Cuban Mojo Sauce

Pelzman Family

Versailles Restaurant LA

½ cup olive oil

8 to 10 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

2 medium yellow onion thinly sliced

⅔ cups sour orange juice (or ⅓ cup lime juice plus ⅓ cup fresh orange juice)

⅓ cup water

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a sauce pan. Add the chopped garlic and one of the onions cooking until a pale golden brown. Stir in the citrus juices and water plus the dry herbs and spices- cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Add more salt or pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and let cool. The cilantro can be added at this time. The sauce can be refrigerated and may be kept for several weeks.

Marinate chicken with Mojo sauce for 5 hours in zip lock bag then set aside Mojo sauce for use in cooking.

CHICKEN: Preheat your oven to 350. Heat ¼ cup of the canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 3 pieces of chicken, skin side down until very crispy. About 5 minutes each side and repeat until all chicken is browned, adding more oil as needed.

Add the marinade to the hot pan and add as much chicken as will fit and cover with aluminum foil. Braise in the oven for about 45 minutes. Use a second pan if you have to - or simply roast the extra chicken on a baking sheet.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set to rest. Bring the sauce to boil on the stove and reduce by a quarter (about 8 minutes) and scrape all the bits from the roasting pan into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Add the remaining onion at the last moment when you are ready to serve (you want them to be almost raw). Serve with the rice, fried plantains, black bean and rice. Remove the chicken from the pan and set to rest. Bring the sauce to boil on the stove and reduce by a quarter (about 8 minutes) and scrape all the bits from the roasting pan into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Add the remaining onion at the last moment when you are ready to serve (you want them to be almost raw). Serve with the rice, fried plantains, black bean and rice.

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