Chicken Pibil is a recipe inspired by the famous cochinita pibil, a Yucatan cuisine, and a favorite dish to enjoy for dinner or a special celebration. The red sauce comes from the achiote paste. The Yucatan-style chicken is not spicy yet citrusy and smoky with a complex flavor yet so comforting.
Break the achiote paste into small pieces and add to the blender.
Pour the orange juice and the apple cider vinegar and place the lid on the blender.
Blend for 1 minute until getting a smooth sauce.
To make the chicken pibil
Place the chicken thighs in a large mixing bowl and season with one cup of the recado blanco.
Cover and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes inside the fridge. Recommend to marinate overnight for better taste.
Set the IP to “saute” mode and sear the pre-marinated chicken thighs using corn oil or pork lard. Pour the achiote marinade and mix.
Place the lid and close the valve. Set the IP to cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. When ready, do a quick release, but we recommend allowing the IP to do a natural release instead.
Notes
Achiote paste is available at many Hispanic supermarkets however if you cannot find it use annatto seeds. The seeds must be soaked in vinegar the night before for easy blending. And blended with coriander seeds, bay leaves, cloves, cumin, oregano, allspice, lime zest, orange peel and orange juice, kosher salt, garlic, and roasted habanero.
The achiote sauce or recado rojo uses sour orange juice, however, this is another ingredient that is difficult to find. A good replacement is orange juice combined with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Or otherwise lime juice.
A 3-ounce package of achiote paste makes two and a half cups of achiote sauce when combined with one cup of citrus juice and a quarter cup of vinegar.
Use the blender to make the recado rojo or the molcajete for a traditional blending technique. If blending by hand use gloves as the achiote will stain your hands.
When choosing the protein of choice we recommend chicken thighs as those are higher in fat and will work best when cooking using the Instant pot or the pressure cooking technique.
Chicken thighs will melt in your mouth and the meat will be full of flavor and so juicy. Otherwise, pork butt, pork chops, or pork loin are a delightful choice too.