Cooking Live (at Home) with Juan Pedrosa of Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar

Chef Juan Pedrosa of Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar. / Photo Josh Jamison

Over the last few weeks of COVID-related quarantine, many of us have spent more time in the kitchen than we have in a very, very long time. (We’ve seen your sourdough starters on Instagram! All of them.) Of course, it’s important to look for silver linings—however thin they may be!—in these strange and stressful times, and becoming a better home cook is at least one satisfying aim to keep us occupied and entertained.

Well, good news! Since gatherings IRL are not currently possible, our friends over at the Boston Magazine Events team have gone virtual—and pulled together a promotional Friday series of “Cooking Live (At Home)” demos starring some of the city’s best chefs. You can find them streamed live on the Events Instagram account, and you’ll want to sign up here for email updates on these and other online hangs. Next up: Today at 5 p.m., Smoke Shop chef-owner Andy Husbands—our reigning champ for the best barbecue in Boston—will guide viewers through a recipe for BBQ fried rice that will help you make use of leftover meats in your fridge. (And he’ll also mix together a coconut cold brew martini to wash it down.)

To make it even easier to find all these promotional demos, we’ll also archive them here. So without further ado—and in case you missed it—here’s the first “Cooking Live (At Home)” event featuring Juan Pedrosa, executive chef at Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar. Pedrosa pulled together some mouthwatering marinated chicken thighs with salsa adobada. Follow along with the video (and detailed recipes below), and check back soon for more creative new concoctions to make at home. You know, once that sourdough is perfected.

SALSA ADOBADA

Ingredients

1 7-oz. can chipotle in adobo
2 oz. white vinegar
¼ large onion
5 large garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. dried oregano
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. tomato paste
Zest of an orange

Directions

Incorporate ingredients into a blender or food processor. Pulse until ingredients come together to form a soft red hued marinade. Refrigerate until needed.

MARINATED CHICKEN THIGHS

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless chicken thighs
½ c. salsa adobada
¼ c. honey or agave
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Allow thighs to marinate in salsa adobada and honey/agave for an hour—or up to 24 hours for best results.

(From chef Pedrosa: “I enjoy grilling as much as possible through the year. Unfortunately, one may not always have a grill on hand. Grilling allows for direct heat which is perfect for creating beautiful char marks and caramelizing sugar onto your protein of choice. I’ve opted to cook chicken thighs using a mix of indirect heat and broiler setting on a standard home oven. Switching between the setting will allow you to fully cook the chicken and give you a nice char on top. When I refer to this method, I usually keep skin on the thighs.”)

Adjust baking rack about 10” inches from broiler. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a cookie pan with rack, lay chicken thighs flat, skin side up. Avoid overlapping for proper cooking.

Cook for 8 minutes, then rotate (spin) pan and cook for about another 8 minutes. Once chicken feels firm to the tough, switch to broiler setting and allow for chicken to crisp and char slightly. This step depends on how much char you enjoy, I tend to lean on about 5 minutes, watching closely.