Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
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Enjoy tender, juicy Peruvian-style roast chicken drizzled with a spicy and irresistibly good green sauce.
This is my take on Pollo a la Brasa, the delicious roast chicken made popular by so many Peruvian restaurants. The chicken is first marinated in olive oil, lime juice, garlic and spices, and then oven-roasted until tender, juicy and crisp-skinned. The accompanying green sauce, which gets its color from cilantro and jalapeño peppers, is spicy, creamy and downright delectable. You can put it on virtually everything, and it even doubles as a fabulous dip or salad dressing.
What you’ll need to make Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken
Before we get to the recipe, a few words on buying a whole chicken. In the poultry department, you’re likely to find birds labeled “broilers,” “roasters” and “fryers.” These labels are based on the weight of the bird, and are meant to suggest a method of cooking. This recipe calls for a four-pound chicken, which is typically considered a “fryer.” This might seem strange since we’re roasting but don’t worry about it — all of these chickens can be used in recipes interchangeably.
How to make Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken
Begin by making the marinade. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, cumin, and oregano in a blender or mini food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Using your fingers or a wooden spoon, loosen the skin over the breasts and legs of the chicken.
Spoon 2/3 of the marinade under the skin.
And rub the rest over top. Place the chicken in a bowl and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and set the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. I like to tuck the wings underneath the bird and tie the legs together so the bird holds its shape.
Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, until the skin is golden, and then turn the heat down to 375 degrees and roast for about an hour and ten minutes more. Let the chicken rest, covered with foil, for about 20 minutes before carving.
While the chicken marinates, make the green sauce (recipe adapted from the Serious Eats Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt).
Simply combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, jalapeños, garlic, lime juice salt and pepper in a blender or food processor.
And process until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. It will seem thin at first but, don’t worry, it will thicken up as it sits.
Keep in mind that the heat in the sauce comes from the ribs and seeds in the jalapeño peppers. I use about half of the seeds and ribs for a medium-hot sauce. If you’re worried about the heat, you can always leave them out at first and then blend them in to taste. (Also, be sure to wash your hands well after handling hot peppers, and do not touch your eyes while working with them.)
Transfer the sauce to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish the sauce with a sprig cilantro, if desired, and serve with the roasted chicken.
Note: The green sauce in this recipe is adapted from one of my favorite columns, the Serious Eats Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
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Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
Enjoy tender, juicy Peruvian-style roast chicken drizzled with a spicy and irresistibly good green sauce.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice, from 2 limes
- 4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 pound whole chicken
For the Green Sauce
- 3 jalapeño chili peppers, seeded if desired (I use about half the seeds for a medium-hot sauce), and roughly chopped (see note)
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from one lime
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Combine all of the ingredients except the chicken in a blender or mini food processor, and blend until smooth. Remove the giblets from the inside of the chicken and pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels; place in a bowl, breast side up with the legs facing you. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingers, loosen the skin from the flesh over the breasts and legs, being careful not to tear the skin or push all the way through (you want the marinade to stay inside the bird). Spoon about ⅔ of the marinade evenly underneath the skin, and spread the remaining ⅓ evenly over the skin. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Spray a rack (preferably a v-shape) with non-stick cooking spray and place the chicken on top. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skin is golden. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees, and continue to roast for about an hour and ten minutes more, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh. (Keep an eye on it -- if it's browning too quickly, cover it loosely with foil.) Tent the chicken with foil and let rest for about 20 minutes. Tilt the chicken over the roasting pan to release the juices, then transfer to a cutting board. Carve the chicken and serve with green sauce.
For the Green Sauce
- Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender or food processor and blend into a smooth sauce. With the motor running, open lid and slowly drizzle in olive oil. It will seem very runny at this point but, don't worry, it will thicken up as it sits. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Note: Be sure to wash your hands well after handling hot peppers, and do not touch your eyes while working with them.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the green sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 614
- Fat: 43 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 49 g
- Sodium: 694 mg
- Cholesterol: 340 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I think this is my favorite chicken recipe ever! And we have been calling the sauce, by itself, “Magical Sauce”. It’s good on eggs, bread, salad, vegetables, other meats (steak for example). This sauce has no limits that I know of. And the chicken alone is wonderful.. Instead of a whole chicken, I used bone-in skin-on thighs as my husband and I are ‘dark meat people’ (we bonded at a dinner when we met over drumsticks and thighs). I mariniated with the marinade under the skin and then cooked them on a rack to get more circulation (same as the whole chicken). I think my total cooking time to reach 165 degrees was about 35 minutes at the stated temperature. Seriously this recipe is super fantastic amazing . Thanks Jenn! You’ve come thru as you always do. Can’t wait for your cookbook!
Wicked good! Everyone, including all kids, LOVED this dish. Made it with just thighs, still tucked the marinade under skin & cooked at high heat. Kids are now fighting over who gets the leftovers for school lunch tomorrow…. a 10/10.
This is the best chicken!! I have even been making two at a time and using the 2nd for chicken sandwiches to send with everyone for lunches. The green sauce is fantastic with the chicken but also, just plain amazing!!! We have been putting it on everything – as salad dressing, dip for veggies, on tacos, etc…
Entire family LOVED this roasted chicken! We followed the recipe and used the seeds from only only jalapeño and it was just the right amount of heat that we like! We tend to eat rather lively dishes. So much flavor and we are using the green sauce in other recipes – tastes yummy with mashed avocado! We will make this dish again!
When my daughter came home from college for the holidays, this was one of the first dishes she asked me to make! Our whole family loves this, and my girls love to use any leftover green sauce as a salad dressing. Sometimes I make this with all drumsticks if I need something easier to serve to a group.
I doubled the recipe because I had a larger chicken. I allowed it to marinate for 2 days. LISTEN, I don’t usually care for baked, roasted or rotisserie chicken. However, I found this recipe/site while searching for Perivian Charcoal chicken. My blender gave out on me, but I’d give this recipe a 4.5 star based upon the chicken alone. I’ll bet that sauce would have kicked my rating off of the chart! This is company-worthy. I’m making this again, for sure! Thanks, so much!
Finally, my husband is hard to please, when it comes to new recipes. He gave this a 4/5 and told me this recipe was a keeper.
When your hubby says, “That was the best meal you’ve ever made.” You bookmark it.
Yummy!
Served a simple cucumber salad and garlic rice and made an easy strawberry, orange, mint dessert.
The sauce you want to drink!! I made the chicken (I made 2 actually) with the green sauce. The chicken was delicious and we had no leftovers. The sauce though was the star. my mother asked if she could just have a straw. Everyone asked me if they could take a little home to eat with salads and sandwiches and nips from the jar. Make a double batch of sauce. Excellent recipe for both chicken and sauce.
This recipe was to die for. I passed it on to a co-worker because it came out so good. The recipe calls for a 4 pound roasting chicken but I had a 5 pound one so I just up’d the ingredients just a little bit. I also let the chicken marinate for over 24 hours and that really helped with the flavor. This recipe is a keeper
Hi Jenn! Haven’t made this recipe yet but planning on it for a holiday party. 2 Questions:
What’s the biggest size of chicken you would use for this recipe?
If I’m traveling with the chicken, can I safely pre-cook it and warm it up again in my friend’s oven without losing the delicious crispiness?
Thank you for your amazing recipes!!!
Fran, I think you could use up to a 6 lb. chicken for this, but make sure to add some cooking time to account for the larger size. Also, unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend making this in advance. You will definitely lose the crispiness of the skin.