Chicken Guajillo

Ingredients

• 8 small chicken legs (or 4 large chicken thighs)
• 6 medium guajillo dried peppers
• 2 medium tomatoes (cut into chunks)
• 1 small onion (cut into chunks)
• 2 garlic cloves (peeled)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 small stick cinnamon (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
• 1 orange (juice)
• 1 lime (juice)
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the guajillo peppers removing first the stem, then cutting them in half and discarding seeds and membranes.

2. 2

   Place them in a medium bowl and cover them with hot water. Allow soaking for 10 minutes.

3. 3

   After chilies are nicely soft, drain them and add them to a blender along with tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, peppercorns, and cinnamon.

4. 4

   Add 1 cup of water, orange juice, lime juice, and salt. Blend at high speed until you'll have a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

5. 5

   Place a strainer over the pan you will use to cook the pollo guajillo and strain the sauce.

6. 6

   Add about 1 cup of water and mix well, then add the chicken legs and make sure they're slightly covered by the sauce.

7. 7

   Bring to a simmer and cover the pan.

8. 8

   Cook for 40 minutes, checking from time to time making sure the chicken is always slightly covered with the sauce.

9. 9

   Once chicken is cooked through and the sauce has ben thickened a bit, adjust seasonings and turn off the heat.

10. 10

    Serve over steamed rice, Mexican rice, noodles, or with warm tortillas.