One of the most popular dishes at Border Grill, Mary Sue and Susan’s favorite pollo dish puts a spiced-up spin on grilled chicken with a flavorful cilantro sauce and a tangy pickled tomato salsa.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 5 hr 25 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Inactive: | 4 hr |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 large, boneless chicken thighs or leg and thighs, with skin
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 shallots, diced
- 3 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 jalapenos, chopped with seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 cups cooked rice, for serving
- 4 grilled scallions, for serving
- Pickled Tomato Salsa, recipe follows, for serving
- 1 pound tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 serrano chiles, with seeds, thinly sliced in rounds
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil, and place chicken in pan skin side down. Sear for 4 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 8 minutes. Turn chicken and cook another 4 minutes, or until just cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, make sauce by melting butter in a medium saute pan over moderate heat. Cook shallots and mushrooms until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add jalapenos and cumin, lower heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock. Turn heat to high and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream or half-and-half and cilantro stems and return to a boil. Remove from heat. Puree in a blender, pass through a wire mesh strainer, and return to heat.
- Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and vinegar together in a small bowl. While continuing to whisk, pour one cup pureed cilantro sauce into egg mixture to temper. Then combine egg mixture with puree and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and smooth.
- Arrange grilled chicken over a bed of your favorite rice and spoon sauce over all. Garnish with cilantro leaves, grilled scallions, and Pickled Tomato Salsa. Serve immediately.
- In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with scallions and serrano chiles.
- In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add sugar and salt, and cook until dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and reserve. Measure ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cracked peppercorns, cumin, cayenne, and turmeric onto a plate and place near stove. In another medium saucepan, heat oil over moderate heat until just smoking. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until aromas are released, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar mixture. Immediately pour over reserved tomato mixture. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or several days. Makes 2 cups.
Reviews
I have made this dish for guests and larger parties (at least 25+ times) and everyone always loves it, great for leftovers to. It is so good that to remove some of the prep time we have a annual family get together where we make 40 recipes of the salsa and can it for use throughout the year! It was on the show “Best thing I ever ate” and I agree
This is my first time at making salsa and wow, it is one of the best things I have ever made with one trial. What a delicious dish! Take this to the Moon and back!!!! Thank you Food Network! You certainly have the best chefs/recipes.
I first made this when the show aired a decade or so ago and it’s a keeper! The sauce requires a few more steps than i usually take… but the result is totally worth it. The pickled salsa is unique and makes the dish even more of a star turn. Thank you to to Susan and Mary Sue (the OG Food Network stars)… this might actually be the best thing i ever made. I’ve even served it to foodies from Oaxaca (the foodie capital of Mexico) and it didn’t fail to impress!
I have to admit that this is the most labor intensive dish I’ve ever cooked and I’ve been doing it for 31 years. It seemed to be out of order though, the tomato salsa I feel should have come first followed by the cilantro sauce and then the meat at the end. It was a bit spicier than I had reckoned for but that could have been because I didn’t let the salsa sit all night in the frig.
The cilantro sauce and pickled salsa was soooo delicious. It took a bit of time but so well worth it. My family loved the dish and nothing was left!!!
Not worth the effort. Sauce good but I have made better chicken dishes
Amazing and well worth the time.
Delicious!!! The sauce and salsa was equally as good over my eggs and avocado the next morning. I hate to change up an original recipe…but I am watching the scale… I used boneless skinless thighs and grilled the chicken to cut down on the fat. Almond milk instead of cream and raw honey instead of sugar and zucchini noodles instead of rice and this is a recipe I will make over and over again.
Unbelievably delicious. I substituted cashew cream for the heavy cream because I can’t eat dairy but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. This makes enough sauce for at least 8 chicken thighs, probably even 12. I made the salsa earlier the same day. As others have said, this is not a weeknight dinner dish but well worth the effort.
This is the best dish I have ever made….and that’s saying something. Incredible mix of flavors. I didn’t even let the salsa sit over night…just heated it a little to speed along the melding of flavors. Will be able to make it with less effort next time, as I won’t have to read every step. (Im not a recipe follower. Cut back to half the cayenne, one jalapeno, and one serrano if you don’t do too spicy, but for it if you do cause it’s awesome!