Pollo Guisado de la Abuela
Pollo Guisado de la Abuela·(poh-yo gee-sah-doh deh lah ah-bweh-lah)
Panes con Pollo & The Weekend Feast
If you want the soul of Salvadoran home cooking, look past the shortcuts. This fiercely savory braise is built on the unwavering foundations of a grandmother's kitchen, demanding an unapologetic rub of cheap yellow mustard and salsa inglesa before hitting a hot pan. The real magic happens in the relajo—a chaotic, fragrant blend of toasted seeds, nuts, and chilies—blended with charred vegetables and torn bread to thicken the sauce without a trace of flour. Unpretentious and deeply comforting, it is engineered to come together on a weeknight, or saved to stuff into crusty rolls for the weekend feast.
Before you start
Build the relajo ahead of time.
Multiply the spice blend by four, toast it, grind it to a powder, and keep it in a jar for up to six months to turn this into an ultra-fast weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- bone-in skin-on chicken pieces3 lb
- yellow mustard2 tbsp
- Worcestershire sauce3 tbsp
- garlic powder1 tsp
- dried oregano1 tsp
- chicken bouillon powder1 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- neutral oil2 tbsp
- sesame seeds2 tbsp
- raw hulled pumpkin seeds2 tbsp
- raw peanuts2 tbsp
- dried Guajillo chili1 med
- dried Ancho chili1 med
- whole bay leaves2 med
- dried thyme1/2 tsp
- dried Mexican oregano1/2 tsp
- whole black peppercorns1 tsp
- whole cloves3 med
- cinnamon stick1 small
- achiote powder1 tbsp
- Roma tomatoes4 large
- white onion1/2 large
- green bell pepper1 large
- cloves garlic2 med
- Mexican bolillo roll1/2 med
- chicken broth1 1/2 cup
- Russet potatoes2 large
- carrot1 large
Method
- 01
Massage the marinade into the chicken.
Combine the yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, oregano, bouillon, and black pepper in a large bowl, working the fierce, savory paste deep into the meat and skin.
- 02
Wake up the dried chilies.
Lay the Guajillo and Ancho chilies in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, pressing them flat for thirty seconds a side until fragrant, then drop them into a blender.
- 03
Toast the relajo carefully.
In the same dry pan, toast the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon. Watch closely—the second the sesame starts to pop, pull it off the heat so it doesn't turn bitter, and add to the blender with the achiote powder.
- 04
Char the vegetables and toast the bread.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and dry-roast the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and garlic until heavily blistered and blackened in spots. Toss the torn bread in for the last two minutes to toast, then transfer the whole rustic mess to the blender.
- 05
Blend the recaudo.
Pour the chicken broth into the blender and blitz on high until it transforms into a thick, velvet-smooth, brick-red sauce.
- 06
Sear the chicken hard.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Lay the chicken skin-side down and leave it alone for five minutes until the mustard caramelizes into a deep golden crust, then flip and sear the other side.
- 07
Braise in the charred sauce.
Pour the blended recaudo over the seared chicken, scraping up the glorious fond from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a gentle bubble, drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer for fifteen minutes.
- 08
Finish with root vegetables.
Nestle the potatoes and carrots into the bubbling sauce around the chicken. Cover and simmer for another twenty minutes until the potatoes yield to a fork and the chicken practically falls off the bone.
Notes
The weekend feast.
Let the leftover chicken cool, shred the meat off the bone, return it to the thick sauce, and pile it high into crusty rolls for authentic Panes con Pollo.
The bread hack.
Tearing up and toasting a bolillo directly into the blender bypasses the need for a flour roux, creating the rustic, clinging texture signature to Salvadoran stews.