Is there anything else I can substitute for the achiote paste in this Yucatan Chicken recipe?

I'm afraid what makes this chicken recipe truly unique, evoking the flavours of Yucatan is the achiote, but it's easy to find online (you're reading this recipe so you're already on the internet!) from the sources I've listed above.

Can I use other cuts of chicken other than chicken legs?

Of course, just make sure the skin and bone are still attached. As you can see from the pictures in Mexico we had just chicken drumsticks (allow for two per person), and chicken thighs would also work well (again, allow two per person!) I've used chicken pieces to make this dish manageable for a couple, but if you're feeding four or more people and therefore scaling the recipe up a whole chicken broken down into pieces would work well.

Yucatan Chicken | Rachel Phipps

Description

This simple, unique recipe for Yucatan Chicken inspired by our trip to Mexico last summer is delicious as a weeknight dinner with rice, sliced avocado and pink pickled onions, or as part of a larger spread with black beans and homemade Pico de Gallo!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Yucatan Chicken

1 tbsp light oil
2 large chicken legs
sea salt
1 small onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 large tomato
1/2 tsp ancho chilli powder (see notes)
1/2 tsp oregano (use Mexican oregano if you have it)
4 tsp achiote paste
juice of 1/2 large orange
juice 1 large lime
50ml chicken stock or water

For the Pink Pickled Onions

1 small red onion
apple cider vinegar (see note)

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Instructions

First, make the pickled onions. These will still taste great if you make them just as you start cooking, but for a more vibrant pink start a few hours ahead. Peel and thinly slice the red onion into half moons, and place in a small bowl. Cover them up to 3/4 with apple cider vinegar, and top up the rest with water. Leave to pickle whilst you get on with the rest of the recipe.
Heat the oil in the bottom of a casserole or a large, heavy bottomed, lidded saucepan over a medium high heat. Once it is shimmering, season the chicken well with salt and brown the pieces on each side until the skin is crisp. Remove from the pan and set the chicken aside, reducing the heat to low.
Meanwhile, peel the onion and slice into very thin half moons. Mince the garlic cloves, and slice the tomato.
Add the onion to the remaining cooking fat in the pan with another pinch of salt, and cook for 6-8 minutes or so until soft and starting to colour. Add a splash more oil if you think the onions need it to stop them sticking or browning too quickly.
Stir in the garlic, and cook for a further minute until aromatic, then stir in the tomatoes, followed by the ancho chilli powder and the oregano. Cook for another minute to toast the chilli powder a little, then stir in the achiote paste until it has melted into the mixture.
Stir in the citrus juice and the stock, making sure to use your wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan into the sauce.
Return the chicken, skin side down, and raise the heat, bringing the mixture to the boil. Clap on the lid, and reduce the heat to medium low. Allow to simmer for 45 minutes, turning the chicken legs over about halfway through the cooking time to make sure they absorb the cooking liquid evenly.
Just before serving, drain the pink pickled onions and pat them dry on a piece of kitchen paper, and check if you want to add more salt to the Yucatan chicken. Serve with rice and sliced avocado.

Notes

If you can’t find ancho chilli powder, use 1/4 tsp of regular chilli powder and 1/4 tsp of sweet smoked paprika.
The pink pickled onions in these photos are slightly orange because I used Willy’s excellent ACV (which they gifted me) which is unfiltered and therefore slightly cloudy. Use clear ACV (I also like Aspall’s one) for perfectly pink onions.