Ingredients:
- 3 large red chiles, dried
- Hot water for soaking the chiles
- 3 tablespoons lard or other cooking oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 8 cloves of garlic,
- 2 lbs chicken pieces, with skin and bone (about 6-8 pieces)
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan that can hold all of the chicken pieces without crowding the pan. Toss in the onion and begin to cook until they begin to turn translucent. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes. Push the garlic and onion to the sides of the pan, and turn up the heat to medium-high. Place the chicken pieces into the pan, one at a time, waiting a few moments between each piece. Cook the chicken until the skin is browned then turn over and brown the other side. You want it to be quite brown, but not burnt. When the chicken is browned, turn down the heat and let the pan cool down for a minute.
Remove the chiles from the soaking liquid and puree them (you can use a food processor, blender or a stick blender) or you can chop them up extremely fine. Add the chiles to the stock and then carefully pour the mixture into the pan. Stand back in case the stock sputters when you put it into the hot pan.
Bring the liquid to a simmer. Let it simmer over low heat for up to an hour or until the chicken is extremely tender. Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a platter or a dish with sides to hold the sauce in. To the braising liquid add the juice of one lemon, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be slightly thickened from cooking, but you can continue to cook it over medium heat until it reduces further if you need too.
Pour the finished sauce over the chicken and serve immediately. You can serve it with chopped onions, cilantro, chile sauce, chopped chiles and a stack of steaming hot corn or flour tortillas.
