Pollo A La Brasa Peruvian Roast Chicken Food

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN-STYLE ROASTED CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Blend the garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, lime zest, mustard, honey, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and oil in a blender. Place the chicken in a large sealable bag and pour in the marinade, then move the chicken around to ensure all the pieces are coated. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 4 and up to 24 hours. Turn the bag occasionally to ensure even marinating.
• Heat the oven to 450ºF and set a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack on top (you can also lay chicken directly on the foil if you want). Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade set them on the tray with a little room between each piece. Drizzle about a teaspoon of the marinade over each piece.
• Roast the chicken until the skin is golden and the temperature at the thickest part reaches 165ºF on an instant read thermometer, 30 to 40 minutes (if using breasts, check them after 20 to 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and let them rest, covered loosely with foil, for at least 5 minutes before serving.
• While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. In a blender or food processor, add the cilantro, jalapeños, garlic, lime juice, scallions, salt, mustard, aji amarillo paste, honey, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Add the mayonnaise and blend until just mixed. Taste and adjust with salt or lime juice, as needed.
• Serve the chicken with the sauce and lime wedges on the side.

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN ROTISSERIE CHICKEN)

Steps:

• On the night before roasting, add dry ground ingredients to bowl
• Combine all the ingredients for the marinade (vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, black beer, ground ají panca chilli pepper, garlic, coarse salt, pepper and cumin) in a large bowl and mix well.
• Place the chicken in a large baking tray or bowl, pour the marinade over it, ensuring it covers all of the parts of the chicken, and leave in the fridge overnight to marinate.
• (Day of roasting) Take the chicken out of the fridge, spread the marinade over the chicken one last time and place into a baking pan, adding 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pan in order to avoid the chicken drying out. Pre-heat the oven at 390°F (200 °C) for 10 minutes and place the tray with the chicken in the middle of the oven. Bake for 2 hours or until cooked, ensuring the chicken is cooked inside (check with a skewer) and the skin is nicely roasted and crispy.
• About 30 minutes before the chicken is ready to come out of the oven, fry the potatoes in plenty of vegetable oil until golden brown. Place on some kitchen towel in a strainer on a plate to absorb any excess oil. Add salt to taste.
• Place the lettuce, tomato and cucumber and toss with your salad dressing of choice.
• When the chicken is ready, cut into individual pieces (usually quartered) and serve with the French fries, salad, and dipping sauces.
• Enjoy your Peruvian classic roast dinner!

PERUVIAN ROAST CHICKEN (POLLO A LA BRASA)

Steps:

• Marinade: In a bowl, mix together ground bean paste and aji amarillo paste. Add chicken stock, cumin, and sunflower oil. Peel garlic cloves, then use a Microplane to grate the garlic into the marinade. Finely chop oregano and add it to the marinade. Stir to combine all of the ingredients.
• Marinate chicken: Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a rack. Spoon marinade onto chicken, liberally covering all surfaces of the bird, including the cavity. Carefully place a heaping tablespoon of the marinade under the skin of each breast. Marinate, covered or uncovered, in the refrigerator, at least overnight and up to 24 hours. (Note: You'll have enough marinade for 2 chickens. Store leftover marinade in a lidded container in the refrigerator up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.)
• Roast chicken, part 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, preferably convection. Meanwhile, remove chicken from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature 20-30 minutes. Roast for 20-25 minutes. (Total roasting time will be 45-60 minutes, depending on oven and size of the bird.)
• Aji Verde, part 1: Roast poblano and jalapeño peppers by placing directly over the flame of a gas burner set to medium-high. Char on all sides. (Alternatively, peppers can be roasted on a grill or under a broiler in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until charred.) Place charred peppers in a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rest, 20-30 minutes. Steam will continue to cook the peppers and soften the skin for easy removal.
• Roast chicken, part 2: After the first 20-25 minutes, rotate the chicken 180 degrees and continue roasting, another 20-35 minutes. Check temperature: A thermometer placed in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone, should register 160 degrees F. (Temperature will continue to rise after removing chicken from oven.) If necessary, continue roasting and rotating the pan, 10 minutes at a time, until temperature reaches 160 F. Then remove from oven and let rest, 20 minutes.
• Aji Verde, part 2: After the peppers have rested, remove plastic wrap. Under running water, use your fingers to gently remove charred skin, stems and seeds. Dry peppers between layers of paper towels and set aside. Remove cilantro leaves and set aside, discarding the stems. Place peppers into a blender, followed by cilantro, vinegar, and egg yolk. Starting the blender at low speed, gradually raise it to medium-high to combine, 10 seconds. With motor on, slowly drizzle in half of the oil to begin emulsifying the sauce. Turn off blender, scrape down the sides, and salt to taste. Turn on blender and continue drizzling in the remaining oil. Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.
• Carve chicken: As you carve, try to keep the skin intact for maximum flavor distribution. First, cut away the thigh and leg in one piece; then separate the thigh from the leg. Repeat on other side. Cut down the center breastbone to remove the breast meat from the bone; cut the breasts in half crosswise. Remove the wings. Arrange chicken on a serving platter and serve with Aji Verde on the side.

