Pinchos De Pollo

5 from 5 votes

Smoky, mouth-watering Pinchos De Pollo, AKA Puerto Rican Chicken Skewers, are a beloved island street food that's easy to make at home! Get ready for a little piece of heaven!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Marinating Time1

Total Time1 35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Latin, Puerto Rican

Total Cost: ($7.67 recipe / $1.28 serving)

Servings: skewers

Calories: 623kcal

Author: Monti Carlo

Equipment

Lodge Grill Pan

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless and skinless chicken thighs, about 5 to 6 $5.97
2 tsp adobo* $0.10
1 1/2 tsp sazón** $0.19
2 tsp salt $0.16
2 Tbsp cooking oil, plus a touch more for greasing $0.09
1 cup BBQ Sauce $1.16

Instructions

Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Then chop the chicken into bite-size pieces (about 5 to 6 pieces per thigh).
Add the adobo, sazón, and salt to a large bowl and mix.
Add the chopped chicken thighs to the bowl along with the cooking oil and mix until the chicken is thoroughly covered. Cover with plastic wrap or parchment directly on the surface of the chicken and marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
Half an hour before you pull the chicken, soak at least 6 wood skewers in water so they don't burn. It's best to soak a few extra skewers just in case one of them breaks.
When you're ready to cook, preheat a grill pan on high. Then thread a thigh's worth of chicken pieces on each skewer, about 5 or 6 chunks. You want the chicken chunks close but not pressed tightly against each other. Brush both sides of each skewer with BBQ sauce, about 1/2 cup total.
When the grill pan is smoking hot, brush it with a touch of cooking oil. Then, place the skewers on the grill pan, making sure not to crowd the pan or place the skewers too close to each other.
After 5 minutes, brush 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce on the top surface of the chicken. Next, flip the chicken, and brush another 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce on the top layer. Cook for 5 more minutes, until char develops and the internal temperature of the chicken registers at 160°F. Now all you have left to do is eat! Buen provecho!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*If you cannot source adobo, mix your own and then use the amount called for in the recipe. Store the rest in an airtight container.

2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric

**A packet of sazón contains about 1.5 teaspoons of sazón. If you cannot source sazón, use the following:

1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/3 teaspoon ground annatto
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground oregano

Sazón and adobo share a lot of similar ingredients but are used at different points in the cooking process and will develop slightly different colors and flavors.

Nutrition

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