Pollo Borracho is a delicious, flavorful Cuban meal! This dish is also known as “Drunken Chicken,” and it’s made in a variety of ways (depending on which country the recipe comes from).
Pollo Borracho
This luscious, satisfying chicken dish gains its richness from a sauce of onion, garlic and white wine, with the added flavors of diced ham. It’s spiced with cumin and sage, and servings are topped with capers.
🛒 Ingredients Needed:
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- all purpose flour
- butter
- garlic and onion
- ham
- cumin seed and dried sage
- dry white wine
- chicken broth
- capers
✏️ How to Make Pollo Borracho:
*The complete, printable recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour.
- In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, sauté the onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ham and sauté 2 minutes more. Move the mixture to a dish and return the sauté pan to the heat; add the remaining butter.
- Sauté the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Top with onions and ham. Season with cumin and sage; add the wine and chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Top with capers, and serve!
➡️ Tips and Substitutions:
- Substitute chorizo or prosciutto for the ham, if desired.
- It’s okay to use shallots in place of the onion.
- I like to use the thin-cut chicken breasts for this recipe.
- If you prefer a cream sauce, add a little heavy cream into the sauce before serving.
✔️ Make Ahead Tips:
This dish is quick to put together. Besides chopping the onion and ham ahead of time, this pollo borracho will turn out best if you make it and serve it.
❤️ What I Love About This Recipe:
- I love a chicken dish that is a little bit unique. This one is definitely different!
- The capers give it a salty finish as a garnish. Delicious!
- Ham and chicken has always been a terrific pairing for chicken cordon bleu. And the pairing works in this recipe too.
Favorite International Chicken Recipes:
- Chicken Fricassee
- Indian Butter Chicken
- Greek Sheet Pan Chicken
- Thai Curry Chicken
- Chicken Salsa Verde
Pollo Borracho
This is a delicious, flavorful Cuban meal!
Ingredients
- Four 6-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ pound ham, diced
- ½ teaspoon cumin seed
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup capers, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour.
- In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, sauté the onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ham and sauté 2 minutes more. Move the mixture to a dish and return the sauté pan to the heat; add the remaining butter.
- Sauté the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Top with onions and ham. Season with cumin and sage; add the wine and chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Top with capers and serve.
Notes
- If preparing this recipe as gluten free, use GF all purpose flour in place of regular, and be sure to use a brand of chicken broth that is designated as GF.
- Don’t have any ham? Look for a thick slice of ham that you can purchase individually wrapped in your market’s meat section.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 567kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 49g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 149mg, Sodium: 1511mg, Potassium: 915mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 247IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
