Pollo a la Brasa (Rotisserie Peruvian Chicken) with Drip Pan Purple Potatoes. A taste of Peru cooked on the grill in your own back yard.
I heard rumors of Peruvian rotisserie chicken dish, Pollo a la Brasa, but didn't get a chance to try it until a vacation in Sonoma valley. When I saw the restauraunt Sazon Peruvian Cuisine, I dragged everyone there, promising my wife a Pisco Sour and the kids all the french fries they could eat. (Peru is the birthplace of potatoes. I figured I was safe with that promise.) I finally ate my Pollo a la Brasa, and it was as good as advertised. Spicy, crispy chicken skin over juicy roast chicken.
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What is Pollo a la Brasa?
Pollo a la Brasa is Peruvian rotisserie chicken. (a la Brasa means grilled in Spanish - literally "to the embers".) In Peru, a whole chicken is seasoned with a spice paste made of aji amarillo peppers, coriander, cumin, paprika, lime juice, and soy sauce. Then it is cooked on the rotisserie until it is browned, crispy, and delicious.
What are Aji Amarillo peppers?
Aji amarillo peppers are Peruvian yellow chili peppers, native to the Andes mountains. Our host at the Peruvian restaurant said the key to Pollo a la Brasa is the Aji Amarillo peppers. (The famous Peruvian dish Aji Verde also depends on Aji amarillo peppers; it gets its green color from the other ingredients.
That's where I hit my only stumbling block in making this recipe at home. Aji peppers are hard to find in Northeastern Ohio. Eventually, I broke down and ordered a (very expensive) jar of Aji Amarillo pepper paste on the Internet.
Of course, I had to make this with Peruvian purple potatoes in the rotisserie drip pan. OK, purple, red and white potatoes. But the purple potatoes were the hit of the show. The kids kept asking - Purple potatoes? Really?
Equipment
- Grill with rotisserie attachment (I use a Weber Summit)
- 9 by 13 aluminum foil drip pan (or an enameled steel roasting pan)
- Butcher’s twine
- Blender or food processor (I use a Vitamix) to make the Peruvian Paste)
How to Make Pollo a la Brasa
- Marinate a 4-pound whole chicken in Peruvian Paste, made by blending Aji Amarillo, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and lime juice. Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- An hour before cooking, truss the chicken with kitchen twine, and secure it on the rotisserie spit. (Here's my video on how to truss and spit chickens.) Let the chicken rest at room temperature to take the chill off.
- Set the grill up for indirect high heat, with a drip pan in the center of the grill, under where the chicken will sit on the rotisserie spit.
- Put the spit on the grill, start the rotisserie spinning, close the lid, and rotisserie grill roast the chicken until it reaches 160°F internal temperature in the deepest part of the breast, measured with an instant-read thermometer. This will take about an hour.
- Remove the spit from the grill, remove the chicken from the spit, remove the trussing twine from the chicken, carve the chicken, and serve.
Scaling the recipe
This recipe scales up easily - you can make as many chickens as you can fit on your rotisserie spit. (As you can see in the pictures, I doubled the recipe.) The cooking time doesn't change, because the cooking time is determined by how long it takes each chicken to cook through, not how many chickens there are.
Tips and Tricks
- If you can’t find Aji Amarillo paste (or aren’t willing to spend $10 to have a jar shipped, which is what I had to do), substitute a stemmed and seeded jalapeno. It won’t have the same taste, but it will give some pepper and heat flavors to the sauce.
- As you can see in the pictures, I doubled the chicken part of the recipe. I love having leftover chicken later in the week. Two chickens cook for the same time as one chicken.
- Cook chicken to temperature, not by time! Outdoor cooking is not very precise, some days the grill runs hotter, other days cooler. You'll get the best results by checking the chicken. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the deepest part of the breast meat. Start checking about 10 minutes before the chicken should be done, and pull the chicken off of the grill as soon as it reaches 160°F internal temperature.
- Don't have a rotisserie? You can use these ingredients to make a grilled chicken. Set the grill up for indirect high heat, with a drip pan under the grill grate. Cook the chicken, breast side up, on the grill grate over indirect heat until it reaches 160°F in the center, about 1 hour. Grilled chicken won't have the same crisp skin as a rotisserie chicken, but it is still quite good. I skip the drip pan potatoes when grilling chicken; the grill grate gets in the way.
