I love pan sheet dinners, especially when it comes to cooking meats and fish. My main objective is productivity - I hate slaving away in the kitchen for hours when in fact, a dish could be ready in 30 minutes. I also try to stay clear of multiple cooking methods when one method can get the job done. For example, if you wanna get fancy - you could have cooked this on a skillet for 15 minutes and put it in the oven and back on a skillet. In my case, I put it in the oven for 50 min at 435F and it came out exactly the way I wanted it - juicy and tasty!

Here’s what you need to make this pollo a la cubanita finger licking good!

Chicken thighs (5 pieces)
1/4 cup of orange juice
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
2 table spoons of gluten free soya sauce
A sprinkle of garlic cloves
A teaspoon of freshly cut ginger
1.5 teaspoons of cuban rum
A squeeze of lemon
Peppercorn flakes
Savory chicken spices
A dash of paprika
2 table spoons of maple syurp
2 lemon slices
Parsley

Place the chicken thighs in a large glass bowl and pour in the orange juice, soya sauce, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, add in the salt, pepper, spices, garlic, ginger and top it off with some rum. Use your hands (yes - tus manos) to massage the chicken and let it absorb all the juice and marinade. Add in 2 slices of lemon and place some parsley on top. Don’t sprinkle dried parsley - use fresh Italian parsley as it will give a better aroma and flavor to the chicken. Cover the bowl with suran wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 16-20 hours to marinate. The chicken should be submerged in the marinade - if it’s not, then you gotta add a dash of broth or a combination of broth/oj/rum.

A day later, your chicken is ready for the oven. Preheat the oven to 435F and line your baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil. Spray coconut oil generously over the foil and line the chicken evenly (make sure there is space). Pour the remainder of the marinade over the chicken but take out the lemon slices and the parsley. Spray coconut oil on top of the chicken, cover the dish with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 25 min.

Set a timer on your phone and check back on your chicken within 25 min. You’ll want to make sure it is absorbing all the liquids and it’s turning slightly darker. At 25 min mark, take it out of the oven and pour a dash of broth onto the dish. The key here is making sure the chicken isn’t burnt and that there is enough liquid for it to continue cooking. Flip each chicken to the other side, so it cooks evenly. Put it back into the oven for another 25 minutes, covered with foil on top.

My oven is an energy saver - so it takes much longer to bake. If you have a quick oven then you can probably set it to 425 and cook for a shorter amount of time. Make sure that the chicken doesn’t cook too fast - because it will come out dry (trust me, i have had this issue many times!). The goal is to have a juicy and tender chicken that has soaked in the yummy marinade.

Come back to the oven in 25 minutes, check on the dish. It should be ready - you can always put a thermometer to check the temperature. I like the old fashioned way - with a fork. Serve the pollo a la cubana on a beautiful serving dish (Portmerion is my go to choice) and garnish it with lemon and parsley. Oh, and folks - make sure you are using an aged, dark Cuban rum for this recipe.

Save your Guatemalan XO for date night!

Bon appetito! Enjoy! XOX

Pollo a la Cubana