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Spanish Beer Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 bone-in and skin-on pieces of chicken legs, thighs
  • 2 bell peppers chopped
  • ½ of one large white onion chopped
  • 1 cup (180g) uncooked white rice
  • ¾ cups (6oz) low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup (8oz) pale ale beer
  • 1 (14oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 (4oz) link Spanish chorizo* chopped
  • ¼ cup (45g) chopped Spanish olives
  • ¼ cup (6g) chopped parsley

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a small bowl combine the paprika, garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and salt.
  • Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with the spice mixture, reserve any remaining spice mixture.
  • Add the chicken, skin side down to a large, shallow pan with a lid (off heat). Add to medium heat, add the lid at a vent or add a splatter guard. Cook until the chicken skin has browned and a significant amount of fat has rendered (cooking chicken at a lower temperature for a longer time helps to render more fat and crisp the skin much more effectively than searing in a hot pan).
  • Once the chicken skin has crisped, remove from pan (the chicken does not need to be cooked through). Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat. 
  • Add the chorizo, bell peppers and onion to the pan over medium-high heat
  • Once the vegetables have softened and started to brown, add the beer, stirring and scraping to deglaze the pan.
  • Add the broth, and tomatoes bring to a low simmer, stir in the rice.
  • Add the chicken back into the pot in an even layer.
  • Cover and add to the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is softened and cooked and the chicken is cooked through.
  • Top with Spanish olives and parsley. Serve warm.

Notes

*Spanish chorizo is very different from Mexican chorizo. If you can’t find Spanish chorizo, a good substitute is linguica, or Andouille sausage.