In this video, i'm making Steven Raichlen's Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) and cooking it using three different methods. Full recipe here: barbecuebible.com/recipe/peru...
I lived in Peru for two years, but I live near Charlotte NC. You're right - Peruvian restaurants keep popping up in NC. They also keep going out of business because they are not authentic and they are trying to cut corners or sell a whole chicken for $30. I buy my Peruvian chilis and sauces from local Mexican markets that sell Peruvian imports. My wife is Peruvian as well, so we demand the real deal. The good news is, that you can grow Peruvian chilis successfully here in very rich soil. They are after all, some of the first chilis domesticated for agriculture by the human race. I am marinating a chicken as I type... I use oak charcoal and I spatchcock my chicken. Nothing compares to a great grilled chicken with a legitimate aji sauce! I'm happy to see some Americans are embracing Peruvian cuisine!
@@RaleighSmoke We make aji sauce similar to what you'd get from the popular chicken restaurants in Lima, Peru. There's not really a recipe, so you have to wing it. To make enough for 2 people (for a chicken condiment), start with 3-4 Tbs of heavy cream in a glass bowl just big enough to fit one mixer blade into it. Partially whip the cream with a single blade on high speed until it becomes thick, or spend some quality time with a whisk, unless you want aji whipped cream which is also good! Fold in a small amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder (to taste). Add a pinch of finely ground dry basil leaves. Add yellow aji paste one teaspoon at a time to get the heat level you like. Let the sauce rest in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before you use it, so the spices can bloom. It will become thicker, so you can add a little milk to it before you serve it, if needed. My Peruvian family members tell me it's darned close to the standard, and I think it is. If you want a really hot sauce, try substituting rocoto for the aji, and you'll get a pink sauce. We use the same type of chili pastes/purees you show in the market during your video. We also buy whole frozen chilis of both types to use in Papas Huacaina or fire sauce to eat with anticuchos (beef heart kabobs). Any time we grill steaks or beef hearts, we usually make two sauces - chimichurri and a vividly painful rocoto sauce. Again, we just wing it on the measurements. For 1/2 cup of chimichurri (Not traditional chimichurri), you need a lot of fresh cilantro and parsley. It takes quite a bit to make a small amount of sauce. Very finely chop equal amounts of the herbs and place them in a glass bowl. Add to that 1 or 2 finely minced garlic cloves. Add about 2 Tbs of red wine vinegar and 3-4 Tbs of olive oil. Add 1/2 tsp dry oregano and/or basil. Season it with salt and pepper, and add crushed red pepper for heat. Let this rest while you cook. Longer is better. Beware it seems to shrink as the salt wilts the herbs! This sauce is great with basically anything you might grill. We use it with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp... you get it. Now, the rocoto sauce, I just call it Fire. Also in a glass bowl, start with finely chopped fresh or frozen rocoto or even canned rocoto (Rocoto varies in heat, but definitely wear gloves. We had one so hot once in Lima that the whole family had to evacuate the apartment when I cut it open. Not kidding. It even went through my gloves and we couldn't breathe. The frozen ones seem more tame.) Add to that finely chopped green onion, a finely chopped garlic clove, and equal amounts of red wine vinegar and olive oil to make a loose relish. Chopped cilantro is optional. Season it with salt and pepper. My sister in law likes to add a little cumin to hers. I don't. It will usually be extraordinarily hot but also tasty. As for a green sauce, I make one similar to a chef I know at Zapatas Mexican restaurant. It's definitely not Peruvian, but it is great with carnitas or frankly any grilled meat Mexican, Peruvian or otherwise. We use it with any Mexican food we make, and it is also a great salad dressing. I've had some kind of greenish sauce at Peruvian restaurants here, but never in Peru. I think the US restaurants are trying to substitute for aji sauce with jalapeno sauce. I'm not sure. You might find my sauce is similar to what they are doing. For my green sauce, I did develop a recipe myself, and it is a bit of a challenge to do it correctly. This recipe is enough for two salads and 2 huge servings of meat, burritos, etc. I use a small size glass blender container on our large kitchen blender - smaller is better. You can use a ninja or any small blender for this. Into the container add 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1/8 cup diced fresh Jalapeno (no seeds, I'd use more jalapenos but my wife thinks they are too hot), at least 1/8 cup packed with chopped fresh cilantro (leaves and stems), 1/4 cup of sour cream. (Maybe you could try some mint or Huacatay in this!?) You want to liquefy this using the blender, but not much, or you'll end up with a disgusting version of jalapeno buttermilk. Blend it and check the viscosity until it is about the consistency of ranch dressing. If you go too long, it will break, and you'll know it's time to start over. AFTER the blending part add the spices.. I found that the spices seem to make the sauce break faster in the blender. Just use a spoon to stir in 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of black pepper, and 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt (to taste, really). If the sauce is thicker than you like, thin it with a little milk. That's it! It's best to refrigerate your blender container before you start, and keep the sauce cold until you use it. This sauce tends to get watery if you try to keep it in the fridge overnight, so just make what you need, when you start cooking. As with all recipes, you can always adjust my ingredients to your whim. I do hope you try these sauces, as they are a staple in our kitchen. For the Super Bowl or a gathering, we typically grill a lot of bone-in chicken breasts Peruvian-style, steaks or anticuchos, pork loin, and shrimp/pineapple kabobs, and we serve those with ALL of these sauces and some grilled vegetables, salads, Papas Huacaina, etc. I also like to smoke some good old Eastern Carolina BBQ too, because well, I can stare at a smoker for 14 hours and have beer. It's always a hit with our family and friends. My wife keeps urging me to make some cooking videos for RU-vid, so if I can figure out how to edit and all that, I just might do it. We do make a lot of Peruvian food around here - occasionally substituting for things we simply cannot buy in the USA, so if you are interested in any recipes just let me know. Cheers!
