The Chicharrón de Pollo My Mother Made on Saturdays (Dominican Fried Chicken, Small and Crackly)

People use pica pollo and chicharrón de pollo like they are the same thing, and then they wonder why the recipe does not come out. They are both Dominican fried chicken and they are not the same food. Pica pollo is big bone-in pieces with a thick crust, fried slow and then hit hot again — shop food, in a bag. Chicharrón de pollo is small, bite-size chunks with a thin coating, fried once, hot and fast, until the outside goes dry and crackly. The name is the texture: chicharrón means the crackle. It is house food, and in my mother's house it never made it to the table. I'm Rosa. I cooked for twenty-four years in a Dominican kitchen in Washington Heights, and this is the Saturday one. The method, so you can keep it (feeds 5 or 6): • 3 lb chicken thighs, cut THROUGH THE BONE into bite-size chunks about the size of a domino. Boneless thigh in 1½-inch chunks is second choice. Not breast. • Marinate 1 hour or overnight: juice of 2 sour oranges or 4 limes, 4 cloves garlic mashed, 1 tbsp sofrito, 1 tsp oregano crushed in the palm, 2 tsp salt, black pepper. A splash of soy sauce if your family uses it — plenty do. • Drain, pat dry. Toss with ¾ cup flour + 2 tbsp cornstarch + ½ tsp salt + ½ tsp garlic powder. A LIGHT toss, not a heavy coat. • Let the coated pieces sit 10 minutes, until the flour looks damp and pasty. That damp layer is what fries into a shell. • Oil at 350–360°F, pot no more than half full. Fry in small batches, 5–7 minutes. • Listen: the loud rolling boil settles into a fine crackle when the water is gone. That is when it is ready. One shade darker than feels comfortable. • Onto a rack, salt immediately, lime over the top. NO second fry — these are too small, a second fry dries them out. Careful with the oil: half-full pot, pieces patted dry, and lower them in with a spoon instead of dropping them. Bone-in chunks or boneless in your house? And is it tostones or yuca on the side? Tell me where your family is from in the DR. I read every comment. Next video: yaniqueques, the fried disks from the beach at Boca Chica.