Pollo Asado

Make Ahead and Storage

Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Freeze cooked for 2 months.

Pollo Asado: The Method

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1. Whisk the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt and oil in a bowl.

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2. Put the chicken in a dish, pour over the marinade, cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

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3. Heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F. Lift the chicken out, pat dry and set on a rack over a roasting tray.

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4. Roast for 45 minutes, turning once, until the skin is golden and the chicken reaches 74°C / 165°F.

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5. Rest for 5 minutes and serve.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Knowing

• Marinate in the fridge for no more than 4 hours.
• Pat the chicken dry so the skin crisps.
• Use a thermometer to check the thickest part.

Why the Method Is What It Is

Pollo asado means roasted or grilled chicken, and the name covers a lot of ground. This version is the citrus kind: chicken legs marinated in orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin and oregano, then roasted hot until the skin crackles. Citrus does the work.

The orange and lime do two jobs. Acid softens the surface of the meat and carries the garlic and spices into it, and the sugar in the orange juice caramelises on the skin for colour. Do not marinate for longer than four hours. Citrus begins to turn the meat chalky and soft if it sits too long. Always marinate in the fridge, and cover the dish.

Pat the legs dry before roasting, or the skin steams instead of crisping. Roast on a rack over a tray, turning once, until the skin is deep golden and a thermometer in the thickest part reads 74°C / 165°F. Rest for five minutes. Serve with rice, beans, tortillas and a sharp salsa.

Serving Ideas

Rice · Black beans · Warm tortillas · Pickled red onion

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Instant Pot Black Beans, One Pan Mexican Rice, Pan de Muerto.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Quick Answers

What's in a Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (most of the energy comes from foods with no recorded source). Why some recipes have none.

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