Marinated Achiote Chicken Recipe

This beautiful, Marinated Achiote Chicken Recipe, also called Pollo Pibil, is juicy, succulent, and full of rich, deep Mexican flavors.

I'm not an authority on Mexican cuisine -- a local in Loreto, Mexico gave me a rough idea of ingredients and instructions for this dish.

When I was in Loreto, Mexico I visited an fantastic shop that I loved, Semillas y Especias el Gavilan, which translated means “Seeds and Spices Sparrow Hawk.” It was in this store that I learned this amazing Achiote chicken recipe.

Gabriel Vazquez owns and runs the shop, which isn’t just full of seeds and spices. This tiny shop also holds the largest dried pepper selection in Loreto.

A bought a bunch of Guajillo chile peppers -- hey were such a pretty, deep red color that I couldn't resist.

I asked Gabriel what he cooks with them, and he started telling me about a chicken recipe he makes for his friends.

Achiote Chicken Recipe

Gabriel immediately grabbed the achiote paste off another shelf, and off the top of his head, he described what I’m calling Marinated Achiote Chicken Recipe.

I was hanging on his every word as he so kindly, generously shared his creation with me.

When he mentioned adding orange juice, I was in. I imagined how delicious that tangy sweetness would be with the smoky guajillo peppers and the achiote paste.

I've also created a vegetarian counterpart to this recipe: Achiote Roasted Cauliflower.

Gabriel Vasquez inside his store, Semillas y Especias el Gavilan.

The Ingredients

• dried Guajillo peppers - Guajillos are available in any Mexican market, some larger grocery stores, and you can get them here on Amazon. (See below for more details.)
• Achiote paste - You can find Achiote paste in any Mexican market, some larger grocery stores, and you can get it here on Amazon. (See below for more details.)
• orange juice - Preferably freshly squeezed.
• fresh garlic - Use firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots, which are an indication it's old and likely bitter. (Pro tip: If there are green shoots in garlic, slice the cloves in half and remove them with the tip of a paring knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.)
• chicken - This recipe uses bone-in, skinless pieces of chicken. Fresh raw chicken should be a light pink color with white pieces of fat, little to no odor, soft and moist.

(See recipe card below for quantities.)

How to Make it

- Add the Guajillo peppers and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it stand for 30 minutes.

- Remove the stems and seeds from the hydrated peppers.

(Leave some seeds if you want more heat.)

- Add the hydrated peppers and the water to a blender along with the achiote paste, orange juice and garlic, and blend until smooth. It's the most beautiful brick-red color.

- Add the chicken pieces to a large zip-lock bag and pour in the achiote marinade, which shouldn’t be hot because of the addition of the orange juice. Move the chicken pieces around to be sure they’re all well coated, remove the air from the bag and seal it. Then put this in another large zip-lock bag to ensure it doesn’t leak. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and ideally overnight.

- Preheat the oven to 375°F and once the chicken is done marinating, add it, and all of the marinade to a large enough baking dish to hold the everything snugly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

- Bake just until it’s cooked through, about 45 minutes. Flip the pieces over about halfway through the cooking time and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once it’s cooked through, flip the chicken over once more, sprinkle sightly with a bit more salt, and serve.

What are Guajillo Chile Peppers?

• Available year round, Guajillos are currently one of the most commonly grown chile peppers in Mexico.
• Unlike many dried peppers, Guajillos have the same name whether they’re fresh or dried, though they’re most commonly found in their dried form.
• Guajillo chile peppers have a sweet, smoky flavor that’s especially delicious in sauces and marinades.

What is Achiote Paste?

• Achiote is another name for annatto seeds.
• Achiote paste, which is typically formed into a small block, is a Mexican ingredient that consists of ground annatto seeds and various spices that might include cumin, pepper, coriander, oregano, cloves, and garlic.
• A gorgeous deep red color, achiote paste originated in the Yucatán region of Mexico and can be used in sauces, marinades or rubs.
• The mild flavor of achiote paste is slightly sweet and peppery.

Substitutions

• If you'd like to substitute the bone-in chicken for boneless, skinless thighs or breasts, go for it. (You will need about 2 ½-pounds.)
• Guajillo chile pepeprs. The best substitute for Guajillos are Ancho chile peppers. (The flavor will be a bit more smoky and bitter.)
• The best achiote paste substitute in my experience is paprika paste, with the addition garlic, cumin and oregano. (For this recipe, use the amount of paprika paste listed for the achiote paste, and add 1 large garlic clove, ½ teaspoon ground cumin and ½ teaspoon ground oregano.)

Recipe Tips

• When you remove the Guajillos from the water, they will likely be full of water inside. When you remove their stems, pour the water that's inside them into the blender over a small strainer to hold the seeds back. (This is highly flavorful water!)
• When you buy a whole, cut-up chicken, the skin is almost always still on. If you have any trouble removing it, pull it with a paper towel. It'll come off easily this way -- especially on the legs and wings.

Serving Suggestions

Achiote chicken is delicious with so many different side dishes. Below are a few of my favorites to serve with it.

Sometimes I make the Achiote sauce/marinade and serve it on it's own, right out of the blender, with tortilla chips. It's so delicious!

I baked the chicken in my Chamba pottery baking dish -- it can go on the fire, in the oven, and is beautiful to serve in.

Making it Ahead

• Since the chicken is cooked on the bone, it will be extra juicy and will be delicious for a few days.
• You can make the entire dish up to 3 days ahead. Let it cool completely, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The day you're serving it, remove it from the fridge about an hour before dinner. Heat it in a preheated 375°F oven just until it's hot, about 10 minutes.

I seriously encourage you to make this Marinated Achiote Chicken recipe (Pollo Pibil). It is truly out of this world.

Enjoy!

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