Recipes Pollo con "Chile Seco" (Chicken with Dried Chilies) Be the first to rate & review! Amazing Chicken Recipes By Zarela Martinez Zarela Martinez Facebook Twitter Website Zarela Martinez is a Mexican chef, author, restaurateur, food television host, and product developer. She and her son, celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez, host the podcast Cooking in Mexican from A to Z.Expertise: Mexican regional cuisines.Experience: Mexican-born Zarela Martinez rewrote the story of Mexican cuisine in the U.S. when she opened her game-changing New York City restaurant Zarela in 1987. This legendary dining spot replaced ignorant culinary stereotypes with brilliant, fearless explorations of regional Mexican specialties embedded in their own distinctive contexts. Zarela is the author of Food from My Heart, The Food and Life of Oaxaca, and Zarela's Veracruz, which was also the companion to a 13-part PBS television series. In 2013 she was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. In the same year, Harvard's Schlesinger Library acquired her unpublished papers, an invaluable documentation of a lifetime dedicated to enlightening food-lovers everywhere about Mexican cuisine and culture. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 7, 2015 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Yield: 4 to 5 Ingredients 1 to 2 tablespoons (or to taste) large dried chiltepíín chilies 4 pounds chicken legs and thighs 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or home-rendered lard 1/4 cup cider vinegar or other mild-flavored vinegar 1 tablespoon butter 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped Juice of 2 oranges (optional) 1 vanilla bean, split Directions Place the chilies in a small heavy skillet over very low heat. Toast, stirring constantly, until they make a hollow sound, 12 to 15 minutes; they should be brittle but only faintly darkened, not burned. Let cool slightly. Grind to a fine powder using an electric spice grinder or coffee grinder (or if you have one, a Mexican stone molcajete). Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil or lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces until golden, 3 minutes on each side. Pour off any excess fat from the skillet and return to medium heat. Sprinkle the ground chilies and black pepper over the chicken and turn the pieces to coat evenly. Add the vinegar, butter, garlic and orange juice and scrape in the seeds of the vanilla bean. Cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sharpness of the vinegar is mellowed and the chicken is cooked-through. Serve hot. Rate it Print