Accounting for Taste

Peruvian pollo a la brasa is a whole chicken that is marinated, then cooked slowly on a rotisserie until the meat is ultra-tender; fried potatoes are a common accompaniment. Here, chicken leg quarters are used and roasted directly on top of sliced Yukon Golds that have first been lightly browned in the skillet on the stovetop.

We have both fallen hard in love with this recipe, and even though I don’t show a photo with the aji verde sauce on my plate, (I dove right into the meal before adding the sauce), it’s a wonderful condiment that enhances the meal enormously!

Marinate the chicken for 24 hours, if you can; if that’s not an option, give it at least an hour to soak in the seasonings. Ají panca paste is made from a Peruvian variety of chili of the same name; the paste is red with fruity, lightly smoky undertones and little heat. Look for it, sold in jars, in well-stocked supermarkets or Latin American grocery stores. If you cannot find it, don’t hesitate to use the sweet paprika plus smoked paprika substitute.

Beer is a common marinade ingredient for pollo a la brasa; Cusqueña, a Peruvian lager, is a good choice, but any quaffable variety will do. We highly recommend serving the chicken and potatoes with ají verde (recipe below), a Peruvian goes-with-everything condiment that’s deliciously creamy, tangy, herbal and spicy.

TIP: Don’t forget to pat the chicken dry after removing it from the marinade, and before sprinkling it with salt and placing the pieces in the skillet. The drier the skin, the better the browning and crisping.

We could not bear to eliminate the flavorful marinade altogether, yet we wanted the skin to be very crispy. So we wiped off the marinade from the chicken into the baking dish and patted them dry. The leftover marinade was then spread over the hot potato slices, and then the chicken pieces placed on top before going into the hot oven.

Not a fan of poultry legs, we used 8 bone-in chicken thighs, which required a larger oven-safe skillet. They went into the baking dish skin-side down, but we ladled the marinate onto the undersides to make sure all parts of the chicken got some flavoring going on. After 30 minutes, we turned the thighs to skin side up and brushed with more marinade.

Skillet-Roasted Peruvian-Style Chicken

Servings: 4
Time: 1 hr, 15 min + marinating time
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup beer
4 medium garlic cloves, finely grated
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. ají panca paste OR 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika, plus 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters, OR 6-8 chicken thighs (about 3 lbs.), trimmed
1 1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, sliced into ½-inch rounds
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped
Ají verde, to serve (optional, see recipe below)

Directions

In a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish, stir together 2 tablespoons oil, the beer, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, ají panca, oregano, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours, turning the chicken once about halfway through marinating.
Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the lowest position. Remove the chicken from the marinade; discard the marinade. Pat the chicken dry and season lightly with salt.
In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the potatoes in an even layer and cook, uncovered and without stirring, until lightly browned at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the chicken skin side up on top of the potatoes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken is deeply browned and the thickest part of the leg quarters reach 175°F, about 45 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven (the handle will be hot). Let rest for about 10 minutes, then transfer the chicken and potatoes to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve with ají verde (if using).

Aji Verde Sauce

Ají verde is a popular Peruvian condiment. Creamy and spicy, with fruity acidity from lime juice, it’s the perfect accompaniment to pollo a la brasa. Ají amarillo is a spicy yellow Peruvian chili. Look for ají amarillo paste in Latin American markets, but if not available, simply omit it. The sauce still will taste great.

Ingredients

½ cup mayonnaise
1 jalapeño, stemmed and seeded, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove. minced
2 Tbsp. grated cotija cheese
3 Tbsp. fresh minced cilantro
1 Tbsp. jarred huacatay paste
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender or small food processor until smooth, about 1 minute.

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Recipes by Courtney Hill & Elizabeth Mindreau for Milk Street

As we were eating this fantastic meal, The Hubs declared “If this is how they eat in Peru, I’m moving there.” Needless to say, we didn’t up and sell the house, but we swore we were going to make this riff on beer can chicken again—real soon. If you are feeding a crowd, it’s easy enough to fit two birds on the grill.

