The Best Pan con Pollo | Shredded Chicken Sandwich

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Originally Posted On: https://camilamade.com/shredded-chicken-sandwich-pan-con-pollo/

This hearty chicken stew for Pan con Pollo, made with rotisserie chicken, is a one-pot meal that can be on the table in under an hour to make a flavorful smothered chicken Sandwich that will melt in your mouth as you bite into it.

I’ve made countless chicken stew recipes for Pan con Pollo over the years, from the simplest to the most time-consuming, and this one is one of our favorites.

My Pan Con Pollo recipe is delicious and addicting! It consists of a perfect hearty sandwich filled with fresh vegetables and juicy chicken that has been smothered in a flavorful tomato sauce made from scratch using flavor combinations that my family and I enjoy. It’s quick and easy to assemble.

Plus, it includes some clever shortcuts, such as the use of rotisserie chicken, that allow it to be prepared on a weeknight without the need to spend all day in the kitchen and tastes just as good, if not better than the traditional Pan Con Pollo served in Salvadoran restaurants.

Additionally, you can use this recipe to prepare various meals, such as Shredded Turkey Sandwich “Pan con Pavo, or Mexican-inspired dishes such as shredded chicken wraps, Chimichangas, Burritos, Flautas, Tamales, or simply serve over Buttered Noodles.

1. It starts with a rotisserie chicken, an excellent base for quick meals.
2. It’s simple to make, and the result is delicious.
3. It is made with rotisserie chicken, eliminating the need to precook the chicken.
4. You can use this recipe to prepare various meals, such as Pan con Pavo, or Mexican-inspired dishes such as shredded chicken wraps, Chimichangas, or simply serve over noodles.

Pan Con Pollo, also known as Panes con Pollo, is a hot sandwich: Traditionally served in a submarine bread and is filled with chicken or turkey, and fresh vegetables, such as fresh tomato, cucumbers, raw onion, watercress, and shredded cabbage. 

Pan con Pollo originated in El Salvador, where the most popular filling is chicken simmered in tomato sauce and El Relajo spices before being hand-pulled into a hearty sandwich with fresh tomato, cucumbers, raw onion, watercress, shredded cabbage, and occasionally hard-boiled eggs.

Nowadays, almost every country has its version of Pan con Pollo. Some of them have variations of the meat and even different cooking methods, and other names, such as Panes Relleno, Panes con Gallina, Panes con Pollo, Pan con Pollo, etc.

Although modern kitchen appliances have made Pan con Pollo at home easier than ever before, this wasn’t always the case. They were once tricky and time-consuming to prepare, even though they are now everyday weeknight dinners in many households. Nevertheless, these cooking methods are still practiced and preserved in many cultures today. 

The beauty of Pan con Pollo is that it is not only crowd-pleasing but also customizable, meaning you can use whatever type of meat or vegetable substitute you prefer.

My easy step-by-step recipe provides the basic approach for making Pan con Pollo that you may follow to get started. Feel free to chicken stew ahead of time but make the sandwich at the last minute when serving so they don’t get soggy.

• Whole Rotisserie Chicken: You can also use leftover boiled chicken, roasted chicken, or turkey, or make it from scratch with a fresh whole chicken. ( See Notes)
• Fresh Vegetables: I use a combination of onion, tomatoes, and poblano pepper.
• Seasonings: I use Sazon Goya Culantro y Achiote to give a distinctly Latin flavor, but you can use your favorite poultry seasoning.
• Red pepper flakes & Ground Black Pepper: If you don’t like pepper or are sensitive to it, reduce the amount; remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take it back.
• Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon: It improves the flavor, but you can also use Kosher salt.
• Bread: The classic way to serve a shredded chicken sandwich is on hefty bread such as Bolillo or hoagie.
• Toppings: Cabbage, Watercress, cucumbers, radishes, and onion.
• Condiments: Mayonnaise and yellow mustard are essential ingredients in this recipe. I recommend using a generous amount of both to enhance the pan de Pollo flavor even further.

