Two spicy, savory ways to make chicken with Mexican rice

If you've been grocery shopping lately, you may be suffering from sticker shock. Prices for many foods have soared. For example, beef ribs, which I buy every month or so for my two little pups, increased from $2.99 and $3.99 a pound a couple of weeks ago to $6.99 and $7.99 last weekend. For now, Lark and Bobby will be getting roasted sweet potato wedges instead of ribs as a special treat.

A few prices have held steady and even dropped a bit, but you have to pay attention to find them. Prices for local chicken - whole or bone-in, skin-on thighs - are among them. If you automatically reach for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, consider other options.

There really is no good reason to pay someone to remove the skin and the bones. More importantly, any meat, including fish and poultry, tastes better and has a better texture when it's cooked with its bones and skin intact. Skin, if it is removed at all, should be taken off after cooking, as it lubricates the chicken, protecting it from overcooking, and contributes flavor.

Thighs and leg-thighs always cost less than breast meat, a great thing if you understand the important differences between the two. Breast meat does not do well with lengthy cooking; its texture turns stringy and its flavor becomes unpleasant. Whether it is a Mexican stew, a Moroccan tagine, an Indian curry, a Thai soup or some other dish that is on the heat for longer than it takes for a chicken breast to cook through, chicken thighs will always produce a more delicious result.

In her book “Learning to Cook” (Knopf), the late Marion Cunningham included a chapter entitled “Thank Goodness for Chicken.” The meat is versatile and inexpensive, she writes, and almost everyone likes it. These days, that seems more important than ever.

----

This dish, adapted from a recipe in “California Home Cooking” (Harvard Common Press, 1997), is not difficult but it does take a bit of time to prepare. It's worth it and is one of my all-time favorite ways of preparing chicken.

Spicy Chicken with Chorizo Stuffing and Mexican Rice

Makes 4 Servings

1 pound bulk chorizo

2 serranos, minced

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup pitted green olives

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

4 chicken leg-thighs

1 yellow onion, minced

1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

- Mexican Rice (recipe follows)

¾ cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted

2 limes, cut into wedges

Put the chorizo into a heavy sauté pan and cook over medium heat until the meat gives up most of its fat; use a fork to break it up as it cooks. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the serranos and garlic and sauté gently for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, mince half the olives and add them to the chorizo mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of the cilantro. Taste, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Set the chicken on a work surface and slip your pointer finger under the skin to loosen it from the flesh, leaving it attached at the edges. When the chorizo mixture is cool enough to handle, stuff some under the skin of each piece of chicken, pressing the stuffing towards the leg so you can easily add more. Try to fill each piece of chicken. Set it aside.

Return the pan to the heat and sauté the onion in the pan drippings until it is very soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and stir in the coriander, cumin and chili powder. Cut the remaining olives in half, add them to the onion mixture and pour in the wine and stock. Add the chicken and simmer gently, covered, until it is cooked through, about 35 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, prepare the rice.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep it warm. With the liquid in the pan, increase the heat to high and reduce the liquid by half.

Put the rice in a wide, shallow bowl and set the chicken on top.

Spoon the sauce over the chicken and rice and scatter the remaining cilantro and the toasted almonds on top. Garnish with lime wedges and enjoy right away.

Mexican Rice

Makes 4 to 6 servings

¼ cup olive oil

1 small yellow onion, cut into small dice

1 poblano, seared, peeled, seeded and cut into small dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

- Kosher salt

1½ cups white rice of choice

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

- Black pepper in a mill

2½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock, boiling hot

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

2 cups shelled peas, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add the onion and poblano and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more.

Season with salt.

Add the rice and sauté, stirring constantly, until it picks up a bit of color, about 7 to 8 minutes.

Add the chipotle powder and season with salt and several turns of black pepper.

Add the stock and crushed tomatoes and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

If using, fold in the peas after the rice has been cooking for 10 minutes. Remove the cooked rice from the heat and let rest undisturbed for 10 minutes.

To serve, fluff with a fork and serve as described in the main recipe.

-----

This dish has been in heavy rotation in my kitchen for decades. It originally came from a long-forgotten cookbook, but I make it from memory now.

It has evolved over the years but it remains one of the most flavorful chicken dishes I've ever had. If you don't care for a lot of heat, reduce the serranos or jalapeños to just one.

Drunken Chicken

Makes 4 to 8 Servings

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 yellow onions, trimmed, peeled and cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds

6-8 garlic cloves, peeled

3-4 serranos or jalapeños, cut in half lengthwise

¾ cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

- Juice of 2 limes

½ cup tequila

¾ cup pitted green olives or pitted oil-cured black olives

- Mexican Rice (see recipe, this page) or steamed rice of choice

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, cut in wedges

Set the chicken thighs on a clean work surface and season them all over with salt and pepper. Rub the oregano between your palms to crumble it, then rub it over the chicken. Set the chicken aside.

Set a Dutch oven or large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add half the olive oil and sauté the onions gently for about 5 or 6 minutes.

Add the garlic and serranos or jalapeños and sauté 2 minutes more.

Season lightly with salt.

Add the remaining olive oil to a sauté pan set over medium-high heat and, when it is hot, add the chicken, skin-side down, in a single layer. Cook for about 5 to 6, until the skin turns golden brown.

Turn over the chicken, cook for 3 or 4 minutes more and transfer to the pot with the onions.

Pour the wine into the sauté pan, swirl to pick up any pan juices and pour into the pot with the chicken.

Add the bay leaf, lime juice and tequila and scatter the olives over everything.

Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers gently, cover and cook until the chicken is just cooked through, from 20 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the thighs.

Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before lifting the lid.

To serve, tip the rice into a wide, shallow bowl and use tongs to set the chicken on top. Working quickly, set the pot over high heat, reduce the pan juices by about a third and remove from the heat.

Taste, correct for salt and pepper and pour over the chicken.

Scatter the cilantro over everything, garnish with lime wedges and enjoy right away.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “California Home Cooking.” Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.