Pollo Chuco (also known as Pollo con Tajadas) is a beloved Honduran classic that’s absolutely irresistible! The fusion of flavors and textures in this popular street food is unique and absolutely delicious!
This amazing dish is one of the most popular and beloved street foods of Honduras and with reason!
The layers of flavors in this dish are just spectacular and work deliciously together extremely well.
If you have never had Chicken Chuco, today is the day to give this dish a try! Hyper tasty and truly delicious! One of my absolute favorite dishes!
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What is Pollo Chuco?
It is a Honduran dish that offers layers of flavor. Beginning with a layer of thinly sliced fried green bananas (here we have used green plantains instead), followed by a layer of shredded cabbage, perfectly moist crispy fried chicken, seasoned tomato sauce, chismol (Honduran Pico de Gallo), pickled red onions and lastly topped with a tangy pink sauce.
These are just as tasty, if not better, than our Alitas de Pollo Fritas (Fried Chicken Wings) and Alas de Pollo al Horno (Baked Chicken Wings) recipes, boasting a delightful array of flavors!
At first glance, it’s easy to think this dish may take a while to prepare. Far from the truth! All in all, it will take about an hour to make the toppings and fry the chicken. About the same time it would take you to make any other satisfying meal.
Reasons to Love this Recipe
- Cultural Experience: This dish allows you to easily experience the rich culinary traditions of Honduras. It’s a dish deeply rooted in Honduran culture, yet made with easily accessible ingredients, making it a great way to explore the country’s gastronomy.
- Chicken: The marinade used for the chicken may be strange to some, but trust me when I say, trust the seasoning process. The fried chicken is to die for!
- Loads of Flavor: The layers of different but complimentary flavors create a mouth-watering dish.
- Texture Variety: This dish offers a satisfying textural contrast that keeps your taste buds fully engaged! YUM!
- Satisfying and Filling: Layered with starchy tajadas (green banana slices), cabbage, and several pieces of fried chicken, this dish provides a filling and truly satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- Chicken – Use whatever pieces of chicken you prefer or a combination of. Example: Chicken wings and thighs, drumsticks and breasts. I love chicken wings, so I used just wings for this recipe.
- Green Plantains – This dish is traditionally made with green bananas but you can use green plantains instead as I did here.
- Cabbage – The cabbage is thinly shredded and seasoned with vinegar, salt and pepper for a tasty crunchy layer.
- Red Onions – Thinly slice red onions, season with vinegar, a little bit of water and salt to pickle. (Note: Normally, this side is made a day or two in advance to allow the onions to soften. However, I will show you a quick way to make pickled red onions in just 20 minutes or less while you’re preparing all the other layers.)
- Ketchup, Mustard and Mayonnaise – This easy combination makes the delicious “pink sauce” that tops this dish at the end.
- Tomatoes, Peppers and Onions – In Honduras, this combination is known as Chismol, very similar to pico de gallo.
*See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements and instructions.*
Instructions
Step 1: Season the Chicken. Add the chicken to a large bowl and top with the mustard, chicken bouillon, cumin, and the garlic puree. (Image 1). Mix the ingredients with your hands or use a spoon to combine. Marinate for 30 minutes, a few hours or even overnight (Image 2).
Step 2: Make the Pickled Onions. Slice red onions thinly and set in a mason jar or other container. In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the vinegar, water and salt and heat until a soft boil is formed (Image 3). Pour the hot liquid over the red onions and allow to sit for 20 minutes to soften the onions (Image 4).
Step 3: Make the Chismol. On a cutting board, chop the tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro. (Image 5). Add the ingredients to a bowl and then add lime juice, salt and pepper and stir (Image 6).
Step 4: Make the Shredded Cabbage. Using a knife or a mandoline, thinly slice the cabbage. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well (Image 7).
Step 5: Make the Pink Sauce. Add the ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise to a small bowl and mix well to form the sauce (Image 8).
Step 6: Dredge the Chicken. Dredge ONLY the pieces of chicken you are about to fry (Image 9). (Note: Dredging all the pieces all at once does not produce the crispiest skin and chicken).
Step 7: Frying the Chicken. For the best evenly cooked and crispy chicken, cook the chicken in batches and use enough oil. Add about 3 inches of oil to a deep pot and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Check to see if oil is hot by dropping a sprinkle of flour into the oil, if it sizzles, the oil is ready. Carefully add the chicken (Image 10). Add just a few pieces to the pot at a time to cook. Fry the chicken for about 8-10 minutes on one side. Flip the pieces over and cook for another few minutes. When chicken pieces start to float towards the top, that is a good sign, they’re almost fully done. If you have a meat thermometer, remove a piece from the oil and check that the chicken has reached 165 degrees.
Step 8: Drain Chicken. Remove the pieces of chicken and drain the excess oil on a plate lined with paper towels (Image 11). (TIP: While you are cooking the chicken in batches, keep the pieces already cooked in a 200 degree oven).
Note: For frying, do not overcrowd the pot with the chicken or you will lower the heat in the oil and the chicken will come out oily.
