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Speckled plate of grilled pollo asado chicken.

Pollo Asada

Juicy grilled chicken is coated in our flavorful pollo asado marinade to create an authentic Mexican meal! This pollo asado recipe is full of citrus and Mexican spices, including achiote! Serve solo or use it for pollo asado tacos, burritos, nachos and more!  Instructions for grilled and roasted pollo asada.
5 from 73 votes
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Marinating: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Achiote, Chicken Breasts, Chicken Thighs, Grilled Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Mexican Recipes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 324kcal
Author: Darcey Olson
Cost: $10

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2-3 lbs Chicken Thighs, Legs or Breast (*Note 1)

MARINADE:

  • ¼ Cup Orange Juice
  • 1 tbsp Lime Juice
  • 1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Achiote Powder (ground annatto seed)* (*Note 2)
  • 1 tbsp Ground Coriander
  • 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Smoked Paprika (*Note 3)
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 2 tsp Dried Mexican Oregano (*Note 4)
  • 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp Ground Cumin
  • ⅛ tsp Ground Cloves
  • 3 Garlic Cloves, Minced

Instructions
 

MARINATE THE CHICKEN:

  • Remove any excess fat from the chicken and add to a large Ziploc Bag.
  • Add all the marinade ingredients to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and pour over the chicken. Seal the bag and massage with your hands to ensure all surface areas of the chicken are coated.
  • Place the bag in the refrigerator and let marinate for 1 hours to 4 hours.

GRILL THE CHICKEN:

  • Pre-heat the grill to medium heat and set up for indirect cooking.
  • Remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag and shake off any excess marinade. Discard the remaining marinade. Place the chicken on the direct heat side of the grill (skin side down if not using skinless). Grill for 10 minutes with the lid down. Flip the chicken and move to the indirect heat side of the grill and grill for 15-20 minutes. Grill until the internal temperature is 175 degrees F (or 165 degrees F for chicken breast)

ROAST THE CHICKEN:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag and shake off any excess marinade. Discard the remaining marinade. Transfer the chicken to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the internal temperature is 175 degrees F (or 165 degrees F for chicken breast)

Notes

Note 1 - You can use chicken thighs, chicken breasts or chicken legs, either boneless and skinless or bone-in. We tend to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. 
Note 2 - 
Note 3 - We do a 50/50 split of smoked paprika and regular paprika. Feel free to use either or instead of both.
Note 4 - Regular oregano will also work if you don't have, or can't find, Mexican oregano.
The nutritional information is calculated using boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 1949mg | Potassium: 661mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 399IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 3mg
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