A baking tray topped with chicken legs coated in a brown sauce

Mexican chicken adobo

Name: Mexican chicken adobo
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 dried chipotle chillies; 8-10 tomatoes; 75ml apple cider vinegar; 5 cloves garlic; 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 4 chicken legs; salad to serve

Liam Barker

Published: September 17, 2021 at 11:49 AM

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Serves 4

Easy

Total time: 1 hr and 30 mins

+ soaking + marinating

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Adobo sauce is deep and smoky, with a gentle warmth from chipotle chillies. Rub over chicken legs, then BBQ and serve with salad for a healthy yet hearty lunch

Gluten free

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Try this recipe for grilled chicken with adobo sauce, then check out our chicken tinga, chicken fajitas, chicken tacos and more Mexican-style recipes.

Ingredients

Nutrition

4 dried chipotle chillies
8-10 tomatoes
75ml apple cider vinegar
5 cloves garlic
2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
4 chicken legs
salad

to serve

Nutrition: per serving

kcal311

low
fat16.4g
saturates4.4g
carbs18.1g
sugars16.3g
fibre3.9g
protein20.9g
salt1.5g

Method

step 1

Put the chipotle chillies in a bowl, cover with enough just-boiled water to cover, and leave for 30 minutes to rehydrate. Remove, reserving the soaking water, and remove the seeds. Put all of the ingredients, except the chicken, plus 1 tsp of salt, into a blender or food processor, and add the soaking water and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a pan and bring to a boil. Let it reduce for 15-20 minutes, until it is the consistency of ketchup – stir every 5 minutes to stop it sticking. Take off the heat and leave to cool, then pour into a sterilised jar. It will keep for a month in the fridge.
step 2

This is the perfect marinade for meat before putting it on the BBQ or cooking in the oven. Put the chicken legs in a bowl with enough adobo to coat them, then massage well and chill for at least an hour but preferably overnight.
step 3

Grill the chicken on the BBQ until cooked through, brushing with plenty of adobo as it cooks, or heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 6 and roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes until caramelised and cooked through, brushing with sauce every 10-15 minutes. Serve with a salad.
step 4

Alternatively, for a vegan take on tacos al pastor, thinly slice some celeriac and brush some adobo on each slice. Layer the slices on a skewer, lay flat on a roasting tin and cook at 200C/ fan 180C/gas 6 for 1 hour until caramelised and the celeriac is meltingly tender. Remove, slice and serve on corn tortillas.

Authors

Chef Liam Barker standing in front of a kitchen pass wearing black chef jacket

Liam BarkerChef

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