Bigly Pollo Asado
Prep
15m
Cook
25m
Total
40m
Bigly says
Pollo asado. Pollo asado! We are doing the GREATEST pollo asado that has ever come off a grill, and I want to be very clear about that, very very clear. I have eaten pollo asado in Mexico, in California, in Texas, in places you've never even HEARD of, little roadside stands that you'd drive past at 60 miles an hour and never think twice about. The best of my life was in a gas station in Ensenada. True story. The man behind the grill didn't speak, he just nodded, slid me a paper plate, and walked away. I tipped him forty dollars and he refused it. Some of those stands are doing TREMONDEOUS work, real artists, real heroes of the chicken — but the pollo asado you're about to make? Beats them. Not even close. It's a slaughter.
The FIRST secret is the marinade. Achiote paste. Orange juice. Lime. Garlic. A real chunk of fresh oregano if you can get it, and if you can't, the dried stuff works too — I'm not a tyrant, I'm a flexible man, ask anyone, ask the chickens, they'll tell you. A guy named Ramón taught me the achiote ratio in a kitchen in Yucatán. He's the truth. He told me 'three tablespoons, never two, never four, three' and walked off into the night. I've done three ever since. It works.
The SECOND secret is the heat. High heat. Two-zone fire. You sear the chicken over the flame to get the bark — that beautiful, mahogany-orange, almost-burnt-but-not bark, the kind of bark that big strong men, tough men, weep when they see it — and then you finish it on the cool side so the inside cooks through without the outside turning into shoe leather. That's the technique. Most chefs are afraid to do this. They blast a single-zone screaming-hot grill, they burn the skin, they serve raw chicken thigh, they apologize. We don't apologize here. We grill.
Ingredients
- 3.5 lbbone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks(or a spatchcocked whole bird if you want to show off)
- 3 tbspachiote paste(the red brick of magic, find it in any Latin grocery)
- 1/2 cupfresh orange juice
- 1/4 cupfresh lime juice
- 2 tbspwhite vinegar
- 8 clovesgarlic, smashed
- 1/2yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tbspground cumin
- 1 tbspdried Mexican oregano(Mexican oregano, not the Italian stuff, they're different plants, look it up)
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1.5 tbspkosher salt
- 1 tspblack pepper
- 3 tbspolive oil
- 2 limeslime wedges (to serve)
- 12warm corn tortillas (to serve)
- as neededfresh cilantro and diced white onion (to garnish)
Steps
- 1
Combine achiote paste, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- 2
Place the chicken in a large zip-top bag or shallow dish. Pour the marinade over and turn to coat every piece. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally 8-24 hours.
- 3
Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before grilling to take the chill off. Wipe off excess marinade so it doesn't burn (don't rinse).
- 4
Set up a two-zone fire on a charcoal grill: coals piled on one side, empty on the other. For gas, set one burner on high and one on medium-low. Target 425-450 F.
- 5
Place chicken skin-side down over the cooler zone first, lid closed, and cook 12-15 minutes, until the skin starts to render and color.
- 6
Flip the chicken skin-side up and move it directly over the hot zone. Grill 5-8 more minutes, lid open, watching for flare-ups and turning as needed to develop a deep mahogany bark.
- 7
Check doneness with an instant-read thermometer: thighs/drumsticks at 175 F. Move any pieces still under temp back to the cool zone to finish.
- 8
Transfer to a platter and rest 5 minutes (resist the urge to dive in).
- 9
Serve with warm corn tortillas, lime wedges, cilantro, and diced onion. Pile it high. Let people build their own tacos.
One more thing
This is grilling. This is what grilling was MEANT to be. The bark, the juice, the citrus hitting your nose before the plate even hits the table — that's the experience. That's pollo asado. Pile the chicken on a board, pile the tortillas next to it, throw some limes and cilantro on top, and step back. People will build their own tacos. They will not speak for the first three bites. That's how you know it landed. Now go eat.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Bigly Pollo Asado.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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