Want to know what the epitome of a Sunday dinner in a Cuban household is after arroz con pollo? It’s this fricase de pollo recipe!
Fricase de pollo [pronounced free-kah-seh deh poh-yoh] is a chicken fricassee stew.
Fricassee is a French cooking method where you braise the chicken first without a sauce and then cook it as a stew with a sauce.
Unlike the French version that’s made with a thick white sauce, however, Cuban fricase de pollo is made with potatoes, capers, and olives in a tomato-based, broth-like wine sauce. It’s so full of flavor!
Let me show you how to make it.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bone-in skin-on chicken pieces. I personally like using a mix of chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs. Use what you have! Just keep in mind that if you use chicken breasts, you will have to adjust the cooking time.
- Mojo marinade. A citrus marinade made with sour oranges (or sour orange juice), lots of garlic, spices, and olive oil.
- Olive oil. To brown the chicken.
- Yellow onion, green bell pepper, garlic. Sofrito! This is the base of most Cuban dishes.
- Tomato sauce.
- Vino seco. If you don’t have dry cooking wine, you can use white wine or chicken broth.
- Water.
- Spanish Manzanilla olives.
- Capers.
- Ground cumin, dried oregano, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Spices!
- Russet potatoes. No carrots, red peppers, or other veggies.
- Finely chopped parsley for garnish.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. In a bowl, add the chicken with the mojo marinade. Place in the fridge and marinate for 1-2 hours.
- Season the chicken. Remove the chicken from the marinade, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper.
- Brown the chicken. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil at medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides, in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer to a plate. Set aside.
- Make the sofrito. Add the onions and green peppers and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Start the fricassee. Add the tomato sauce, cooking wine, water, olives, capers, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Gently stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes then reduce heat to medium-low. Add the chicken back in along with the potatoes. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, covered with a lid.
- Check the water level. At the 30 minute mark, check to see if the stew is drying out. If yes, gently stir in 1/4 cup of water or more as needed.
- Add the potatoes. Continue to cook, covered with a lid, until the chicken and potatoes are fork-tender and most of the water has reduced. Serve with white rice. Enjoy!
Storage Tips
You can store leftovers of the fricassee in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge or for up to 1 month in the freezer. I’ll be honest the leftovers taste better the next day!
Fricase de Pollo (Cuban Chicken Fricassee)
Ingredients
- 4 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken drumsticks and thighs
- 1 cup mojo marinade
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 large green bell pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup vino seco dry cooking wine
- 2 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup Spanish Manzanilla olives stuffed with pimentos
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- Salt + pepper to taste
- 2 large Russet potatoes cubed
- Finely chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the chicken with the mojo marinade. Place in the fridge and marinate for 1-2 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper.
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil at medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides, in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer to a plate. Set aside.
- Add the onions and green peppers and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the tomato sauce, cooking wine, water, bay leaf, olives, capers, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Gently stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- Cook for 5 minutes then reduce heat to medium-low. Add the chicken back in along with the potatoes. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, covered with a lid.
- At the 30 minute mark, check to see if the stew is drying out. If yes, gently stir in 1/4 cup of water or more as needed.
- Continue to simmer, covered with a lid, until the chicken and potatoes are fork-tender and most of the water has reduced. Serve with white rice. Enjoy!
Gilda says
Absolutely delicious!! As a native Cuban who came here as a small child (now a senior) this recipe brought wonderful memories from my childhood. My husband gives it 10 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Robert perez says
I made the fricase de pollo. It was the same as my mom use make it. My wife was raving on how good it was
Jamie Silva says
That makes me so happy, Robert! Happy you and your wife enjoyed it! :)
Ralph Kendall says
Great recipe!
Tere says
Thank you for the authentic and wonderful recipes🥰🥰🥰
Jamie Silva says
So happy you love them, Tere!