• Make the Tomato Sauce & add the Rotisserie Chicken: Disassemble the chicken into large pieces or pull the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones before adding to the sauce, if desire.
• Cook & Serve: Cover and cook for about 30 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Mound the shredded chicken into each bun, scoop a small spoonful of sauce onto each sandwich, and top with watercress or cilantro. 

Store leftover chicken stew sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 days.

Reheat the chicken stew sauce gently on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave until heated.

Chicken Stew Sauce “Salsa de Pan de Pollo” can be made 3 days ahead. First, let cool, cover, and chill. Then when you’re ready to eat, gently reheat on a stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave. Next, assemble the Pan con Pollo just before serving so they don’t get soggy.

Pan con Pollo is an excellent stand-alone dish because it is filling and satisfying on its own.

Additional Suggestions:

Serve it with a Chilled Coca-Cola or Beer.

• Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Thai Sweet Chili Chicken
• String Bean Chicken
• Sichuan Mala Chicken

Not necessarily; you can make it from scratch with fresh chicken or even leftover if you prefer. If you’re using fresh chicken, keep in mind that you’ll need to cut it up and sear it. Then add the remaining sauce ingredients and cook, occasionally stirring, until the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce has thickened, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

No, it will not ruin it; you can use any meat of your choice or leftovers, such as Thanksgiving turkey, which I highly recommend so you have an excuse to make our delicious Pan con Pavo/Pan con Chumpe recipe.

Relajo is a spice mix that serves as the foundation for many Salvadoran dishes such as Pan con Pollo. It consists of sesame seeds, annatto paste, bay leaves, black pepper, dried California chile, dried ancho chile, pumpkin seeds, and raw peanuts; the spice mix may vary according to the dish or cook.

I don’t use Relajo Spice Mix in my Pan de Pollo, but I’ve included a homemade recipe below if you’re interested. It yields approximately 3/4 cups.

The ingredients are as follows:1 California or pasilla dried chili, tear into large pieces, 1 ancho dried chili, tear into large pieces, (1) 3″ cinnamon stick, 4 dried bay leaves, 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 2 tablespoons raw unsalted peanuts, 2 tablespoons raw unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon Achiote (annatto) seeds or 2 teaspoons powder

Instructions: Remove the stems from the dried chiles and tear them into large pieces. Toast the chiles in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning once or twice until they change color and begin to release a toasty aroma, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In the same skillet, toast sesame seeds, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds for about 1 minute. Add the black pepper, coriander seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, whole clove, and thyme. Toast, stirring for another minute or until aromatic. Set aside to let it cool.

Once cooled, transfer everything to a blender along with the achiote seeds and blend on high until finely ground for about 1 minute ( be careful not to overprocess; you don’t want to turn it into a paste). Relajo Spice Mix can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

When sweating the aromatics for the Pan con Pollo sauce, add a couple of spoonfuls of Relajo Spice Mix.

Any hearty sandwich bread such as bolillo or hoagy bread will do.

Once cooled, remove the bones and discard them. Then, using two forks or your hands, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.

4 Easy Tips for Making The Best Pan Con Pollo

1. If you’d like the sauce thicker, cook a little more until it is the consistency you’d like.
2. Refrigerate the leftover filling for up to 3 days. Assemble the sandwiches just before serving.
3. Reheat the chicken stew gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
4. The sauce is done when the sauce is thickened and no longer watery.
5. Alternatively, you can pull the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones before adding to the sauce, if desire.

