Best Yucatán Chicken With Achiote Recipes

Yucatán Chicken with Achiote image

Yield makes 8 tacos

Number Of Ingredients 14

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, toasted and ground
16 cloves garlic, dry-roasted (page 158)
1 or 2 habanero chiles, dry-roasted (page 154), stemmed, and seeded (use more chiles and/or leave seeds if want more heat)
2 teaspoons achiote paste (page 149)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon lemon-infused olive oil (page 162)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Lime or orange wedges
8 (5 1/2-inch) soft white corn tortillas (page 13), for serving
Garnish: Pickled red onions or orange or pineapple segments

Steps:

Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch-wide strips. In a large bowl, mix together the orange juice, oregano, garlic, chile, achiote paste, salt, pepper, allspice, and olive oil to make the marinade. Add the chicken strips to the mixture and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
To cook the chicken, remove the strips from the marinade and drain off any excess liquid. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken strips, turning once or twice, until thoroughly cooked (cut one to test), about 9 minutes total.
Remove from the heat, squeeze fresh lime juice over the strips, and serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.
To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa and pickled onions. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with salsa and pickled onions, fold, and eat right away.

Yucatan Chicken image

Provided by Food Network

Categories main-dish

Time 13h25m

Yield 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 6

1/2 cup achiote paste
2 tablespoons chopped chipotle chile pepper
1 ripe banana
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons kosher salt
10 large boneless chicken breasts

Steps:

Blend marinade ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is thick. Pour into a sealable plastic bag, add the chicken and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Barbeque with marinade on chicken, being careful not to burn the chicken as it cooks. Watch closely. The finished chicken will have nice orange red color.

Chicken Legs with Achiote Garlic Sauce image

Yield Makes 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 tablespoon achiote (annatto) seeds*
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
4 small whole chicken legs (1 3/4 lb total), separated into thighs and drumsticks
6 to 8 large collard leaves, stems trimmed flush with leaves
Accompaniments: 2 cups cooked white rice; pickled onions
Special Equipment
a 24- by 18-inch sheet of heavy-duty foil; an electric coffee/spice grinder

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Toast seeds, spices, and oregano together in a dry heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool slightly, then finely grind mixture in grinder.
Mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt using a large heavy knife, then transfer to a large bowl and whisk in ground spices, juices, and oil.
Remove skin and all visible fat from chicken, then add chicken to juice mixture and turn to coat.
Lay foil loosely on top of a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and arrange collard leaves, overlapping, to create a 14-inch round in center of foil. Press foil and leaves loosely into dish to form a well, then mound chicken with sauce in well and fold collards over chicken to enclose. Wrap collard package snugly in foil, crimping edges to seal completely.
Transfer foil package from baking dish directly to rack in middle of oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Transfer foil package to a serving dish, then open foil. (If desired, carefully pull out foil from under collard package.) Open collards and serve chicken with rice and pickled onions.