Pollo a la Brasa (Rotisserie Peruvian Chicken) with Drip Pan Purple Potatoes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Pollo a la Brasa (Rotisserie Peruvian Chicken) with Drip Pan Purple Potatoes. A taste of Peru cooked on the grill in your own back yard.
Adapted from: Classic Pollo a la Brasa, [holypollo.com]
Ingredients
- 1 (4 pound) whole chicken
Peruvian Paste
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons aji amarillo pepper paste (or 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and minced)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Juice of ½ a lime
Drip pan potatoes
- 1 ½ pounds new potatoes, halved (A mix of purple, red and white if you can find them)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon aji amarillo pepper paste
Instructions
- Season the chicken: At least 2 hours before cooking, drop the 3 cloves of garlic and fresh ginger into a running blender or food processor, and process until minced. Add the rest of the Peruvian Paste ingredients and blend into a thick paste. Rub the chicken with the paste, inside and out. Gently work your fingers under the skin on the chicken breast, then rub some of the paste directly onto the breast meat. Put the chicken in a baking dish, then let it rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
- Truss and spit the chicken: One hour before cooking, take the chicken out of the refrigerator. Fold the wing tips under the wings and truss the chicken. (Trussing instructions here). Skewer the chicken on the rotisserie spit, securing it with the spit forks. Let the chicken rest at room temperature until the grill is ready.
- Set up the grill for indirect high heat: Set the grill up for indirect high heat, about 450°F, with the drip pan in the middle of the grill. For my Weber Summit, this means removing the grates, turning the two outer burners (burners 1 and 6) to high, setting the infrared burner to high, and preheating the grill for ten to fifteen minutes. For my Weber kettle, I light a chimney starter full of charcoal, wait for it to be covered with ash, pour it into two equal piles on the sides of the grill, and put the drip pan in the middle, between the piles.
- Rotisserie grill the chicken at high heat for 1 hour: Put the spit on the grill, start the motor spinning, and make sure the drip pan is centered beneath the chicken. Close the lid and cook until the chicken reaches 160°F in the thickest part of the breast, about 1 hour.
- Drip pan potatoes: As soon as the chicken goes on the grill, toss the halved new potatoes with the salt and aji pepper paste in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for six minutes. Set the potatoes aside until the chicken has been cooking for 30 minutes, then remove the plastic wrap and pour the potatoes into the drip pan under the chicken. Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally until they are browned and crispy, about 30 minutes. (The potatoes should be done about the same time as the chicken.)
- Serve: Remove the chicken from the rotisserie spit and remove the twine trussing the chicken. Be careful - the spit and forks are blazing hot. Remove the drip pan, and use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a platter. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes, carve, serve, and enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Rotisserie
- Cuisine: Peruvian
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Related Posts:
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Sarah says
One of the best roast chicken recipes I've ever tried! It was so incredibly flavorful, we didn't have any leftovers! I'd initially bought a jar of Aji for a different recipe that I never ended up making, and went digging online for a way to use it with roast chicken. So incredibly glad I came across your website.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Scotty Murray says
Thanks for your great recipes and advice.
Mike V says
You're welcome!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
I don't know that I can answer that question, because people have different heat tolerances. Things I consider mild are way too hot for other people. That said, this chicken has a little heat to it. I'd call it somewhere between mild and medium, but your mileage may vary. If you need no heat whatsoever, use this spice rub instead: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/rotisserie-chicken-with-spanish-smoked-paprika-rub/
Conor says
I am planning this for a BBQ in a couple of weeks but am afraid that it may be a little to hot/spicy for some of my guests can any one let me know if its a very hot and tasty dish or more just tasty?
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Maybe....but I have problems getting them cooked all the way through in the grill. The heat doesn't get down to them as much. If you don't want to use the microwave, try par-boiling them, covered in water, for ten minutes?
john z says
Can I cook the potatoes in the pan without microwaving them using a.bigger chicken 7 1/2 pounds so they can cook longer