Cooking Recipe Pollo Pibil (Chicken Steamed With Fruit Juice)
Recipe Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the orange and lemon juice, ground annatto
seeds, garlic, oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Place
chicken in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold the pieces
snugly in one layer and pour the seasoned fruit juice over it. Cover
the dish with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken for 6 hours at
room temperature, or 12 hours or overnight in the refrigerator,
turning the pieces over in the marinade from time to time.
Line a large colander with 2 crossed, overlapping sheets of
aluminum foil and arrange the chicken on it. Pour in the marinade,
then bring the ends of the foil up over the chicken and twist them
together to seal in the chicken and its marinade securely.
Place the colander in a deep pot, about 1 inch larger in diameter
than the colander, and pour enough water into the pot to come to
within an inch of the bottom of the colander. Bring the water to a
vigorous boil over high heat, cover the pot securely and reduce the
heat to low. Steam for 1 3/4 hours, or until the chicken is tender,
checking the pot from time to time and adding more boiling water if
necessary.
To serve, remove the package of chicken from the colander, open it,
and transfer the chicken and all of its sauce to a heated bowl or
platter. Accompany it with tortillas, served in a basket, in place of
bread.
NOTE: In Yucatan, the chicken is wrapped in banana leaves and
steamed in a special pit called a pib.
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Time/Life 'Foods of the World', Recipes: Latin American Cooking
Earl Cravens earl.cravens@mgmtsys.com