Roast Achiote Citrus Chicken Recipes

MARINATED ACHIOTE CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Add the Guajillo peppers and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it stand for 20 minutes.
• Remove the stems and seeds from the hydrated peppers. (Leave some seeds is you prefer more heat.) Add both the peppers and water they hydrated in, to a blender.
• Add the achiote paste, orange juice and garlic to the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Add the skinless, bone-in chicken pieces to a large zip-lock bag and pour in the achiote marinade, which shouldn't be hot because of the addition of the orange juice. Move the chicken pieces around to be sure they're all well coated, remove the air from the bag and seal it. Then put this in another large zip-lock bag to ensure it doesn't leak. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and ideally overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F and once the chicken is done marinating, add it, and all of the marinade to a large enough baking dish to hold the everything snugly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake in the preheated 375°F oven just until it's cooked through, about 45 minutes. Flip the pieces over about halfway through the cooking time and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once it's cooked through, flip the chicken over once more, sprinkle sightly with a bit more salt, and serve.

POLLO ASADO RECIPE (MEXICAN ROAST CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Marinate the Chicken. Mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, sazon, achiote, paprika, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes and a bit of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to a large platter or dish and pour in the marinade. Alternatively, you can use a large sealable bag. Refrigerate and marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour. 3 hours is best.
• Grill the Chicken. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Heat your 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 with the reserved marinade. The chicken should measure 165 degrees F. internally when checked with a meat thermometer.
• Garnish and serve!

POLLO ASADO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, and achiote paste (if using, See Note 1) and cook for several minutes, stirring. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Set aside.
• Add cooled achiote garlic mixture, orange juice and lime juice to a bowl and whisk to combine. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade in the bowl to use for basting the chicken as it grills. Add remaining marinade to a 1 or 2 gallon Ziploc freezer bag. Add chicken pieces, seal bag, and massage the bag, then transfer to a refrigerator to allow the chicken to marinate for one hour (4 hours tops). Any longer will break down the proteins in the chicken, making it mushy. (See Note 2)
• Preheat grill to 350°F to 400°F. Remove chicken from marinade, then discard the bag of marinade (See step 5 below). We will be grilling with indirect heat.
• For indirect cooking on a charcoal grill, place your lit charcoal across half of the grill and leave the other half empty. To indirect cook on a gas grill, only turn half of the burners on (for mine I keep the top Medium, middle Low and the bottom Medium).
• Grill chicken, covered, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F when inserted into thickest portion of each piece, about 20 to 30 minutes. As chicken is cooking, use reserved marinade to baste the pieces every few minutes. I do not turn the chicken pieces over during cooking, as there is no need for grill marks.
• When chicken is cooked, discard any leftover marinade.

YUCATáN CHICKEN WITH ACHIOTE

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch-wide strips. In a large bowl, mix together the orange juice, oregano, garlic, chile, achiote paste, salt, pepper, allspice, and olive oil to make the marinade. Add the chicken strips to the mixture and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• To cook the chicken, remove the strips from the marinade and drain off any excess liquid. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken strips, turning once or twice, until thoroughly cooked (cut one to test), about 9 minutes total.
• Remove from the heat, squeeze fresh lime juice over the strips, and serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.
• To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa and pickled onions. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with salsa and pickled onions, fold, and eat right away.

ACHIOTE CITRUS MARINADE

Steps:

• Combine 1/3 cup of the orange juice, the achiote paste, jalapenos, garlic, peppercorns and salt in a blender or food processor. Puree until the peppercorns are completely crushed. Add the cilantro and the remaining 1/3 cup orange juice and puree until smooth.

ROAST ACHIOTE CITRUS CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rub the marinade all over the chicken, inside and out. Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or as long as overnight.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Lift the chicken from the marinade and place on a work surface. Cut the onion, head of garlic and orange in half and stuff inside the chicken's cavity. Tie the legs together and place on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side down.
• Roast 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast 20 minutes longer. Turn the chicken, breast side up, and bake 40 to 50 minutes longer, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until a drumstick feels loose when jiggled and the skin is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with rice and beans.