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Puerto Rican Rice and Beans with Chicken Ham and Sofrito Sauce

Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

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Crispy, Saucy, Yummy!

Puerto Rican Rice and Beans consists of two main parts that get added together to make a delicious whole dish! On the one hand is your crispy rice stacked with chicken and flavored by your Sofrito. Then your beans and sauce get poured on top of it and they spread their goodness throughout. Both sides are so yummy that you could get away with eating them separately, but having them together is a fantastic experience!

Lot’s of Hands, Lots of Pots

This recipe may contain a bit more challenge for novice cooks or people with trouble multitasking. Fortunately there is also plenty of time where you can leave your pots simmering and organize your thoughts. You will be cooking the beans for awhile ahead of everything else. Once they have cooked awhile you will begin to start making your Sofrito sauce, pressure cooking your chicken, and finally cooking the rice. As things start cooking you will be transferring parts of your Sofrito into them over time. Make sure to look at when to transfer it in and how much to transfer so you aren’t just dumping all of it in at the first mention.

Pressure Cooking Fears

Cooking with a pressure cooker can be a little scary if you aren’t used to doing it, but as long as you are paying attention it’s very simple. I use an old school, huge pressure cooker that just goes on the stovetop. I monitor and make sure that the gauge gets between 1-1.5 and if it starts moving I dial back the heat. Don’t forget to let it vent/depressurize fully before attempting to open it. More modern electrical pressure cookers could make it even easier for you by setting a timer and doing it all automatically. Don’t let the pressure cooking aspect chase you away!

Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
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Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

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Recipe by Zach Wood Course: MainCuisine: Puerto RicanDifficulty: Intermediate
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 1 Dried Pinto Beans

  • 1 Whole 1 Chicken

  • 2 TBSP 2 Neutral Oil (Grapeseed works for me)

  • 1/3 lb 1/3 Ham (Plus a little Salt Pork or Pork Fatback)

  • 28 oz 28 Can Tomato Sauce

  • 1 bunch 1 Cilantro

  • 1 1 Poblano Pepper (can sub any mild pepper)

  • 3 3 Jalapenos

  • 1 Sliced 1 White Onion

  • 2 tsp 2 Oregano

  • 2 2 Bay Leaves

  • 1 TBSP 1 Black Pepper

  • 1 Tsp 1 Salt

  • 12 12 Garlic Cloves (Diced)

  • 1 Large 1 Potato cut into thin slices

  • 1/2 Cup 1/2 Green Pimento Olives (I used plain green here)

  • 2 Cups 2 Rice

  • 2 Cups 2 Chicken Juices (You will get this by following the recipe when you pressure cook the chicken)

Directions

  • Soak the Pinto Beans the night before
  • Cut the Chicken into large pieces
  • Dice Ham into small pieces
  • Add Pinto Beans into a large pot and cover with water until it’s a few inches above the beans, then heat on medium high heat and add in a teaspoon of Salt and a tablespoon of Pepper
  • Dice your Peppers and remove their seeds (Unless you want some extra heat) and slice the onion thinly
  • Thinly dice Garlic and Cilantro plus cut olives in half and your Potatos into thin slices and make sure your Tomato Sauce and spices are at hand
  • Heat Oil in a large Saucepan on medium high until oil is shimmering then add in Onion, and Peppers
  • Stir Vegetables and cook them for 6-7 minutes and then add in the Garlic and Ham
  • Mix in the Tomato Sauce next and a Tablespoon of Chicken Bullion as well as Half of your Cilantro
  • Stir it all together then put a lid on it and let it simmer on medium
  • Prepare your pressure cooker and add the Chicken to it. Bring the pressure gauge to between 1-1.5 on medium high and cook the chicken for 7 minutes then release the pressure (carefully!)
  • While Chicken Cooks remove 1-2 Ladefuls of the starchy Pinto Bean water and add 4-5 Ladlefuls of your tomato mixture (Sofrito) into the pinto beans and stir well
  • Add 1 tsp Oregano to the Pinto Beans and 1 tsp to the Sofrito plus 2 bay leaves
  • Pour 2 Cups of the Chicken Juices out from the pressure cooker into a Dutch Oven and add your two cups of rice to it mixing well
  • Put the dutch oven onto the stove top covered with it’s lid and cook on medium low for 20 minutes
  • Take off the lid and use a wooden spoon or spatula to get some of the crispy rice off the bottom
  • Add in 2-3 ladlefuls of Sofrito to the rice mixture with all the chicken and continue cooking another 20 minutes stirring occasionally
  • Add the rest of the Sofrito into the Pinto Beans
  • Plate up some of the Chicken and Rice then pour over the beans and sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime
  • Enjoy!

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven
  • Pot
  • Non-stick Pan

Recipe Video

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