Pollo chuco or pollo con tajadas is a staple from Honduras that originated in the city of San Pedro Sula.
This is a great way to eat fried chicken, and you’ll notice the difference because it’s so colorful and rich!
You might be wondering…
Pollo chuco has a curious name and there are so many ways to cook fried chicken. So, it’s natural that you have a few questions about this typical Honduran dish.
Honduran pollo con tajadas started as a popular streetfood favorite, and for some reason, it acquired the nickname “pollo chuco” which means “dirty chicken”. My guess is that since it is a street dish, many people just eat it with their hands. Since the dish is usually served with sauce and other fixings, your hands can get a bit messy/dirty after eating. You can eat it however you’d like and, despite that name, you’ll see it’s delicious! 
Besides being juicy and crispy, pollo chuco includes fried plantains, coleslaw, encurtido, and “chismol” (Honduran “pico de gallo”). The fresh and zesty ingredients make a great match, and the yummy sauce that goes on top rounds up this mouthwatering recipe.
Chismol and encurtido are very versatile and I use them in many different dishes. In pollo con tajadas they balance the taste and texture of the fried ingredients.
Tips to make great Honduran fried chicken with plantains
Great fried chicken is both tasty and crispy. Honduran pollo chuco can be a bit more challenging because it has an interesting combination of ingredients. Check these tips to get the best of this recipe:
- Read my recipe for pickled red onions encurtido and make it the day before. To make it you’ll need to let red onions soaking in vinegar for hours, so it’s important to bear this in mind. I usually have some encurtido in my fridge, because it’s a great add-on for many dishes. Even a simple avocado toast improves substantially when I add encurtido.
- The tastiest chicken comes from pieces with bones, so I recommend choosing legs and breasts as I did.
- Another important tip to make juicy fried chicken is to have a proper marinade, so pay close attention to the ingredients and don’t rush it. Sure, waiting for it can be boring, but the results are totally worth the wait.
- Finally, to get a crispy fried chicken you’ll need to cover it thoroughly with flour. A trick to make the flour stick better is to put the floured chicken in a grid. Using this trick, no flour will stick to the surface, and the chicken will stay neatly floured.
Below you’ll find the recipe with all the ingredients and step-by-step directions.
Now, let’s get to it!
Honduran Fried Chicken | Pollo Chuco | Pollo con Tajadas
Ingredients
Fried chicken
- 6 6 lemons' juice (to "wash" the chicken before marinating)
- 2 pounds of chicken pieces with skin and bone (I used breast and legs)
- 2 tbsps of mustard
- 2 tbsps of chicken flavor bouillon diluted in about 1.5 cups of warm water
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup of wheat flour for breading chicken
- 1 green plantain, peeled and cut into slices, which is then fried in vegetable oil.
Coleslaw
- ½ head of white cabbage, chopped into fine julienne strips
- 2 small carrots, shredded lengthwise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsps of white vinegar
Chismol
- 4 tomatoes, diced
- 1 green chile, diced
- ½ white onion, diced
- 2 lemons' juice
- Salt and cumin to taste
- Cilantro or culantro, chopped to taste
Salsita
- ¼ cup of mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp of mustard
- 1.5 tbsps of ketchup
- 2 tbsps of whole milk (depending on how you prefer the consistency you can add one more tablespoon)
Instructions
- Put your chicken in a bowl and clean it with lemon juice. Some people say it's good to remove bacteria from it, while others say it's good for the taste. In any case, it's part of the traditional process of making pollo con tajadas.
- After you rinse the chicken, discard the liquid, and let's start with the marinade.
- Add mustard, white vinegar, and chicken flavor bouillon dissolved in warm water. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, we’ll prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Coleslaw
- To cut the cabbage you can use a trick I learned online, using a potato peeler as if you are peeling the cabbage. You can do it the traditional way too, using a knife to get thin slices.
- Shred carrots and them to the mix. Then, season with salt and cumin, followed by white vinegar.
- Leave the coleslaw aside while we make the chismol or pico de gallo.
Chismol or pico de gallo
- Dice green chiles, white onions, and tomatoes.
- Put them in a bowl, and add chopped cilantro or culantro. Then add cumin, salt, and finish with lemon juice.
Salsita
- This special sauce is quite simple, but it's essential for Honduran fried chicken.
- To make the sauce, mix mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and milk. Depending on your preference, you can use more or less milk, to have a thicker or lighter sauce.
Plantain chips
- The dish has a bed made of plantain chips. If you've read Latino recipes before, you'll know that choosing plantains can be confusing. For this recipe use green "platano macho" or green "guineo".
- It's very important that it has green skin and it's hard.
- To peel it more easily follow the lines in its skin and with the back-side of a spoon lift the skin, little by little.
- Cut the plantain slices diagonally so they're long.
- Before frying the plantains, the chicken might be ready, so check your time.
Fry the plantain chips and the chicken
- Pour flour in a platter to bread the chicken.
- Using your hands grab each piece of chicken and cover it with flour. Then, put the chicken piece in a grid, to let the flour stick a bit more.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan and add the plantain slices carefully, one by one.
- At the same time, in a separate cooking pot with hot oil fry the chicken.
- When plantains get a brownish color take them out of the pan and put them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil.
- The chicken will take longer than plantain chips, but once you see it's brown, take it out of the pot and use a paper towel too.
Putting everything together
- Now let’s put our special dish together, the "pollo chuco".
- First, make a generous and delicious base with a bed of plantains. Cover the base with coleslaw, then add chismol, and fried chicken on top.
- To decorate and add a punch of flavor add the pickled onions and decorate with salsita.
Video
Notes
If you liked this pollo chuco recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your pictures on my IG stories.
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