Pollo Asado – Mexican Style Chicken on the Grill
Although this recipe is by no means authentically Mexican, it was inspired by the roadside stands and shops selling rotisserie chicken slathered in chiles and spices. The smells emanating from these chicken stalls waft down the road, snagging passersby and drawing them in for tacos piled high with delicious, moist roasted chicken.
Instead of sticking with the rotisserie, I like spatchcocking the chickens so they’re flat, which allows them to cook more evenly. I do them on the gas grill, keeping them on the off side, while the other side slowly cooks them at around 300°F until they’re crispy, burnished and perfect.
Enjoy these chickens as part of a standard meal, or piled onto tacos with cilantro, onions, and hot sauce!
- Prep Time30 min
- Cook Time1 hr 15 min
- Total Time1 hr 45 min
- Ready in2 Hrs
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 2 dried guajillo, or cascabel, or pasilla chiles
- 1 dried or canned chipotle chili
- 1 cup water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon regular salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 or 2 whole chickens (approx. 3lbs or 1.3kg)
- Soaked hickory chips for smoking (optional)
Preparation
For the marinade
In a dry pan (preferably cast iron) toast the dried chili peppers on med-low heat, turning often, until they smell nice and toasty. Make sure they don’t burn!
Heat up the cup of water in a saucepan.
Meanwhile, remove the stems and seeds from the roasted chili peppers.
Once the water comes to the boil, add the peppers, then remove from the heat. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Add the water/chili mixture to a blender.
Add in the onion, garlic, spices, salt, and oil, and blend on HIGH until everything is very well combined.
For the chicken
Take the whole chicken and lay it breast side down in front of you.
Find the spine with your fingers and using a sharp knife or good kitchen shears, cut through the back, alongside the spine, from the tail to the neck. It doesn’t matter which side of the spine you cut down.
Now that the back is open, press firmly on both sides, opening up the cut you’ve made like a book.
Flip the chicken over and press down on the breasts, so the chicken opens up completely and is now laying flat on your work surface.
Put the chicken(s) into a container or large ziplock bag and pour in the (cooled) marinade. Rub the marinade over and into all the nooks, crannies, and surfaces and seal the bag/container.
Put in the fridge overnight, or at least for 6-8 hours.
Cooking the chicken
I used my gas grill for this, but feel free to use a charcoal grill, smoker, or your oven.
Lift the grate off one side of your grill. Put a foil plate/package of soaked hickory chips down on the burner (optional).
Light the barbecue, keeping the side with the chips on med-high and leaving the other side off.
Once the chips are smoking a bit, put the chickens on the off side, with the legs pointing towards the heat.
Adjust the temperature to keep it at around 300°F (150°C) and cook for 1 hour.
Test the temperature, using a probe, in the breast. Keep cooking, checking often, until the breast reaches 160°F-165°F (71°C-73°C).
Remove chickens from grill and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
If using the meat for tacos, use your fingers and the help of a fork to pull all of the meat off of the bones into bite sized pieces. Make sure to save the bones for an amazing stock! Pile onto warmed tortillas with onions, cilantro, and hot sauce.
Enjoy!
