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Peruvian Roasted Chicken With Spicy Cilantro Sauce
Updated Jan. 5, 2024
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- Total Time
- 50 minutes plus marinating time
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 6garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- 3tablespoons soy sauce
- 1tablespoon aji amarillo paste or another chile paste such as sriracha or sambal
- 1tablespoon lime juice
- 1teaspoon aji panca paste or 1 teaspoon pasilla chile powder
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1(3½- to 4½-pound) chicken, halved (see Note) or 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
- 1cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 3 to 4jalapeños, seeded and diced
- ¼cup/1 ounce crumbled feta cheese
- 1garlic clove, chopped
- 1½tablespoons lime juice, more to taste
- 2teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or basil
- ¾teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
- ½teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½tablespoon aji amarillo or other chile paste (see headnote)
- ½teaspoon honey
- ½teaspoon ground cumin
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Lime wedges, for garnish
For the Chicken
For the Sauce
Preparation
- Step 1
For the marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together garlic, soy sauce, aji amarillo paste, lime juice, aji panca paste, mustard, cumin, pepper and salt.
- Step 2
Add chicken halves, turning to coat them all over with marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
- Step 3
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil.
- Step 4
Roast until skin is golden and chicken is cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes (if using chicken parts, remove the breasts after 25 to 35 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes before serving.
- Step 5
While chicken is roasting, make the sauce. In a blender, blend cilantro, jalapeños, feta, garlic, lime juice, oregano, salt, mustard, aji amarillo paste, honey, and cumin until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in oil until mixture is emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt or lime juice or both.
- Step 6
Carve the chicken and serve with the sauce and lime wedges on the side.
- To cut a chicken in half, use a sturdy pair of poultry shears to cut lengthwise through the breastbone. Turn over and cut again, along the backbone. If desired, cut along the other side of the backbone and remove it.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
If you measure oil in the half teaspoon first, then the honey, the honey will slide right out of the teaspoon.
I made this for four chickens for a pot luck tonight. I separated each into breast/thigh/drum/wing before marinating cooking. Wasn't too fastidious either about patting off the marinade and also had a few less jalapenos than called for and subbed dry basil for fresh. Results were spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. And did I mention spectacular?
My substitute for cilantro is parsley AND some other flavorful herb (my choices are mint, basil, or lemon thyme, depending on the dish) chopped together. Parsley alone is not enough (dull flavor), but chopping parsley in equal portions with a bright herb does the trick for me. For those who insist (with a superior air) that if I just kept eating cilantro i will learn to love it, I gladly will do so when you commit to eating a bar of soap until you "learn to love" it.
Didn't marinate for 12 hours because my boyfriend and I don't live together. I was cooking this at his place and wasn't going to show up in the morning to set up. We've been dating for almost three years, so we have talked about moving in together, but he wants to live in Brooklyn Heights and that's too far from work for me. Say what you want, but I also enjoy having my own space. Subbed honey with agave nectar because I'm a Millennial. Will be making again!
CFXK is correct. By some genetic mischance, a few people experience the taste of cilantro as soapy. Sometimes intensely soapy. Don't goad cilantro haters to "learn to love it" unless you are prepared to reprogram their DNA. As to Theabroma's (did you mean Theobroma as in Theobroma cacao?) condescending observation that parsley is no substitute for cilantro, know that there is no herb with substantial similarity to the flavor of cilantro. Just pick one that you like.
Used sriracha and chilli powder to replace the aji Amarion paste and aji panca paste. Other than that, followed the recipe as it is. The chicken tasted fantastic, Very moist and well seasoned. Made the sauce Saturday night and thought it tasted mediocre. Sunday night took the sauce out, a miracle must have occurred overnight, it tasted brilliant- super creamy and full of flavor. But will cut the ingredients in half to make the sauce. The recipe yields about 4 cups sauce, too much for a 3.5 bird
For those of us who can't eat cilantro, what would you suggest as a substitute ingredient or sauce?
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! I'm such a late bloomer. I'm 72 and just discovered cilantro 2 years ago when a clerk in the Asian Market told me it was Chinese Parsley. Trust me, it ain't parsley. It is unique. It is one of a kind. I now put it in everything. Even salads, any beans I do, and my son told me to try it on ice cream, I might like it.
