Slightly Spicy Chicken and Rice for a Crowd

A variation on Mexican Crockpot Chicken. Great for a potluck or buffet. Completely fills a 6-quart slow cooker if made with thigh filets (7 or 8-quart cooker is better if you use whole thighs), also appropriate for a large, deep electric skillet.  May be prepared in a large kettle or saucepan, too.  Halve the recipe for a family dinner. Prepare in a 3-quart (or larger) slow-cooker, large saucepan or in an electric skillet.

The ingredient list is about as simple as you could imagine.  Serve with small bowls of condiment-type hot sauce, cilantro or Italian parsley, onions or scallions, radishes, corn kernels and/or other typical Mexican additions to hot dishes if you like.   It's also fine by itself. 

INGREDIENTS:
2 Family Packs (about 5 pounds each ) chicken thighs.  About 12 thighs per pack for a total of about 24 chicken thighs.  You can also used 2 family packs of skinless, boneless thigh filets (about 12 per pack) if you're more short on time than money.


2 - 4 cans, about 8 ounces each, El Pato Mexican hot sauce (the one in the yellow can).  Lately I have been using 3 cans for thigh filets, 4 cans for whole thighs.

1 - 2 large, dark green Ancho/Poblano or other mild chiles - optional

Chicken broth
Salt to taste

Fluffy rice (start with 4 cups dry rice). Or use an equivalent amount of brown rice, cooked in a rice cooker (or maybe a pressure cooker at high altitude)

DIRECTIONS
Chicken thighs and sauce
Cook chicken until almost tender in a slow-cooker or electric skillet (the latter will require some added water or chicken broth) until almost tender, but not falling apart. You may want to add a can of single-strength chicken broth now if you use thigh filets, which don't release as much moisture as whole thighs.  Cool, remove the skin, bones and cartilage after thighs are cooked. Skim fat from liquid. Cut meat into chunks.  (If the meat falls apart, it will be O.K.  The meat just won't be as noticeable in the finished dish). 

Put the meat and liquid back in the electric skillet or electric skillet.  (If you use whole thighs, you may be able to save part of the broth for soup or another dish).  Add hot sauce, rinsing out cans with a little water and adding to the liquid.  Add additional chicken broth if liquid does not come up to the level of the top of the chicken meat.  Seed chiles, cut into large chunks and add to sauce.  Heat through until sauce is steaming and chiles are partially cooked.    Cool and refrigerate  if made ahead.

(You can continue cooking the skin, bones and cartilage in a smaller slow cooker with a little water and any extra broth for a really good chicken stock.)

Serving day: Putting it all together
Rice
Within about 3 or 4 hours of serving, cook rice in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (about 4 quarts) or in a heavy-bottomed kettle. Do not remove cover during or after cooking. Keep warm. Rice should be completely cooked before adding it to the chicken and sauce.

Chicken and sauce
 Heat chicken in sauce if it was refrigerated. Adjust salt to taste.

Transport hot chicken and sauce in the 6-quart (or larger) slow cooker or electric skillet and transport the warm rice in the covered saucepan or kettle if not making on-site. Maintain chicken at the "keep warm" temperature until serving time. Within a few minutes of serving, gently fluff rice and mix into the chicken. 

NOTE:  All of the rice may not fit into your slow cooker with the chicken and sauce, and you may not want to add it all even if it fits in yours.  I generally leave some of the rice out for other uses. 

VARIATIONS
Leftovers and Home Meals: You may need to add a little extra chicken broth to leftovers if the rice seems dry. David likes this chicken and rice with re-fried beans (maybe covered in melted cheese) and a salad. If serving the chicken at home, you can leave the chicken and sauce in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days, heating some up to serve over rice, with good tortillas, in burritos, etc. as needed instead of mixing the chicken with rice.

"Lots of Chicken" variation: Add additional boneless, skinless chicken breast  meat. Cut away any fat or tough connective tissue and cut into 1/2 inch pieces or smaller. The breast meat won't need as long to cook as the dark thigh meat, so add it partway through cooking. You may need to add a little extra chicken broth to get a "mouth-feel" similar to the original recipe.

Allergy Information: El Pato hot sauce contains no corn, wheat or soy products. There are a few brands of boxed chicken broth which do not contain corn products. Most canned chicken broth contains corn products. Update: Swanson has removed the corn products from its chicken broth. But check the label.