This chicken escabeche recipe has every flavor you want for a satisfying meal - tart, sweet, spicy, tangy, and fresh. It's an easy chicken thighs recipe that works for weeknight dinners or fancy dinner parties.
With this chicken escabeche recipe, you get tart and tangy flavors thanks to the vinegar, but with the addition of raisins, jalapeños and fresh herbs, you also get spicy, sweet, and bright. What's not to love?
You may not have heard of escabeche, but you've probably heard of chicken in vinegar sauce. That's the basic idea here, but don't be afraid of strong flavors. It's vinegar-forward, yes, but all of the other ingredients balance things out.
(I have a secret to tell you... I lovelovelove vinegar. I like my salad dressings heavy on the vinegar, pickles, all manner of pickled things, I love them. I've been told that my love of autumn is an indicator of this preference in flavor profiles. People who love fall seem to love a pickle. I can't tell you why.)
Escabeche is traditionally served closer to room temperature, so it's great if you're expecting company for dinner—no pressure for it to come to the table piping hot.
Jump to:
What is escabeche?
Escabeche is a way of cooking meat, fish or vegetables with vinegar. The vinegar acts as a preservative, so historically it was used before refrigeration to keep food longer without spoiling. It's a common preparation in southern Spain, and often made with fish. Escabeche can be made with meat, fish or vegetables and is often served cold or at room temperature.
Chicken Escabeche is quick and easy, it's tart, sweet and spicy, and it's a one pan recipe!
- Make this in one skillet! Brown the chicken thighs, simmer the sauce, and finish the dish all in one pan.
- Sherry vinegar, golden raisins, jalapeños and warm spices give you a balance of tart, sweet, spicy, and earthy flavors in the sauce.
- Ready in 45 minutes!
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients you'll need
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs: We'll get the skin really crispy for great texture.
- Golden raisins: I love the more subtle flavor of golden raisins, and they also add a beautiful color to the dish.
- Fresh jalapeños: Leaving the seeds in for extra spice!
- Cumin seeds, ground coriander, bay leaf: These aromatic spices balance the spice of the jalapeños.
- Onion, carrot, garlic: This is our sofrito, which forms the base of the vinegar sauce.
- Sherry vinegar: Sherry vinegar has a wonderful nutty flavor and is integral to Spanish recipes.
- Olive oil
- Fresh mint leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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How to make chicken escabeche
Adapted from Bon Appétit.
Step 1: Season the chicken and make the vinegar sauce
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and under the skin. Pat skin dry and set aside.
Slice jalapeños and carrots and place them in a non-reactive heatproof bowl along with the golden raisins.
Place a large, wide, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. I used my GreenPan for this recipe. Toast the cumin seeds and coriander, just until fragrant and spices have bloomed, about 1 minute.
Add ⅓ cup olive oil and combine with spices. Stir in carrots, onion and garlic cloves, and cook until the onions are translucent, but not browned. 5 - 8 minutes.
Add the vinegar, water, and bay leaf and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 1 minute.
Remove bay leaf and pour the mixture into the bowl with the jalapeños and raisins. Stir to combine.
Step 2: Get the chicken skin crispy
Wipe the skillet clean and place over medium heat, add 2 tablespoon olive oil. When oil is hot, place chicken skin side down. It's best to work in batches of 3 - 4 pieces of chicken at a time.
Once skin is crispy, after about 8 minutes, flip over and cook an additional minute or so on the other side. Set chicken aside.
Step 3: Add the chicken to the escabeche sauce and finish cooking
Return the vinegar mixture to the pan, stirring around and scraping up any bits of fond on the bottom of the pan. Nestle all of the chicken back into the pan, and place in the oven uncovered for about 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Step 4: Cool the chicken, add the fresh mint and serve!
Remove from oven, allow the chicken to cool for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the mint on top and serve.
Chicken Escabeche tips
- For this chicken escabeche recipe, I'd recommend letting the chicken cool down for about 15 minutes instead of coming all the way to room temperature so you can still enjoy that crispy skin!
- If you want to make it less spicy, remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeños before adding to the sauce.
- It's important to let the chicken and sauce cool slightly before adding the mint so that it doesn't discolor and retains its fresh flavor.
- This is a perfect recipe for entertaining because it doesn't need to be served piping hot.
More Spanish recipes
- Paprika Potato Chips are an easy Spanish snack.
- Pan con Tomate or Spanish tomato bread, is a perfect side dish for escabeche!
- Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo) are a tapas bar staple that you can make at home.
- Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Dip takes classic Spanish Romesco sauce and turns it into a tasty dip.
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Recipe
Chicken Escabeche with Jalapeños, Golden Raisins and Mint
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Ingredients
Chicken Escabeche Recipe
- 6 - 8 chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 6 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅔ cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 jalapeño pepper thinly sliced
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ¾ cup mint leaves
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Put the raisins in a non-reactive heatproof bowl. Slice jalapeños, place them in the bowl with the raisins and set aside.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and under the skin. Pat skin dry and set aside.
- Place a large, wide, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Toast the cumin seeds and coriander, just until fragrant and spices have bloomed, about 1 minute.
- Add ⅓ cup olive oil and combine with spices. Stir in carrots, onion and garlic cloves, and cook until the onions are translucent, but not browned. 5 – 8 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, water, and bay leaf and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 1 minute.
- Remove bay leaf and pour the mixture into the bowl with the jalapeños and raisins. Stir to combine.
- Wipe the skillet clean and place over medium heat, add 2 tablespoon olive oil. When oil is hot, place chicken skin side down. It’s best to work in batches of 3 – 4 pieces of chicken at a time. Once skin is crispy, after about 8 minutes, flip over and cook an additional minute or so on the other side. Set chicken aside.
- Return the vinegar mixture to the pan, stirring around and scraping up any bits of fond on the bottom of the pan. Nestle all of the chicken back into the pan, and place in the oven uncovered for about 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from oven, allow the chicken to cool for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the mint on top and serve.
Notes
- If you haven't tried sherry vinegar, I really recommend it for this recipe. It has a distinct flavor that lends itself well to the other bright and bold flavors in the dish. It really gives it the flavor of Spain. It's also great for making bistro-style salad dressings. Try it!
Jaque
This was so good! The flavors are so unique! Loved it!
Debra
Hi Jaque,
So glad you enjoyed it. I love these vinegary flavors, too!
Thanks for reading and trying my recipes,
Debra
Jorie
Excited to try this! We loved fish escabeche when we were in Jamaica!
finefoodsblog
It's so delicious! Let me know how it turns out for you!