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One of the most popular traditional Dominican dishes and recipes is Pollo Guisado. In fact, Pollo Guisado with white rice and Dominican beans is known as “La Bandera Dominicana,” aka the Dominican flag.
I grew up eating Pollo Guisado Dominicano at least 2-3 times a week. Not only was it flavorful, but it was also very economical.
The best part was that we never got tired of eating my grandmother’s Dominican Pollo Guisado! The leftovers always tasted as good as when the stew chicken was freshly made.
Like many traditional Dominican and Caribbean recipes, you can make Dominican Style Pollo Guisado in a variety of different ways.
For me, the ingredients below are non-negotiable when it comes to making the juiciest pollo guisado.
The ultimate goal for me is to make stew chicken that is as flavorful as the sauce! Let’s face it, Dominican Style Pollo Guisado pairs beautifully with Mangu Dominicano, Yuca con Mojo, and even Spanish Yellow Rice!
Key Ingredients to Note:
- Bone-In Chicken – I like to use a mix of drumsticks, thighs, breasts, and even wings! Just remember to remove the skin for a better cooking and eating experience
- Dominican Orégano – a must for traditional and authentic Dominican flavor
- Dominican or Dark Soy Sauce – this is what gives Dominican and Caribbean stew chicken that deep-dark color
- Sazón con Achiote – this also adds color and flavor
- Spanish Manzanilla Olives – this is optional, but as a certified olive lover, this is a must for me.
- Fresh Onions, Peppers, and Garlic
- Tomato Paste – don’t forget, the sauce and the chicken are the main event!
Whether or not to clean chicken will always be a controversial topic. Experts say that this isn’t necessary since it spreads bacteria in the kitchen.
However, culturally, I truly believe that cleaning chicken is absolutely necessary especially since it also doubles as a brine. In order to clean chicken, I recommend using a mix of cold water, white distilled vinegar, and lime juice.
No worries on using fresh limes to clean the chicken. Feel free to save some money and use concentrated lime juice for this step.
Afterwards, let the chicken sit in the water-vinegar bath for at least 20 minutes. Then rinse with cold water. Next, thoroughly clean the sink and the surrounding areas. This is a non-negotiable anytime you’re cleaning chicken or any other meat.
Bon Ami is my favorite cleaning product to use when deep cleaning my sink after cleaning any meat.
Dominican Stew Chicken is known for its rich brown color. The same is also true for Puerto Rican Pollo Guisado and even Jamaican Stew Chicken.
The trick to developing this deep color is to caramelize sugar in hot oil at the very beginning. Depending on the amount of chicken that you’re cooking, you only need a few teaspoons.
This is enough sugar to act as a browning agent, but not enough to make the pollo guisado sweet. So you won’t have to worry about the stew chicken tasting like candy.
When it comes to sugar, I’ve been enjoying this Golden Sugar by Domino, which is slightly less processed. It’s definitely worth a try!
This is also the same exact trick that you can use to make Dominican Oxtails!
Pollo Guisado starts off with a great marinade! I like to create a fresh sofrito that’s made with a ton of garlic, onions, bell peppers, and cilantro.
If you don’t want to blend these ingredients, then you can finely mince them and add them to the raw chicken.
Next, we’re going to build the chicken marinade with classic Dominican spices like Dominican orégano, sazón con achiote, fresh lime, and kosher salt or chicken bouillon.
Once the chicken has marinated for hours or even overnight, heat up a caldero or your favorite braising pan and add oil. You can add sugar to the oil to help the chicken and the stew caramelize.
As soon as the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken. The sizzle it makes when you’re browning the chicken is unreal.
As a kid, I remember watching my aunt making this dish and being worried that the oil would pop and hurt us both since I was right there next to her learning how to cook.
Years later, it’s my turn to make this dish and I crank up the fire just as high to get the oil just as hot. This builds color and flavor!
Once the chicken has browned on all sides, add water, the leftover marinade and tomato paste to the chicken.
Let it stew for about 40 minutes until the chicken has cooked all of the way through.
You can also make the stew as thick as you like! In the end, I like to add Spanish Manzanilla Olives, and gently pickled onions and peppers.
There’s nothing better than having Pollo Guisado with a few of my favorite sides like Arroz con Fideos and Tostones.
Dominican Style Stew Chicken (Pollo Guisado) is the pinnacle of comfort food! I personally love that you can also find a version of pollo guisado amongst different cultures all with their own unique flavors.
Pollo Guisado is one of the few dishes that I can make with my eyes closed. I make it so often that I can even get away without measuring the ingredients.
Pollo Guisado has become second nature to me so much that I have a few tricks and tips that may help.
Tip #1: Use a really hot pan. This will help develop color and flavor
Tip #2: For a true authentic experience, caramelize some sugar in hot oil in the middle of the pan. This will also help brown the chicken and build flavor in the stew
Tip #3: Marinate the chicken for a few hours. I used to think that this didn’t make a difference until I tested it. You want the vibrant seasonings to really get deep into the chicken. The flavor payoff is out of this world!
