Cuban-Spiced Pollo a la Plancha with Charred Zucchini and Fried Egg
Thin-pounded chicken thighs hit a screaming-hot cast iron pan with a citrusy mojo rub, picking up a golden crust in minutes. A quick char on summer zucchini and a runny pasture-raised fried egg on top turn this into something that feels like a proper meal without a lot of fuss. It is the kind of cooking that has earned Cuban food its first Michelin star, brought home to a Florida farmhouse kitchen.
Crisp, citrus-rubbed chicken thighs straight off the plancha, topped with a farm egg cooked right in the pan drippings.
Cuban cooking just earned its first Michelin star, and if you live anywhere near Southwest Florida, that probably does not surprise you. The flavors have been right here all along: sour citrus, loads of garlic, pork fat, and proteins cooked hard and fast on a flat iron. We borrowed that plancha approach for our pasture-raised chicken thighs, and the result is one of those weeknight dinners that tastes like you put in a lot more effort than you did.
The fried egg on top is not a gimmick. It comes straight from the pan drippings after the chicken comes off, which means it picks up every bit of that mojo-scented fond. Our pasture-raised eggs have yolks that run a deep orange and hold up under heat without going rubbery, so they do real work here as a sauce. Add a cold beer and whatever is coming out of the garden this week, and you have got dinner handled. You can read how we raise them here.
Ingredients
Method
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Notes from our kitchen
- Pounding the thighs to an even half-inch thickness is the real trick here. It means the skin crisps before the meat overcooks, which is the whole point of a plancha-style cook.
- Sour orange trees grow all over Southwest Florida and you may have one in a neighbor's yard. If you can get the real fruit, use it. The flavor is noticeably brighter and more complex than the lime-orange substitute.
- Do not skip the resting step. Even two or three minutes under foil lets the juices settle and keeps the chicken from running dry when you cut into it.
Common questions
Can I use boneless thighs instead?
Absolutely, and it actually makes the pounding step easier. Reduce the first side cook time to about 4 minutes since you lose the bone as a heat buffer. The skin still gets crispy as long as your pan is hot enough.
What if I do not have a cast iron skillet?
A heavy stainless pan works fine. What you want to avoid is nonstick, which cannot handle the high heat you need for a proper sear. If the pan is not smoking-hot when the chicken goes in, you will steam it instead of sear it.
Can I cook this outside on the grill?
Yes, and it is excellent that way. Use a flat cast iron griddle set directly on the grate, or cook the chicken skin-side down over direct medium-high heat and weight it with a foil-wrapped brick. The zucchini goes right on the grill grates.