Coxinha de Frango

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium saucepan for the dough
• •Heavy 4-liter pot for frying
• •Fry thermometer
• •Slotted spoon or spider
• •Sheet pan for resting or freezing

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the chicken

   Put the chicken, 4 cups water, quartered onion, smashed garlic, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer and cook until the chicken is firm and cooked through, about 18 to 22 minutes. This liquid is not background. It's the broth that flavors the dough, so don't trade it for a cube and call that cooking.

2. 2

   Save the broth

   Lift the chicken out and strain the broth into a measuring cup. You need 2 cups for the dough and 1/2 cup for the filling. If you are short, top it up with water. If you have extra, simmer it a few minutes to make it stronger. Taste it: it should be savory, not salty like the sea.

   The honest shortcut is leftover cooked chicken from yesterday's lunch. Fine. But make a quick broth with onion, garlic, bay, salt, and water for the dough, because plain water gives you plain dough.
3. 3

   Shred the chicken

   Shred the chicken finely with two forks while it's still warm enough to pull easily. You want small strands, not big chunks. Big pieces tear the dough when you shape, and then everyone blames the cook instead of the filling.

4. 4

   Build the refogado

   Warm 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until it goes soft and see-through, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, just until you smell it, because burnt garlic turns bitter and follows you through the whole filling.

5. 5

   Finish the filling

   Stir in the tomato paste or chopped tomato, colorau, black pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the shredded chicken and 1/2 cup broth, then cook, stirring, until the chicken looks moist but the pan has no loose liquid, about 4 to 6 minutes. Wet filling opens the coxinha in the fryer. Dry filling tastes like punishment. A gente wants the middle ground. Stir in the parsley and the requeijão, if using, then cool completely.

6. 6

   Scald the dough

   In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups reserved broth and the butter to a full boil. Add the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, pulls away from the sides, and leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 4 minutes. This scalds the flour so the dough tastes cooked, bends without cracking, and holds the filling instead of falling apart.

7. 7

   Knead it smooth

   Turn the warm dough onto a clean counter and let it sit 5 minutes, just until your hands can handle it. Knead until smooth and soft, about 2 minutes. Don't dust it with extra flour unless it's truly sticking to everything. Too much flour makes the shell heavy, and coxinha should be sturdy, not a doorstop.

8. 8

   Shape the coxinhas

   Divide the dough into 24 pieces and keep them covered with a towel. Flatten one piece into a small cup in your palm, add about 1 tablespoon cooled filling, close the dough around it, and pinch the top into a teardrop. Roll the bottom gently so it stands. Same size matters because same size fries evenly. Seal every closed edge with your fingers so oil has nowhere to sneak in.

9. 9

   Bread the shell

   Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup water in one bowl and put the breadcrumbs in another. Dip each coxinha in the egg mixture, let the excess drip off, then roll in breadcrumbs and press lightly so the crumb sticks. The breading is not decoration. It protects the dough, gives you a crisp bite, and keeps the filling where it belongs.

10. 10

    Rest or freeze

    Set the breaded coxinhas on a tray and rest them 15 minutes before frying, or freeze them on the tray until hard and bag them for later. Resting lets the coating settle so it doesn't shed into the oil. Freezing them separately first keeps you from owning one giant frozen coxinha brick.

11. 11

    Fry until golden

    Heat the frying oil in a heavy pot to 170 to 180°C, or 340 to 350°F. Fry 5 or 6 coxinhas at a time until evenly deep golden, about 4 to 5 minutes fresh or 6 to 7 minutes from frozen. Don't crowd the pot. Too many at once drops the oil temperature, the crust softens, and the coxinha drinks oil instead of frying clean.

12. 12

    Drain and serve

    Lift the coxinhas out with a slotted spoon and drain on a rack or paper towel. Let them sit 5 minutes before eating, because the filling needs a moment to settle and your mouth is not a testing laboratory. Serve warm, with molho de pimenta if that's how your table likes it.

Chef Tips

• •Use thighs if you can. Breast works, but thighs stay juicier and forgive you a little if you answer a message at the wrong minute.
• •If tomatoes are tired and expensive, use tomato paste. It's concentrated tomato, not a packet pretending to be flavor. Cook it in the refogado until it darkens a shade and smells sweet.
• •Cool the filling before shaping. Warm filling softens the dough from inside, and then the fryer gets blamed for a problem that started on the counter.
• •Fine breadcrumbs give the classic salgado crust. Panko makes a rougher shell. It isn't a crime, just a different bite.
• •A thermometer makes frying calmer. Without one, drop in a pinch of breadcrumb: it should bubble right away and turn golden slowly, not sink sadly and not burn in seconds.
• •Freeze them breaded and unfried. Fry straight from frozen, a few at a time. A tray of coxinhas in the freezer is birthday insurance, game-day insurance, and Tuesday insurance.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
• •Breaded unfried coxinhas freeze for up to 2 months. Freeze on a tray first, then transfer to a bag or container.
• •Fry frozen coxinhas straight from the freezer at 170 to 180°C, adding 1 to 2 minutes. Don't thaw them first or the coating softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)