Pollo Pibil

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 3 ½-ounce package achiote paste (achiote rojo or annatto paste))

¾ cup sour orange juice (or regular orange juice)

Juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 pounds boneless (skinless chicken thighs)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, oregano, cumin, and cinnamon and mix well. If the achiote paste is in a hard clump, let it soak in the citrus juice for a while to soften it.

Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat. Let marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Place a steamer rack in the bottom of a stockpot, Dutch oven, or Instant Pot and add 1 ½ cups water to the pot. Lay a long piece of aluminum foil in the pot on top of the steamer rack. Lay a second long piece of aluminum foil over the first so that the two form a cross. Lay a third piece of foil over making an X with the second piece. Push the foil down into the pot so that the 3 pieces of foil make a sort of bowl shape.

Place the marinated chicken (along with the marinade) into the foil bowl and wrap up the sides of the foil to make a packet.

To cook in a stockpot or Dutch oven: Place the lid on the pot and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Steam for about 90minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and very tender. When finished cooking, remove from the heat, remove the lid, and let stand for 10 minutes or so before opening up the foil to serve the chicken.

To cook in an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker: Cover and seal the pot and set to pressure cook for 45 minutes. When the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.

Serve the chicken with warm corn tortillas, pickled red onion, salsa, cilantro, and other toppings as desired.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 216 kcal
• Total Fat: 6 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
• Cholesterol: 95 mg
• Sodium: 463 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.3 g
• Total Sugars: 3 g
• Protein: 34 g