The best chicken recipe you will ever need! Peruvian Chicken
With Aji Verde (Green Jalapeño Sauce)
The supreme chicken recipe you will ever need! Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde (Jalapeño Sauce)
This best chicken recipe has quite a story, and you must try it after reading this! One day we were at my sister in-law's place and they ordered delivery Peruvian chicken and yuca from a local restaurant. They raved about it so much that we couldn't wait for it to arrive.They were not wrong! The chicken was so beautifully seasoned and cooked and we kept going for more servings. It was also the kids' first encounter with fried yuca or cassava, the potato-like wedges deep fried golden brown. The chicken spice was a blend that I had never tasted before and I was asked to see if I could replicate it. It was unbelievably delicious. The same went for the Aji Verde. I took a couple of the tiny containers home and got to work the day after. After a number of tests on both the chicken and sauce, I put this recipe together for both the chicken and sauce, and have been asked to repeat it quite regularly. Don't worry too much about the butter, about all of it will be rendered at the bottom of the pot but the flavours will infuse the chicken like you have never tasted.The link to my Aji Verde is https://www.nazari.ca/delicious-green-jalapeno-sauce/You might find recipes that call for Amarillo paste or cotija cheese. Though I tried them, the family preferred the taste and texture of this flavour. I hope you enjoy it too.You can use a Dutch oven or roaster, just keep in mind the cooking time is slightly more in a roaster because of its thickness and heat distribution.
Ingredients
- 1 ea 4-5 lb chicken
- ½ ea white onion peeled
- ½ ea lime
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
- 6 ea large garlic cloves pressed
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp sugar
- 4 ea yellow potatoes cleaned, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick rounds. These will sit at the bottom of the Dutch oven/ roaster to space the chicken from the bottom and allow fat to render underneath it.
Instructions
- Prepare the marinade by mixing the melted butter, lime juice, pressed garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and sugar in a bowl until everything is combined well. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until the butter starts to harden but still squishy to the finger.
- Start by rubbing the cavity with the mixture. Using your finger, very gently pull up the skin from around the breast from both the cavity side and the neck side and with a small spoon or fingers, navigate the marinade under the skin all around the breast and to the sides under the thigh skin.
- Place the half lime and onion inside the cavity and tightly tie the drumstick tips with kitchen twine to create a nice seal. Continue rubbing the marinade on the entire chicken, leaving some to use just before cooking. Cover and refrigerate for about 4-6 hours.
- Ensure your oven racks are adjusted so that the roaster/ Dutch oven would sit on the lower rack. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Lightly spray the bottom of the Dutch oven/ roaster with cooking spray and place the 1 inch potato rounds to cover the bottom. If you have a small mesh similar to a cooling rack that could be placed at the bottom to space out the chicken and the roaster, you can skip the potatoes.
- Place the chicken on the potatoes and roast uncovered for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 Fahrenheit and continue cooking for 1 hour and 10 minutes, then remove cover, increase temperature to 450 Fahrenheit and roast uncovered for about 15 more minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Remember that the internal temperature of the chicken must reach 165 degrees (cook approximately 20 minutes PER POUND).
- Remove from oven, and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Buen provecho!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
The link to my Aji Verde recipe:
https://www.nazari.ca/delicious-green-jalapeno-sauce/
A little more about Peruvian cuisine: