Grilled Orange Chicken (Pollo a las Brasas, Estilo Sinaloense)
I haven't been to Mexico since childhood, so I haven't had the chance to pull over and taste a roadside "Sinaloa"-style chicken, but thanks to Rick Bayless, I've mastered grilling a beautifully blackened, spicy, smokey, and succulent bird in my backyard, well north of the border. This easy, delicious dish has become a summer standby. There's a lovely flavor combination of earthy and acidic that is only enlivened by the chicken's juiciness. Bayless suggests serving the chicken alongside grilled knob onions (grilled scallions will also do). Even better, heat some corn tortillas while you're at it for wrapping pieces of the meat tableside with a dose of tomatillo salsa.
I haven't been to Mexico since childhood, so I haven't had the chance to pull over and taste a roadside "Sinaloa"-style chicken, but thanks to Rick Bayless, I've mastered grilling a beautifully blackened, spicy, smokey, and succulent bird in my backyard, well north of the border. This easy, delicious dish has become a summer standby. There's a lovely flavor combination of earthy and acidic that is only enlivened by the chicken's juiciness. Bayless suggests serving the chicken alongside grilled knob onions (grilled scallions will also do). Even better, heat some corn tortillas while you're at it for wrapping pieces of the meat tableside with a dose of tomatillo salsa.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- 2 medium whole chickens about 3.5lb each
- 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
- 1 small white onion
- 8 cloves garlic peeled and roughly
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaf
- 4 bay leaves broken
- spritzer of oil
- grilled green onions (optional garnish)
- Carbohydrate 5.8222855582362 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.122907500045922 g
- Fiber 0.549283330964529 g
- Protein 0.750752500172204 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0258103611169243 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (43g)
- Sodium 2.02300000018956 mg
- Sugar 5.27300222727167 g
- Trans Fat 0.0423486666918829 g
- Calories 25 calories
Step-by-step
- Splitting the chicken for grilling: Using a large knife or kitchen shears, cut down both sides of backbone of 1 chicken, through the joints where the legs attach, then on through the ribs; remove the backbone. Open the chicken out flat on your cutting board, skin-side up, press on the breastbone to loosen it so the chicken will lie flat. For the nicest presentation, make a small incision through the skin toward the bottom of each thigh and press end of the nearest drumstick through it; this will hold the leg in place as the chicken is grilled. Repeat with the second chicken, rinse well and pat dry with paper towels, then lay them in a noncorrosive bowl.
- Puree the orange juice, onion, garlic, herbs and spices in a food processor or blender. Pour over the chickens and rub to coat them thoroughly. Cover tightly or close the bags and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or, preferably overnight), turning the chickens several times.
- Prepare a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium. Remove the chickens from the marinade. Lightly spray the chickens with oil and place them on the grill skin side up. Cover and grill for 20 minutes. Baste chickens with marinade, then turn chickens over. Continue grilling, basting occasionally with the remaining marinade, until thigh juices run clear when pierced with a knife, 15-25 minutes more.
- Remove the chickens to a cutting board and cut each in half. Serve garnished with grilled green onions, if you wish.
Limited backyard setup space often forces compromises, but two whole birds fit comfortably on a standard charcoal grill when properly spatchcocked. Cutting along both sides of the backbone with kitchen shears flattens the poultry for even heat absorption. Press firmly on the breastbone until it cracks to ensure total contact with the grate. This preparation method promotes rapid, uniform cooking across both white and dark meat sections without crowding the cooking surface.
Citrus acid acts as a natural tenderizer, breaking down surface proteins during long refrigeration periods. Orange juice combined with raw garlic, onion, and dried herbs creates a potent marinade that penetrates deeply over four hours or overnight. Shake off excess liquid before cooking to prevent flare-ups over open coals. Lightly spritzing the skin with neutral oil right before it hits the grates prevents sticking and encourages browning.
Scaling quantities up for larger gatherings requires adjusting the marinade yield proportionally while keeping the citrus-to-spice ratio balanced. Two medium chickens yield six generous portions, but a single bird can be prepared by simply halving every ingredient in the food processor. Maintain the same four-hour minimum soaking window regardless of total batch size to ensure flavor development.
Monitor internal temperatures closely during the final twenty-five minutes of covered cooking. Turn the meat only after the initial twenty-minute phase to set the skin without tearing. Pull the birds off the heat source once the thigh juices run entirely clear when pierced with a sharp knife.