• 8 fresh tomatoes, chopped 
• 1- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, canola, or vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped 
• 1 Poblano pepper or bell pepper (any color), chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Chile Ancho
• 1 Chile Guajillo or Chile California
• 1 Chile Pasilla
• 3 Chile Arbol
• 1 packets sazon goya culantro y achiote
• 2 tablespoons knorr chicken flavor bouillon
• 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, *Disassemble the chicken into large pieces or leftover turkey from Thanksgiving

• 8 or more large hoagie, submarine, bolillo rolls, or french rolls, as needed 
• 1 small cabbage, shredded or 16 leaves remain lettuce (left whole)
• 1 bunch of Watercress or Cilantro
• 2 cucumbers, unpeeled and sliced in thin slices
• 8 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mayonnaise, to taste
• 1 large white or red onion, cut in half, and thinly sliced
• 1 cup yellow mustard, to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. When hot, add the chile arbol, chile guajillo, Chile Pasilla, and chile ancho and saute, frequently stirring for 1 to 2 minutes or until the oil begins to turn a bit orange from the chiles; remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the garlic, fresh tomatoes, poblanos pepper, and onion, and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables soften, occasionally stirring about 10 to 12 minutes. Return the chiles into the saucepan, add the crushed canned tomato, rinse the can with 2 cups of hot water, and add the water to the pan; season with chicken bouillon and sazon goya culantro y achiote, sugar, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to low, stirring and constantly scraping the bottom of the pan.

Using an immersion blender or a standard blender, process the mixture in batches until smooth enough for your taste. If using a standard blender, take care not to fill the jar more than half full per batch, leave the hole in the lid open, cover with a clean dishtowel to allow the heat to escape), and pour it back into the saucepan. 

Add the disassembled bone-in rotisserie chicken and bay leaves to the saucepan to help the sauce develop more flavor, and bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, occasionally stirring, until it has deepened in color and reduced slightly, about 30 to 45 minutes (if the sauce begins to scorch, lower the heat). The sauce is done when the sauce is thickened and no longer watery. 

Taste and adjust the season with salt and pepper, if needed. Remove the bay leaves along with the chicken and set aside until the chicken is cool enough to handle. Shred into bite-size pieces using your hands or two forks, discarding the bones, and return the meat to the pot and stir to combine.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, assemble all vegetables. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400° F

Toast your Bolillo Rolls on the middle rack of the oven, either on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or directly on the grates, for about 10 minutes, flipping it halfway through.

Place toasted Bolillo Rolls on each plate, cut lengthwise, and spread mayonnaise on one side of the bread. The other side spread mustard, top each bread with shredded cabbage or two pieces of lettuces, cucumber slices, a couple of onions, and radish slices.

Mound the shredded chicken into each bun, scoop a small spoonful of sauce onto each sandwich, and top with watercress or cilantro. Repeat the process with the remaining Bolillo Rolls. Buen provecho!

• If using Raw Chicken Instead of Rotisserie Chicken, keep in mind that you have to cut the chicken, brown them (if you want to give them more flavor), add all the sauce ingredients, and cook until the meat is falling off the bone tender and the sauce thickens about 1 hour 10 minutes.
• If your chicken stew needs more salt, add a little more powdered chicken bouillon (use sparingly because it is very salty) or kosher salt to taste.

• How to disassemble a Rotisserie Chicken: Place the chicken breast side up, run a knife down the center of the chicken, and find the bone. Cut just off to one side and slice top-to-bottom down the bone. Next, run the knife down the other side of the breast, along the leg and wing, cutting between the leg/wing and breast. The whole breast should be removed easily now. Repeat on the other side. Gently pull the leg from the joint until it separates. If it doesn’t come easily, you can use your knife and place a little pressure on the joint to help it come free. Repeat the process for the wings. Alternatively, you can pull the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones before adding it to the sauce. However, I highly recommend disassembling the chicken and leaving the bone to help develop more flavor in the sauce.
• Store leftover Shredded Chicken Sandwich “Pan con Pollo” sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for three days.
• When blending hot liquid, let it cool for five minutes, then transfer it to a blender, filling only halfway. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters and pulse until smooth.

