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1
Caramelise the sugar and brown the chicken
12 minutes
Medium-high heat (200°C / 400°F)
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot (a caldero if you have one) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the sugar and let it melt and turn dark amber — the quemado — without stirring. Add the chicken pieces skin-side down and brown for about 6 minutes without moving them, then turn and brown the other side for 4 minutes more. Lift them out onto a plate; they do not need to be cooked through yet.
Do not let the sugar go black — dark amber smells like toffee; black smells burnt and will bitter the whole pot.
Done when: Chicken skin is deep mahogany brown and crisp at the edges; the pot has a dark caramel glaze on the bottom.
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2
Cook the sofrito
8 minutes
Medium heat (180°C / 350°F)
Lower the heat to medium. In the same pot, cook the onion and green pepper for about 4 minutes until softened, then add the tomato, tomato paste and pumpkin and cook for 4 minutes more, stirring, until the mixture turns brick-red and smells sweet.
Scrape the caramelised bits off the bottom as the vegetables release their juices — that is where the locrio colour and flavour come from.
Done when: Sofrito is soft, brick-red and fragrant; the oil at the edges is stained orange.
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3
Toast the rice
3 minutes
Medium heat (180°C / 350°F)
Add the drained rice and half the cilantro to the pot and stir for about 3 minutes, coating every grain in the sofrito until the rice looks glossy and smells nutty.
Toasting the rice in the sofrito keeps the grains separate in the finished dish.
Done when: Rice grains are glossy and coated in the red-orange sofrito.
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4
Add the liquid and return the chicken
5 minutes
Boiling (100°C / 212°F)
Pour in the hot water and add the remaining salt and the olives. Stir once, scraping the bottom, then nestle the browned chicken pieces on top, skin-side up, and bring to a boil.
Taste the liquid now — it should taste a little too salty, because the rice will absorb the seasoning as it cooks.
Done when: Liquid is boiling gently around the chicken; the rice is settled in an even layer.
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5
Simmer low and slow, then rest
27 minutes
Low heat (120°C / 250°F)
Cover the pot with a tight lid, turn the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Stir the rice gently from the bottom to the top once, sprinkle over the rest of the cilantro, cover again and cook for 5 minutes more. Take off the heat and rest, still covered, for 5 minutes.
Do not lift the lid during the first 20 minutes — the steam is doing the cooking. The last few minutes on the heat build the crispy concón at the bottom.
Done when: Rice is tender and orange-red, the chicken is cooked through to 74°C (165°F) at the bone, and a thin crispy layer has formed on the bottom.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve generous mounds of the orange-red rice with a piece of chicken on top of each portion, scraping up some of the crispy concón for anyone who wants it. Pass lime wedges at the table.
Dominican Republic
3h 15m