Tip #4: Gently pickle the sliced onions and peppers with salt and vinegar. The acid at the end helps balance out the flavors in the Dominican Chicken Stew.
What’s the best way to store pollo guisado?
You can store Pollo Guisado in air-tight for up to 4 days in a cold fridge.
Best way to re-heat pollo guisado?
For best results, warm up leftovers in a warm skillet. However, a microwave will also work.
How to store leftover Sofrito?
Leftover sofrito is such a treat! However, don’t it go to waste. You can store sofrito in ice cubes in the freezer and use them whenever you’re making Dominican Style Beans, or soups like Asopao de Pollo, or Sopa de Pollo. Here are the silicone ice cube trays that I use whenever I need to store leftover Sofrito.
Other dishes that I can use sofrito?
You can use sofrito in any dish that is slow cooked, simmered, or braised! This means that you can use it to make Asopao de Camarones, Sancocho, Carne Guisada, and more.
What is Sopita?
Sopita means “little soup,” and it’s another way that I refer to – Chicken Bouillon
Lastly, if you’re wondering whether you can add potatoes to your Pollo Guisado, then I highly encourage you to try the Cuban version of this dish – Fricase de Pollo. This Cuban Style Pollo Guisado was another huge family favorite and a must!
More Traditional Recipes!
Pollo Guisado | Dominican Stew Chicken
Traditional and authentic Pollo Guisado – Dominican Stew Chicken recipe that you can enjoy with white rice and Dominican beans!
- Total Time1 Hour 10 Minutes
- Yield8 Servings 1x
- DietDairy-Free
Ingredients
Cleaning
- 1 1/2 cup White Distilled Vinegar
- 1/2 Lime Juice *can be from concentrate
- 3 cups Water
Marinade
- 3 lbs Free Range Skinless Chicken (Combo of drumsticks, thighs, and breast)
- 3 tablespoons Fresh Sofrito *see below for alternative*
- 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt or 1 tablespoon Chicken Bouillon
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 5 Garlic Cloves Mashed
- 1/2 teaspoon Dominican Oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon Cumin *optional
- 1 tablespoon of Sazón Con Achiote
- 1 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 Lime or 1 Sour Orange
- 2 tablespoons Spanish Manzanilla Olives *optional
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
Sauce & Garnish
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon White Granulated Sugar or Golden Sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Tomato Paste
- Leftover Marinade from Chicken
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Cilantro Minced for garnish *optional
- 1 Large Red or White Onion Sliced
- 1/4 Red Bell Pepper Sliced
- 1/4 Green Bell Pepper Sliced
- 1 teaspoon Red Wine or White Distilled Vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
Cleaning
- In a large mixing bowl add vinegar, water, and lime juice. Let meat sit for 20 minutes. Then carefully drain and rinse with cold water
- While chicken is cleaning, mash garlic in a mortar and pestle, and slice onions and peppers. Set aside
Marinade
- Once chicken has been rinsed, add sofrito, kosher salt, black peppers, Dominican oregano, cumin, sazon, dark soy sauce, fresh lime juice or sour orange, Manzanilla olives, and olive oil. Mix everything until well combined and marinate for at least 20 minutes. For best results, marinate for 2 hours or longer.
- While chicken marinades, combine sliced onions and peppers into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar or white distilled vinegar along with ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt. Set aside.
Cooking
- In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sugar. Add sugar to the center of the pot. After 3-5 minutes, the sugar will bubble and begin to caramelize.
- Add chicken, making sure that each piece touches the bottom of the pot. This will help develop color and flavor. Save any extra marinade and leave in the mixing bowl. Feel free to brown chicken in batches if it does not fit in one go. Brown chicken on all sides for 7-10 minutes
- As chicken brown, add tomato paste to leftover marinade. Mix together until tomato paste is fully mixed in
- Once the chicken is browned on all sides, add leftover marinade, and 2 cups of water. Gently mix together and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes
- Afterwards, add pickled onions and peppers. Cover with a lid and turn off the flame. The residual heat will steam cook the onions and peppers. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with rice, beans, plantains, yuca, or your favorite starch!
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Caribbean, Dominican, Latin
4 comments
Delicioso , cleaning chicken makes a difference with flavor and smells better as well. Hearty and flavorful. It’s my go to at least once per week.
I couldn’t agree more! I think it makes such a difference!
I love your recipes and have been watching for years! Everything turns out perfectly.
I wanted to ask what would be the alternative for sofrito? I don’t see it 🙁
Thank you so much for the support over the years! I truly appreciate it. Sofrito consists of blended onions, cubanelle or bell peppers, garlic, and cilantro. You can substitute in 2 ways. First, you can finely minced the onions, peppers, and garlic. You then add the minced veggies to the chicken while marinated and add the fresh cilantro while the chicken braises. The second option is to use onion powder and garlic powder instead of fresh onions and garlic. You would also add the fresh cilantro to the chicken as it braises. Just note that using onion powder and garlic powder in the marinade will slightly change the flavor. Nonetheless, it will still be delicious. I hope this helps!