Pollo Asado (Asado Chicken)
Pollo Asado is easy, marinated, grilled or roasted chicken chock full of zippy, smoky, earthy, spicy Latin flavors! It’s stand alone scrumptious or add it to tacos, burritos, or bowls! It’s big on flavor and low on effort so it’s perfect for all your summer cookouts or an easy weeknight meal - the marinade literally does all the work! The Pollo Asado is marinated in an intensely flavorful mixture of citrus, spices and achiote powder, which imparts its signature red-orange color and big flavor. You can grill the chicken or roast the chicken and use the marinade on any cut of chicken you like! Serve the Pollo Asada with warm tortillas, beans and/or your favorite side dishes such as cilantro lime rice, corn salad and pina colada fruit salad for the ultimate feast.
Ingredients
- 4 poundsbone-in chicken thighs ((i remove the skin))
- ⅓ cupolive oil
- ½ cuporange juice
- ¼ cuplime juice
- 1 smallyellow onion, chopped
- 6 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2 ouncesachiote paste
- 1tbs each ground coriander, ground cumin, kosher salt
- 2 tspeach smoked paprika, dried oregano
- 1 tspeach pepper, chipotle chile pepper
Directions
Marinate chicken
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Whisk all of the Marinade ingredients together in a large bowl or freezer size plastic bag. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator 4 to 24 hours. Let chicken sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking. (If using chicken breasts, only marinate up to 12 hours or else it can become mushy.)
How to cook chicken on the grill
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Note: These instructions are for bone-in chicken thighs - see below for different cuts of chicken. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, 425-450°F, clean and grease grates with vegetable oil. Grill chicken skin side down first (if leaving on). Grill for 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through and an internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
How to cook chicken in the oven
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Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken to baking sheet in a single layer so they aren’t touching. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-35 minutes (depending on thickness), until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F.
Serve
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Serve pollo asado with warm tortillas, Mexican street corn (elotes) pina colada fruit salad and Mexican rice or cilantro lime rice. We also love it with avocado corn salsa, corn salsa, mango salsa, or pineapple salsa.