Cooks Illustrated tells us “In Peru, maestros polleros, or poultry masters, make the wildly popular chickens known as Pollo a la Brasa by grill-roasting chickens on rotisseries that spin lazily over crackling wood fires to produce meat that’s encased in tawny, paper-thin skin and dripping with juices.”

This version of Pollo a la Brasa calls for marinating the bird in a beer-based marinade that also includes ingredients commonly used in pollerías today: soy sauce for salinity; lime juice and mustard for brightness; and garlic, dried thyme, black pepper, and cumin for earthy, savory depth. Make sure to plan ahead, because the chicken needs to marinate for 24 hours.

Aji Amarillo (yellow chile) and huacatay (an herb that’s often called black mint) add spark and depth to many of the sauces that accompany Pollo a la Brasa. Vibrant Aji Amarillo gives off fruity, habanero-like vibes with moderate heat. Huacatay, on the other hand, is evocative of vegetables and freshly cut grass with menthol undertones. Both multi-use sauces are easily sourced online.

Instead of a rotisserie to rotate the bird horizontally, a half-empty beer can is used to prop it up vertically. Then position the propped-up bird in the center of a kettle grill outfitted with a split fire. The key is to rotate the chicken a quarter turn every 15 minutes. While not the constant movement of a rotisserie, about five turns produces remarkably succulent, smoky meat packaged in well-rendered, uniformly mahogany skin. (We purchased a 4-pack of pastes from Amazon which included both huacatay and aji amarillo.)

Peruvian Grill-Roasted Chicken

Servings: 4
Time: 2 1/2 hrs + marinating time
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

1 12-oz. can beer, divide
2 Tbsp. finely grated garlic
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. table salt
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 4- to 4½-lb. whole chicken, giblets discarded
1 cup wood chips
1 13 by 9-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan

Directions

Whisk ½ cup beer, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, salt, mustard, pepper, thyme, and cumin together in liquid measuring cup. Refrigerate remaining beer, still in can, until ready to grill. Using your fingers or handle of wooden spoon, gently loosen skin covering chicken breast and leg quarters. Using paring knife, poke 10 to 15 holes in fat deposits on skin of back. Tuck wingtips underneath chicken.
Place chicken in bowl with cavity end facing up. Slowly pour marinade between skin and meat and rub marinade inside cavity, outside skin, and under skin to distribute. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning chicken halfway through marinating.
Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap wood chips in 8 by 4½-inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in packet.) Cut 2 evenly spaced 2-inch slits in top of packet.
Place beer can in large, shallow bowl. Spray can all over with vegetable oil spray. Slide chicken over can so drumsticks reach down to bottom of can and chicken stands upright; set aside at room temperature while preparing grill.
FOR A GAS GRILL: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on one of outside burners. Set grate in place; turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Turn 2 outside burners to medium and turn off center burner. (Adjust outside burners as needed to maintain grill temperature between 350 and 375 degrees.)
Scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. Transfer chicken with can to center of cooking grate with wings facing piles of coals (or outer burners on gas grill) at 3 and 9 o’clock (ends of drumsticks should rest on grate to help steady bird). Cover grill and cook for 15 minutes.
Using tongs and wad of paper towels, rotate chicken 90 degrees so wings are at 6 and 12 o’clock. Continue cooking and turning chicken at 15-minute intervals until thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees, 1 hour to 1¼ hours longer.
With large wad of paper towels in each hand, transfer chicken and can to clean bowl, keeping can upright; let rest for 15 minutes. Using wads of paper towels (or gloves), carefully lift chicken off can and onto cutting board. Discard can. Carve chicken, transfer to platter, and serve.
Not part of the original recipe, we decided to defat all of the flavorful drippings in the aluminum tray and serve alongside the platter of chicken.

Aji Verde Sauce

This Peruvian Green Chile Sauce, also called Aji Verde, truly makes the meal, so don’t skip this part. Simply blend the ingredients together in the blender. So easy! And it can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.