Mojo Criollo Chicken

Carolina Q

ThrasherIII said:

have you tried this with the skinless thighs?

I haven't. Give it a shot, the flavor is delicious!

ThrasherIII

sense their is no bone and the thigh is more open to the marinate any where from 30 mins to 2 hours should be fine. will try this for sure

Stormbringer

Colour me interested .

The only downside of visiting the USA and being out of wifi in Yellowstone was missing posts like this. Added to the list.

1WVU

Carolina Q said:

Several years ago, on @cookn biker's recommendation, I bought a bottle of Goya Mojo Criollo, marinated some chicken thighs in it for about 4-5 hours and then egged them at 400° raised direct with some cherry wood for smoke.They were delicious and looked pretty good too. The cherry gives GREAT color!


I don't buy Goya any more because of the sodium, but today, I decided to mix up my own marinade and give it a whirl. It's been so long since I did the last batch, I don't really remember the taste, just that they were great! So are these. Mixed up the ingredients in my new Ninja Master Prep that I just bought due to @NecessaryIndulg recommendation. Thanks, Kristi! I didn't think to take a pic of the marinade, but it looked remarkably like Goya's version.

Anyway, here's today's effort. A few thighs and a split breast thrown in for good measure...
As I said, I don't really remember the last batch, but it could NOT have been any better than this! It was absolutely terrific! Served with sautéed asparagus and the last of the potato salad I made the other day.

Marinade recipe for anyone interested:

2/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice
   OR use 1 cup Naranja Agria (sour orange) if you can find it (I didn't try, I just used standard lemon and orange juice.)
10-12 garlic gloves
1 tsp salt (I used less)
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Blend for 30 seconds and pour over chicken in zip bag. Marinate in fridge for 4-24 hours.

Hope you try it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Thanks for lookin'! 

The Goyo is my go to for chicken and steak tacos, fajitas, etc.  it's ridiculously good

Carolina Q

1WVU said:

The Goyo is my go to for chicken and steak tacos, fajitas, etc.  it's ridiculously good

For me, a home-brew for stuff like this is always preferable to a commercial mix. BTW, while I did use fresh squeezed lemon juice, the OJ was from a carton (not from concentrate though). Better with fresh squeezed OJ? Probably. Better still with sour oranges? Probably.

Anyway, now you know how to make your own. Also ridiculously good.

JohnnyTarheel

Q thanks for sharing... looks very tasty!!

Theophan

That chicken looks killer!

I've never tried this type of marinade, somehow hadn't appealed to me, but you've certainly gotten me interested.  There's a Latin market near me -- I've seen the bottled product, never saw the bitter oranges themselves but I wasn't looking for them, either.  I can't believe they don't have them.  They have produce I've never seen or heard of and have no idea what to do with it or even what it is.  I bet they have those.  I'll have to give this a shot.

Thanks for posting it!

HurricaneEddie1

I have a sour orange tree in my mom's house (where i grew up).. great for marinades 

CTMike

I have a bottle of Goya Mojo in my pantry that I used once, way too salty so there it sits. I will have to give it a try with your recipe, thanks. 

Carolina Q

CTMike said:

I have a bottle of Goya Mojo in my pantry that I used once, way too salty so there it sits. I will have to give it a try with your recipe, thanks. 

Hope you like it. WAY too much sodium in the Goya to suit my doc, not to mention my reconditioned taste buds, though I don't recall thinking so when I first used it. The recipe called for 1 tsp, I used 3/4 tsp and will probably use 1/2 tsp next time.

bjeans

Those look amazing, Michael. I'm saving your recipe. How do you reheat the thighs? I ate a couple leftover thighs from the cold for lunch and didn't like them much - too fatty, even though I had removed visible fat. I watched a video where the skin is removed, fat scraped off the skin and repositioned, but I don't think I'd go through that, may try it once if I can re-find the video.

Austin Egghead

Another must cook to add to the list.

Carolina Q

bjeans said:

Those look amazing, Michael. I'm saving your recipe. How do you reheat the thighs? I ate a couple leftover thighs from the cold for lunch and didn't like them much - too fatty, even though I had removed visible fat. I watched a video where the skin is removed, fat scraped off the skin and repositioned, but I don't think I'd go through that, may try it once if I can re-find the video.

Thanks, Beth. I've never bothered with the fat scraping thing either. Probably not a bad idea though.

I have been reheating in a toaster oven at 350°. Crisps up the skin nicely. I've also nuked 'em briefly and then hit 'em with a propane torch to crisp. Toaster oven is better, torch is quicker.

Carolina Q

Austin Egghead said:

Another must cook to add to the list.

Go for it, Joan.

bjeans

Carolina Q said:

bjeans said:

Those look amazing, Michael. I'm saving your recipe. How do you reheat the thighs? I ate a couple leftover thighs from the cold for lunch and didn't like them much - too fatty, even though I had removed visible fat. I watched a video where the skin is removed, fat scraped off the skin and repositioned, but I don't think I'd go through that, may try it once if I can re-find the video.

Thanks, Beth. I've never bothered with the fat scraping thing either. Probably not a bad idea though.

I have been reheating in a toaster oven at 350°. Crisps up the skin nicely. I've also nuked 'em briefly and then hit 'em with a propane torch to crisp. Toaster oven is better, torch is quicker.

Wonder if it would crisp up as well in a regular oven, no toaster oven. We have a "speedcook" function on our microwave that uses halogen/radiant heat with a microwave boost. I can make a large baked potato with crispy skin in 8 minutes, so might try that. Or there's always the heavy duty heat gun. Hah.