Pollo Asado (Mexican Roast Chicken)

Pollo Asado Recipe (Mexican Roast Chicken)

If you're looking for a super flavorful roast chicken recipe that is easy to make and truly satisfies, Pollo Asado will absolutely deliver.

Roasted chicken can be pretty boring sometimes. A lot of roasted chicken recipes wind up delivering bland chicken that leaves us wanting more.

Not so with pollo asado. This is a Latin American dish with lots of seasonings.

With pollo asado, flavor is built first by marinating the chicken in lot of citrus juice and a collection of seasonings, including achiote, which is vibrant and unique, as well as sazon, a popular Caribbean seasoning blend, along with other commonly used Mexican spices.

What is Pollo Asado?

The name, "pollo asado", means roasted or barbecued chicken, and cooking methods will vary from cook to cook. You'll find variations in Mexican, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Caribbean.

This is more of a Mexican version.

My favorite Mexican cookbook refers to it as grilled chicken, though their recipe pan sears the chicken first before roasting in the oven to finish.

I've adapted that recipe to use my grill, for more of a Mexican grilled chicken that is then finished in the oven.

I marinate with my favorite citrus and use my favorite seasonings for a roast chicken dish that is sure to satisfy the spicy food lover.

Let's talk about how to make pollo asado, shall we?

Pollo Asado Ingredients

• Chicken. Use a whole cut up chicken or your favorite parts, like leg thigh quarters, chicken breasts, or a combination. You can make this with boneless chicken, though will need to reduce the cooking time.
• Pollo Asado Marinade. Olive oil or vegetable oil, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, sazon, achiote powder, paprika (smoked paprika is great here), Mexican oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
• Garnish. Fresh chopped cilantro, lime wedges, chili flakes.

Grill the Chicken. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Preheat the grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grates. Sprinkle the chicken with extra sazon and achiote powder.

Grill the chicken pieces 5 minutes per side.

Roast the Chicken. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Set the grilled chicken into a baking dish or cast iron pan and roast the chicken for 20 minutes, or until the chicken cooks through, turning half way through and basting often for the first 10 minutes with the reserved marinade.

Cook the chicken 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. internally when checked with a meat thermometer.

Garnish and serve! I love mine with corn tortillas and toppings, like my favorite spicy guacamole, onions, cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and chiles toreados (Mexican blistered jalapenos), so I can tear off the tender, juicy chicken and make tacos.

So good!

Serve it with Arroz Verde (Green Rice)!

Boom! Done! Pollo asado is ready to serve! This is the best roast chicken on the planet, my friends. We really love this recipe.

So delicious, huge on flavor. Making this again very soon!

Storage & Leftovers

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a sealed container. It will keep up to 5 days this way. I often like to tear the meat from the bones and use it for other meals, like adding to soups, stews, or for making tacos.

You can also freeze it for 3 months or longer. It freezes quite well.

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this pollo asado recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!