I live in Argentina and once met a Peruvian lady that told me that for the marinade she used Coca Cola as part of the ingredients.
When I make Peruvian chicken, I make Ají de Huacatay for dipping. Ají de Huacatay (Peruvian green spicy sauce) 1 hot chile pepper (Peruvian aji amarillo) 1 rocoto pepper 1/4 cup plain peanuts 1 cup of Huacatay leaves (fresh or frozen. If you use paste, adjust salt and vinegar to taste) neutral oil (canola, corn, sunflower, etc.) 1/2 cup evaporated milk 1/2 cup mexican cheese or mild feta 2 or 3 crackers (saltines or oyster crackers) splash vinegar salt and pepper to taste
I had this dish at many restaurants while living in Peru. Never once had “heat” in the sauce. If aji was used, it must have been very subtle. Cheese used was called “fresh cheese,” something akin to farmers cheese or Mexican queso fresco. We often saw the sauce atop gorgeous filets of sea bass as well. Heavenly!
Absolutely do NOT wipe the marinade off before putting the chicken in the oven. If fact, I drizzle any marinade still in the bowl over the chicken so as not to lose any of that wonderful flavor. And I marinade the chicken for at least 24 hours. Why go to the trouble of making this delicious dish and do something to REDUCE the flavor? We make this at least twice a month - our favorite.
Big hit at my house. I did heed some suggestions from previous notes. I didn’t have access to the more exotic powders but did use shiracha and ancho chili powder as substitutes. Also, I heeded suggestion to make sauce without the feta, oregano, honey, but did add a bit of yogurt. I baked with 3 lbs thighs and added sweet potato rounds while cooking (I allowed them a dunk In the marinade after placing chicken in pan). This is a do-again, and again
How on earth do you get 4 cups of sauce from that list of ingredients?
Nope, same botanical family, but parsely is emphatically not a substitute for cilantro. Period.
Delicious and easy to prepare. Even without the sauce, the chicken is flavorful.
Delish
I made the green sauce to go with my husband's family recipe for Peruvian chicken and it was 10/10. I was all out of aji paste and didn't realize until we were already cooking so we omitted it, and it was still great (but the aji amarillo is so good, if you haven't had it, try it!).
If you do not have access to a South American market, Aji Amarillo and Aji Panca is available on Amazon. We recommend the Inca Foods brand.
This was delcious. I used double the cilantro, lol. A used Serrano chili's. And made a tomatillo salsa also.
I've made this several times now. I follow the recipe as written (no substitutions) and do a whole chicken on my barbecue rotisserie. I have had good results every time, hence, I keep coming back to this recipe.
This recipe is insanely good. There are lots of ingredients but lots I normally have on hand and so simple. It's delicious on chicken, but I LOOVE it on a pork loin (about to go toss 2 on the grill). I love doubling the marinade and sauce and freezing half for a super quick dinner. So so so good!
I'm Peruvian, but since I'm a Melissa Clark fan I decided to try her version of our chicken :) I have to say I found it as delicious as everyone else! The one ingredient I felt detracted from it is the olive oil. Peruvian chefs in general always mix in new international ingredients even if they aren't "traditional", so I had no problem with it on principle. But I guess there is a reason Olive Oil is never used in peruvian food... the flavours don't mix too well. I suggest skipping the oil.
Made this with roasted peruvian baby potatoes. Butter, oil and herbs, roasted in the oven at the same time as the chicken, tossed with the green sauce from the chicken recipe. Phenomenal meal.
Use sriracha as substitute for chile pastes. Oregano, not basil. 1 jalapeño
Easy. Perfectly spiced. Phenomenally delicious. The stuff of obsession. Seek out the aji pastes. They are worth the effort.
Fabulous recipe. Made it many times.
Sauce freezes well. Keep a supply on hand always.
Best chicken I've ever made. Worth every step! Let marinate for 4 hours.
This chicken was delicious even though the first time I made it I could not find the actual ingredients. Juicy - beautiful - delicious. Excited to making it a second time with the chili's requested.
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