicken in lime juice. This does two things, flavors and tenderizes the meat. I know there are a ton of websites that say do not wash your chicken. It’s certainly an optional step…we have been doing it this way since forever but Please be careful when handling poultry. Theres no need to slosh water everywhere…thoroughly clean and sanitize your area after dealing with raw poultry.

After the chicken has had its lime bath, season it with the sofrito, cumin, salt and lime. Let the chicken get happy and cozy in the marinade for at least four hours. Over night is best but no longer than 2 days. When you’re ready to cook, take the chicken out the fridge 30 minutes prior. Room temp food, cooks evenly;-)

Now you’re indeed ready… Add the oil then sugar to a pot over medium high heat. The sugar will not make the braise sweet, it lets you know when to add the chicken and helps with the browning. When the sugar is a dark brown, the oil is ready for the chicken. Watch the sugar brown, it happens quickly and it’s easy to burn. Add the chicken and do not stir it at first, wait 5 minutes. Continue to occasionally stir and brown the chicken until the liquid in the pot has evaporated. Now we add the rest of the ingredients minus the onion. The easy Dominican chicken cooks in the flavorful sauce and when its almost done add in the onion and only continue to cook till the onion is slightly tender. The onion adds crunch and much needed freshness to the braise. Serve along side white rice maybe a salad and If you happen to have leftovers, count yourself lucky.. this braise gets better the next day. Your work lunch will be anything but boring;-)

close up of brown chicken in a gray pot on a gray surface and a bowl of white rice next to ti

Not making it today, Prep it.

There are a few opportunities in this meal to prep and make our lives easier.

Sofrito– Make a batch ahead of time. It stores well in the fridge for 3-4 weeks and the freezer for 6 months.
Limes – Wash and dry as soon as you buy them. 3 parts water, 1 part distilled white vinegar
Chicken – Cut it into 12 pieces. Wash, season/marinade and transfer to a ziplock bag. Label it (name and date) and Store in the fridge for no longer than 2 days or in the freezer 3 months.
Tomato sauce – Open the can and transfer the contents to an 8 or 16 oz storage container with lid. Label it and store in the fridge for 1 week or the freezer for 2 months.