Pollo al ajillo is the garlic chicken of the Spanish home and tavern — pieces browned and simmered with abundant garlic, white wine and bay. The al ajillo method has Moorish roots and is applied across Spain to prawns, mushrooms and more.
Crisp-skinned, fall-tender chicken in a golden garlic sauce that is mellow rather than sharp, rounded by wine and olive oil. The braised garlic cloves are soft and sweet enough to eat whole. Pure comfort, mopped up with bread.
Slow cooking in oil tames the garlic's pungency into mellow sweetness, while the wine deglazes browned chicken fond into a savory sauce. Bone-in pieces stay juicy and enrich the braise with gelatin.
Variations
made with rabbit (conejo al ajillo); finished with a splash of brandy; spiced with a dried guindilla chili
On the Palate
Where Pollo al Ajillo sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 18 min
Cut the chicken into small bone-in pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- 25 min
Fry a generous handful of whole unpeeled garlic cloves in olive oil until fragrant, then set aside.
Watch outKeep the heat gentle — the garlic should turn soft and golden and smell sweet, not brown and bitter.
- 36 min
Brown the chicken pieces in the garlic oil over medium-high heat on all sides.
Watch outGet a real deep-brown crust on the skin before you move the pieces — that fond is the sauce's flavor base.
- 42 min
Return the garlic, add a bay leaf, and pour in white wine or dry sherry.
- 53 min
Let the wine bubble and reduce, scraping up any browned bits.
Watch outLet the wine bubble hard and scrape the pan — the raw alcohol smell should cook off and the liquid go syrupy.
- 615 min
Add a little water or stock, cover, and braise until the chicken is tender.
- 74 min
Uncover and reduce the sauce until lightly thickened and glossy.
Watch outReduce until the sauce coats a spoon and turns glossy — too thin and it slides off the chicken.
- 82 min
Scatter with chopped parsley and serve hot with bread or fried potatoes.
