Shredded Yucatán-Style Chicken

Name: Shredded Yucatán-Style Chicken (Pollo en Escabeche Oriental)
Yield: Serves 3 to 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Spice Paste; Lime-Cured Onions; 7 cups water; 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs; ¼ teaspoon cracked black peppercorns; ½ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican; Flour, for dusting; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 bay leaves; ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds; 4 chilesgueros, or spicy pepperoncini, cut into thin strips; 2 cups lard, for frying; 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Pollo en Escabeche Oriental

Preparation info

Serves
3 to 4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Dos Caminos Mexican Street Food

By Ivy Stark

Published 2013

About

Dishes in escabeche refer to foods marinated and/or cooked in vinegar. It was an early technique of cooking foods to preserve them before the days of refrigeration. These dishes are common in the Yucatán where, because of its proximity to the Gulf, they were probably introduced by the early Spanish settlers.

Ingredients

Spice Paste
Lime-Cured Onions
7 cups water
3

Method

Make the Spice Paste and the Lime-Cured Onions.
In a large pot, bring water to a boil, add the chicken, and simmer for a few minutes, skimming the surface. Add the bay leaves, salt, cumin, oregano, peppercorns, and garlic; partially cover the pot with foil or a lid and simmer until the chicke