Chicarrones de Pollo (Puerto Rican Fried Chicken)

Combine all the seasoning ingredients in a mortar and pestle and mash it all together, set aside. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle you can do this in a food processor.

Take 3 pounds of chicken and trim off any excess skin, but do not remove the skin. Next, cut the chicken into chunks leaving the bone in. Using your biggest knife cut into the flesh of the chicken until you reach the bone, lay a towel over the back of the knife and pound it until it cuts through the bone. Do not saw into the bone because it can cause it to splinter. Lay the chicken in a glass dish (do not use metal as it could react with the vinegar) and pour seasoning over the chicken. Massage the seasoning evenly into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to prepare chicken, heat enough oil to cover chicken in a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat oil to 400 degrees.

While the oil heats combine flour, Sazon and pepper in a large zip loc bag, shake to combine ingredients. In batches, place chicken in the flour bag and shake until well coated. Shake off excess flour and place on baking grid until all chicken pieces are coated.

When oil reaches 400 degrees, fry chicken pieces in batches for 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Once you’ve finished with all of the chicken, lower the heat of the oil to 300 degrees and place all of the chicken back into the pot. Cover and fry for 10 minutes. Remove chicken from oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Raise the heat again to 400 degrees. Fry the chicken in batches until dark golden brown, without burning. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towel lined plate. Ready…..set…..EAT!

NOTE: Could you fry it without chopping it into chunks? Yes but it does take longer to cook. The goal with this chicken is when you fry it you get a crispness close to crispy pork rinds. I do not recommend using boneless chicken because the bone is what makes the meat juicy and tender. Removing the bone can cause your chicken to dry out. Finally don’t skimp on the 3 time fry! It is essential to getting that perfect crisp to the skin.