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Combine all the marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
• Loosen the skin on the chicken and rub some marinade under the skin. Place the chicken or chicken pieces in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade over. Swish around to even coat the pieces. Marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• If using a convection oven (that's what I use for crispier skin): Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and roast the chicken for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and roast the chicken for another 15-20 minutes or until the internal temp reads 165 degrees F.If using a conventional oven: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and roast the chicken pieces on the middle rack of the oven until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 160 degrees F, about an 45 minutes. If the skin begins to brown too much, move the roasting pan to the bottom rack. You can also reduce the oven temperature.Remove the chicken from the oven. It is recommended that you tent the chicken with foil for 10-15 minutes before serving. If using a whole chicken, cut the chicken into serving pieces.
• Serve the chicken with our homemade Aji Verde Sauce. Traditional sides include thickly cut French fries and a leafy green salad.

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN GRILLED CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Place chicken thighs into a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Blend soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, vegetable oil, cumin, paprika, and oregano in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture over chicken, seal the bag, and refrigerate for 8 hours.
• Combine jalapeno peppers, cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender; pulse until sauce is smooth. Transfer sauce to a covered bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove chicken thighs from the bag and place on the grill. Discard bag with excess marinade. Grill thighs for 7 minutes; flip and grill 7 additional minutes.
• Transfer thighs to a serving dish and drizzle reserved sauce over the chicken.

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN GRILLED CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Blend soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and oil in a blender.
• Put chicken in a large sealable bag and add marinade. Seal bag and marinate, chilled, 8 to 24 hours. Turn occasionally to assure even marinating.
• Prepare grill for medium-high heat.
• Discard marinade, then pat chicken dry. Oil grill rack.
• Grill chicken over area with no coals (or over a turned-off burner), skin side down first, covered, turning over once, until cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes (add charcoal to maintain heat).
• Garnish with lime wedges.
• (IF OVEN ROASTING - Preheat oven to 500°F, and roast chicken for 30 minutes in a 13x9-inch roasting pan with 1 cup water. After 30 minutes of roasting time, tent with foil and continue roasting until browned and cooked through, or about 15 minutes longer.).

POLLO A LA BRASA - PERUVIAN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH YELLOW POTATOES

Steps:

• Brine the chicken by soaking the chicken (giblets removed) in salt water for 12 hours in the refrigerator . Remove from salt water and rinse.
• Peel and mash the garlic, and mix it with the vinegar and the vegetable oil. Stir in the chile powder, cumin, paprika, garlic salt, and soy sauce.
• Place the chicken in a ziplock bag, and pour in the marinde. Seal the back and toss to coat the chicken with the marinade.
• Marinate chicken, refrigerated, for 12-24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potatoes and cut into small wedges.
• Place the potatoes in a roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on top of a rack over the potatoes.
• Roast chicken uncovered for 30-45 minutes. If the skin is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. Flip and stir the potatoes with a spatula. Continue to roast until chicken has an internal temperature of about 165 degrees, about 1 hour and a half total oven time, depending on the size of the chicken. (Read more here about how to roast chicken).
• Remove chicken from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before carving.