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Peruvian

Pollo a la brasa

Non-vegetarian

Peru's most popular restaurant meal: chicken marinated in garlic, cumin, soy, lime and ají, then roasted until the skin is dark and crisp. This home version uses a hot oven.

Pollo a la brasa is a Peruvian main course, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on, garlic and cumin. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Deliciously roasted rotisserie chicken with crispy skin, perfect for a hearty meal.
Photo: Nano Erdozain / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
15 min
Cook
55 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 20 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
707

Plus 4 hours to overnight marinating.

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Blend the garlic (opens in a new tab), soy sauce (opens in a new tab), lime juice (opens in a new tab), cumin (opens in a new tab), paprika (opens in a new tab), oregano (opens in a new tab), pepper (opens in a new tab), ají paste, oil, salt and beer (opens in a new tab) to a smooth marinade.

  2. Step 2

    Rub the marinade all over the chicken, including under the skin. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

    • 5 min

    Food safety: Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw chicken.

    Meat coated in a spiced marinade in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Ip Photographer on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Lay the chicken skin-side up on a rack over a tray. Roast at 220 °C for 15 minutes, then at 200 °C for 35–40 minutes, until the skin is deeply browned and the thickest part reaches 74 °C.

    Food safety: Check the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74 °C.

  4. Step 4

    Rest 10 minutes and cut into quarters.

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Lima, Peru · Well documentedAlso popular in United StatesMore food from Peru
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Roasted, Marinated / cured
Taste
savoury, garlicky, smoky, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Alcohol-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Child-friendly · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Garlic · Cumin · Soy sauce · Lime juice · Paprika
Techniques
Roasting · Marinating · Curing

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom soy sauce
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom soy sauce, beer
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

707 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 328 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 32%
  • Carbohydrate 3%
  • Fat 65%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy707 kcal215 kcal
Protein55.4 g16.9 g
Carbohydrate5.2 g1.6 g
Net carbohydrate4.2 g1.3 g
Sugars0.6 g0.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.1 g0.3 g
Fat50.6 g15.4 g
Saturated fat13 g3.9 g
Trans fat0.3 g0.1 g
Cholesterol216 mg66 mg
Sodium1197 mg365 mg
Salt equivalent3 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
700 mg
Calcium
68 mg
Iron
4 mg
Magnesium
78 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
149 µg
Vitamin C
14 mg
Vitamin D
0.6 µg
Vitamin B12
0.9 µg
Folate (DFE)
22 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: beer.
  • Ají amarillo paste: Raw hot chilli peppers (FDC 170106) used as a stand-in for puréed Peruvian yellow chilli; jarred pastes may add a little oil and salt.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A covered kettle barbecue with wood chunks gets closer to the charcoal-rotisserie flavour.

Serve with

  • With chips, salad and ají verde, mayonnaise and ketchup — and an Inca Kola.

Food safety

  • Marinate in the fridge.
  • Roast until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74 °C.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat at 190 °C for 15 minutes to re-crisp the skin.

History

Charcoal-rotisserie chicken in this style is usually credited to the Granja Azul restaurant near Lima in the 1950s; it has since become the country's most ordered restaurant dish.

Confidence: Commonly attributed

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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