Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H. Roasted chicken can be pretty boring sometimes. A lot of roasted chicken recipes wind up delivering bland chicken that leaves us wanting more. Not so with pollo asado. This is a Latin American dish with lots of seasonings. With pollo asado, flavor is built first by marinating the chicken in lot of citrus juice and a collection of seasonings, including achiote, which is vibrant and unique, as well as sazon, a popular Caribbean seasoning blend, along with other commonly used Mexican spices. This is more of a Mexican version. My favorite Mexican cookbook refers to it as grilled chicken, though their recipe pan sears the chicken first before roasting in the oven to finish. I’ve adapted that recipe to use my grill, for more of a Mexican grilled chicken that is then finished in the oven. I marinate with my favorite citrus and use my favorite seasonings for a roast chicken dish that is sure to satisfy the spicy food lover. Let’s talk about how to make pollo asado, shall we? Achiote is an important component of the dish, so I definitely recommend acquiring it. Learn more about what is achiote, and how to make achiote paste. Refrigerate and marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour. 3 hours is best. Just look at the gorgeous color of the chicken from all those wonderful seasonings, particularly vibrant achiote. Grill the chicken pieces 5 minutes per side. Roast the Chicken. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Set the grilled chicken into a baking dish or cast iron pan and roast the chicken for 20 minutes, or until the chicken cooks through, turning half way through and basting often for the first 10 minutes with the reserved marinade. Cook the chicken 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. internally when checked with a meat thermometer. Garnish and serve! I love mine with corn tortillas and toppings, like my favorite spicy guacamole, onions, cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and chiles toreados (Mexican blistered jalapenos), so I can tear off the tender, juicy chicken and make tacos. So good! Serve it with Arroz Verde (Green Rice)! Boom! Done! Pollo asado is ready to serve! This is the best roast chicken on the planet, my friends. We really love this recipe. So delicious, huge on flavor. Making this again very soon! Simple Roasting Method. If you prefer, you can skip the grill and simply roast the chicken for 30 minutes, or until it cooks through. You can turn on the broiler and broil the chicken the last few minutes to get a nice char on the skin. Simple Grill Method. You can also skip the oven and finish roasting the chicken on the grill. To do so, after grilling the chicken over direct heat, move the chicken to the other side of the grill with the burners off for indirect cooking, or just lower the heat to medium low heat, and roast until it cooks through to 165 degrees F. internally with an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. I love this on my charcoal grill. Extra flavor! Variations. As mentioned, this is a Mexican version of pollo asado. My Puerto Rican cookbook uses a very simple marinade of only oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. I love the Mexican version with many more seasonings. You can use lard in place of oil. Lemon juice is commonly used in the marinade. Use a whole chicken, cut up, or grab select pieces from the grocery store. Chicken leg and thigh quarters are great here, as is chicken breast. You can very easily make this with boneless chicken, but reduce the cooking time, as it will cook through to temperature much more quickly. If using boneless chicken, use either chicken breast or chicken thighs. You can also freeze it for 3 months or longer. It freezes quite well. That’s it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this pollo asado recipe. Let me know if you make it. I’d love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!
Mexico: The Cookbook (affiliate link, my friends!)
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 1/9/23 to include new information and video. It was originally published on 3/10/21.