Pan con Pollo

Camila Benitez

This hearty chicken stew for Pan con Pollo, made with rotisserie chicken, is a one-pot meal that can be on the table in under an hour to make a flavorful smothered chicken Sandwich that will melt in your mouth as you bite into it.5 from 9 votes Print Recipe Pin RecipePrep Time 30 minsCook Time 30 minsTotal Time 1 hrCourse Main CourseCuisine SalvadoranServings 12 peopleIngredients1x2x3xFor the Sauce:

• 8 fresh tomatoes , chopped
• 1- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , olive oil, canola, or vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion , chopped
• 1 Poblano pepper or bell pepper (any color), chopped
• 8 cloves garlic , minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Kosher salt , to taste
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Chile Ancho
• 1 Chile Guajillo or Chile California
• 1 Chile Pasilla
• 3 Chile Arbol
• 1 packets sazon goya culantro y achiote
• 2 tablespoons knorr chicken flavor bouillon
• 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken ,Disassemble the chicken into large pieces or leftover turkey from Thanksgiving

To Assemble:

• 8 or more large hoagie , submarine, bolillo rolls, or french rolls, as needed
• 1 small cabbage , shredded or 16 leaves remain lettuce (left whole)
• 1 bunch of Watercress or Cilantro
• 2 cucumbers , unpeeled and sliced in thin slices
• 8 radishes , thinly sliced
• 1 cup mayonnaise , to taste
• 1 large white or red onion , cut in half, and thinly sliced
• 1 cup yellow mustard , to taste

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. When hot, add the chile arbol, chile guajillo, Chile Pasilla, and chile ancho and saute, frequently stirring for 1 to 2 minutes or until the oil begins to turn a bit orange from the chiles; remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the garlic, fresh tomatoes, poblanos pepper, and onion, and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables soften, occasionally stirring about 10 to 12 minutes. Return the chiles into the saucepan, add the crushed canned tomato, rinse the can with 2 cups of hot water, and add the water to the pan; season with chicken bouillon and sazon goya culantro y achiote, sugar, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to low, stirring and constantly scraping the bottom of the pan.
• Using an immersion blender or a standard blender, process the mixture in batches until smooth enough for your taste. If using a standard blender, take care not to fill the jar more than half full per batch, leave the hole in the lid open, cover with a clean dishtowel to allow the heat to escape), and pour it back into the saucepan.
• Add the disassembled bone-in rotisserie chicken and bay leaves to the saucepan to help the sauce develop more flavor and bring the sauce to a simmer. Cook, occasionally stirring, until it has deepened in color and reduced slightly, about 30 minutes (if the sauce begins to scorch, lower the heat). The sauce is done when the sauce is thickened and no longer watery.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed. Remove the bay leaves along with the chicken and set aside until cool enough to handle. Shred into bite-size pieces using your hands or two forks, discarding the bones, and return the meat to the pot.

To Assemble the Shredded Chicken Sandwich “Pan con Pollo.”

• On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, assemble all vegetables. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400° F
• Toast your Bolillo Rolls on the middle rack of the oven, either on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or directly on the grates, for about 10 minutes, flipping it halfway through.
• Place toasted Bolillo Rolls on each plate, cut lengthwise, and spread mayonnaise on one side of the bread. The other side spread mustard, top each bread with shredded cabbage or two pieces of lettuces, cucumber slices, a couple of onions, and a couple of radish slices.
• Mound the shredded chicken into each bun, scoop a small spoonful of sauce onto each sandwich, and top with watercress or cilantro. Repeat the process with the remaining Bolillo Rolls. Buen provecho!

Notes

• How to disassemble a Rotisserie Chicken: Place the chicken breast side up, run a knife down the center of the chicken, and find the bone. Cut just off to one side and slice top-to-bottom down the bone. Next, run the knife down the other side of the breast, along the leg and wing, cutting between the leg/wing and breast.
• The whole breast should be removed easily now. Repeat on the other side. Gently pull the leg from the joint until it separates. If it doesn’t come easily, you can use your knife and place a little pressure on the joint to help it come free. Repeat the process for the wings. Alternatively, you can pull the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones before adding it to the sauce. However, I highly recommend disassembling the chicken and leaving the bone to help develop more flavor in the sauce.
• Store leftover Shredded Chicken Sandwich “Pan con Pollo” sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for three days.
• When blending hot liquid, first let it cool for five minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender, filling only halfway. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters and pulse until smooth.