Step 9: Preparing the Green Plantains. Cut the plantains into thin slivers. (Image 12). Fry the plantains over medium high heat, in the same pot used to cook the chicken. Cook until golden brown and then drain on a plate lined with paper towels (Image 13).
Step 10: Layering the Dish. Add a layer of plantains on a plate to serve. Top with some of the shredded cabbage, then a few pieces of chicken (2-3 pieces of chicken) (Image 14). Add the chismol and pickled onions (Image 15).
To finish the assembly of Pollo Chuco, drizzle the pink sauce all over the chicken and layers. The dish is ready to serve. Repeat the same process for the other chicken pieces. Enjoy!
Cooking Tips
- Marinade – Marinade the chicken for at least 30 minutes for the best flavor.
- Oil – Use enough oil to cover the chicken fully so that it cooks evenly.
- Frying Chicken – Use fresh vegetable or corn oil for golden chicken. Using old oil makes the chicken look dark and unappealing.
- Cooking – For the crispiest chicken, do not overcrowd the frying pan. Instead cook the chicken in batches.
- Internal Temperature – If you have an instant read thermometer use it to check that the chicken is fully cooked. Fry the chicken until the thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- Shredded Cabbage – If you have a mandoline, use it to make perfect shredded cabbage.
- Plantains – Fry the batch of plantains when you are on the last batch of frying the chicken for the best crispy and hot tajadas.
- Serve Hot – Prepare the cabbage, chismol and sauces first then tajadas and the chicken last. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees to keep the chicken hot in between frying.
Recipe FAQs
Sure! You can marinade the chicken a day or two before frying.
Traditionally this dish is made with fried chicken, however, there is no reason why you cannot enjoy this dish using baked or grilled chicken.
Absolutely! Green bananas are not easy for everyone to find. (Even if you find green bananas at the grocery store, they’re not green enough to use in this recipe). Green bananas are usually found in Latin stores. Luckily, green plantains are very similar in taste and are much easier to find in your local supermarket. I used green plantains for this recipe.
Other Chicken Dishes You Will Love
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📖 Recipe
Pollo Chuco (Pollo con Tajadas)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3 pounds chicken rinsed under cool water
- 2 tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- 2 cups flour
- vegetable or corn oil for frying the chicken
Cabbage
- ½ head cabbage
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar can also use white or wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Chismol
- 1 green bell pepper rinsed and chopped
- ½ onion chopped
- 3 Roma tomatoes rinsed and chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro rinsed and chopped
- 1-2 limes squeezed
- salt and pepper to taste
Pickled Onions
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Pink Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonaisse
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1½ tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoon water or milk to thin the sauce
Plantains
- 3 green plantains skin peeled and plantains diagonally thinly sliced
- salt sprinkle on top after fried (optional)
Instructions
Chicken
- Add the chicken to a large bowl and top with the mustard, chicken bouillon, cumin, and the garlic puree. Mix the ingredients with your hands or use a spoon to combine. Marinate for 30 minutes, a few hours or overnight.
Pickling Onions
- Slice red onions thinly and set in a mason jar or other container, set aside.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the vinegar, water and salt. Heat the vinegar mix until a soft boil forms.
- Pour the hot liquid over the red onions and allow to sit for 20 minutes to soften the onions.
To Make the Chismol
- Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and then add the lime juice, salt and pepper and stir. With a spoon, mix everything together and set aside until ready to use.
Shredded Cabbage
- Add the shredded cabbage to a medium-sized bowl, followed by the vinegar, salt, and pepper and stir well. Set aside until ready to use.
Pink Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.Mix well. Thin the sauce with the water or milk. Set aside until ready to use.
Frying Chicken
- Add the flour to a large bowl and dredge ONLY the pieces of chicken you are about to fry. Note: Do Not dredge all the pieces of chicken all at once in the flour. For the best crispy and golden pieces, dredge only the pieces you are about to fry.
- Add about 3 inches of oil to a deep pot and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Check to see if the oil is hot by dropping a sprinkle of flour, if it sizzles, the oil is ready. Carefully add a few chicken pieces to the oil. Be careful not to splatter oil. Note: Do not overcrowd the pot with chicken pieces or your chicken will soak too much oil and be oily. Fry chicken in batches for the best results.
- Fry the chicken for about 8-10 minutes on one side. Flip the pieces over and cook for another few minutes on the other side. When chicken pieces start to float towards the top, that is a good sign, they're almost fully done. Note: If you have a meat thermometer, remove a piece from the oil and check that the chicken has reached 165 degrees.
- Remove the pieces of chicken and drain the excess oil on a plate lined with paper towels.TIP: While you are cooking the other pieces of chicken, keep the cooked pieces in a 200-degree oven.
Cooking the Green Plantains
- Fry the plantains over medium-high heat, in the same pot used to cook the chicken. Cook until golden brown and then drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
Dish Assembly
- Add a layer of plantains on a plate to serve. Top with some of the shredded cabbage, then a few pieces of chicken (2-3 pieces of chicken). Top the chicken with the chismol, then pickled onions and lastly, drizzle the pink sauce all over the dish.
- The dish is ready to serve. Repeat the same process for the other chicken pieces. Enjoy!
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