Recipes

Pollo al Pastor (Spicy-Sweet Chipotle-Roast Chicken with Onion and Pineapple)

Rick Martínez

Author, Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook

"I was walking the streets in the city of Guanajuato and saw a rosticería that was selling rotisserie pollo al pastor. Al pastor is the meat filling of one of the most iconic tacos in the country. It’s made by marinating thin cuts of pork steak in chiles, spices, and Recado Rojo and layering the steaks on a vertical spit called a trompo, which was actually brought to México by Lebanese immigrants in the late nineteenth century. The trompos are topped with onion and pineapple and spin around a propane fire; the pork chars and caramelizes as it spins.

At this rosticería, the vendor was using chicken instead of pork and had marinated the chicken in his version of an al pastor marinade. It was an incredible sight, hundreds of spinning brick-red chickens roasting over a live wood fire. I stood there mesmerized by the sight and the smell.

I knew I had to re-create this rotisserie-style al pastor for the book, and it has since become my favorite recipe. It is so good and has a totally unexpected flavor, being at once familiar because of the pastor marinade, but surprising because it’s married to a perfectly roasted and juicy chicken with chile-stained meat that just falls off the bone."

—Rick Martínez, Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook

Ingredients

SERVES 6 TO 8

2 tablespoons Recado Rojo ,or achiote paste

3 garlic cloves, finely grated

2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus

2 tablespoons adobo sauce

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2½ teaspoons Morton kosher salt (0.7 oz/20 g), divided

1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 whole chicken (4 lb/1.8 kg)

1 medium pineapple (2.2 lb/988 g), peeled, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced crosswise

1 large white onion (14.6 oz/416 g), halved and thinly sliced

FOR SERVING

Warm Tortillas de Maíz

Salsa de Aguacate

Salsa de Chile de Árbol

Cilantro leaves

Method

1. In a medium bowl and using a fork, break up the recado rojo so no large clumps remain. Add the garlic, chiles, adobo sauce, vinegar, and 2 teaspoons of the salt and stir, using the fork to smash into a smooth paste. Vigorously whisk the agave syrup and ¼ cup of the olive oil into the achiote mixture until completely smooth.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place breast-side up in the center of a 13 × 9-inch baking pan. Liberally brush the chicken with the achiote sauce, getting into every nook and cranny, as well as inside the cavity. The chicken should be completely coated, and there shouldn’t be any sauce remaining. Tie the ends of the drumsticks together with kitchen twine; tuck the wings underneath the back.

3. In a medium bowl, toss the pineapple, onion, and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Arrange around the chicken. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour; if you have more time, cover the pan (skip letting it sit at room temperature) and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 12. Uncover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before roasting.

4. Arrange a rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 350°F. Roast the chicken, tossing the onion and pineapple with the juices in the pan halfway through, until the pineapple is lightly browned, the chicken is deep burgundy, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breasts registers 155°F (the temperature will climb to 165°F as the chicken rests), for 60 to 70 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest uncovered in the pan for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and carve. Serve with roasted pineapple and onions, tortillas, salsas, and cilantro.

Reprinted with permission from Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick Martinez copyright © 2022. Photographs copyright © 2022 by Ren Fuller. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

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