We're glad we found this! We're in Durham and my wife wanted me to find a recipe after eating at Luna. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
I live in Fayetteville but have to work in Cary and love eating at the Local Alpaca restaurant. It reminds me of the rotisserie chicken I grew up on in Germany. I have already failed a couple of times making this using several methods. This weekend, Lowes had a $1000 Pellet Grill on sale for $399 which was a deal I could not pass up. 5 years ago, my boss brought a Pellet grill to work and it was some of the best chicken I ever had besides Alpaca. So I hope I finally can have the same quality chicken at home.
I did this tonight and wow. My family crushed it. Spatchcocked and halved two chickens, and hung them on Barrelhouse over lump charcoal. Seriously....incredible...I could sell this and make coin. I did the green sauce with the recommended two jalapenos and no Bueno. Lips were numb for over an hour. Quickly mixed up another batch with no Jalapenos to make family-friendly and it worked. I could see pulling the chicken and serving on Hawaiian roll with the green sauce. Thx for posting this, It will be in my rotation.
GrumpyFace BBQ - Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it. I feel ya on the green sauce. I’ve not found a recipe yet that compares to what they serve in restaurants. 🍻
@@RaleighSmoke do not use the huacatay paste . use the frozen leaves . also u need to make ur own mayo do not use the one from the store it has to be 100% homestyle because the flavor it is super different .
I have watched 6 different video on how to make this. This is one is the most accurate and authentic. Too many videos are missing key ingredients like the yellow pepper taste or huacatay
Excellent explanation. The amazing Aji sauce is missing. It is an integral part of Peruvian chicken. Whether the original with Aji pepper or the much loved Aji verde made with Jalapeno peppers. 😊
RaleighSmoke will do. I have the SNS and the Cajun rotisserie for my kettle. Which one do you think would be the best choice for this cook in your opinion?
Katz Steel - I’d definitely go with the rotisserie. It’s more authentic and the rotation of the spit will allow the chicken to baste itself & cook more evenly with a crispier skin.
I always dream of having an authentic small not fancy ...Peruvian restaurant...in South Carolina ....I know is a lot of work....but the results will be magnificent....nothing like Peruvian food...nothing
I'm gonna try this recipe I use the Soy Sauce method and it was delicious I might even brine it in water, soy sauce and little bit of fish sauce for that asian influence lol
Hey Jon! I learned.........You are the Man!!! Wait.....I already knew that. Also learned.... who knew this style was so popular???? Can't say we have any of them around here. I hope that changes because it sure looks good! Glad to see you got a CB ring.......it's the best going! Your animation are always entertaining but this one had to be the funniest......poor chickens. LLLLL. Hope to see more from you my friend! Metal On!
Heavy Metal Bar-B-Que - Lol! Thanks, Ken! The animation took a while... I enjoyed making it. I just wanted to give the history lesson with something different. I just wish my daughter wasn’t sleeping when I was recording the violence over.
@@kaydee2056 Why confused?. A little bit of soy sauce adds a good flavor. I put ají Panca, ají Amarillo, lime, oregano, fresh garlic, bit of cumin, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of beer. Yumi 😋
Your recipe is good, but!. I use "aji panca" intead of paprika (in Perú we don't use paprika). I also use some "soy sauce". Everything else is good 👍❤️. From Peruvian in Idaho 😊
Woody Heath - Sweet! I love cooking Peruvian chicken at home. I just go to the restaurant to get the sauces and sides. The international foods on Atlantic/NewHopeChurch has all the Peruvian ingredients you’ll need. Thanks for watching!
Great Video have to give it a try, you can use rotiseree on kettle also is using it on wsm your preferred Method. I have similar equipment that you have, If you were to use rotiseree on kettle would you use sns or weber baskets. When cooking chickens on hanging rack how do you set vents on wsm.
John Knapp - Thanks, John. I think I’d definitely uses the Weber baskets on the kettle rotisserie. I haven’t done it, but I think it would certainly give the skin a better finish than on the WSM. I like using the WSM, but the spit is a bit too far from the coals, IMO.
Hey! I have a pellet grill and due to space constraints, don't think i can get a charcoal grill. Any thoughts on which pellets would work best for this recipe? I also have a smoke tube. I've heard of charcoal pellets but don't know if they are worth trying out. Any thoughts?
I don’t know probably anything traditional would work. I’ve never tried charcoal pellets or pellets at all for that matter. I wouldn’t mind the pellet smoker I just never got one.
I can't get them Peruvian products here in Aus. I might try this with some LaMorena chipotle products instead. Should be good I reckon. Thanks for the Inspiration.
- I believe that Steven Raichlen has a recipe for those who can’t get the aji amarillo & juacaty. Look on his website. If it’s not there, it might be in his book “Project Smoke”. I’m not sure how it would taste, but it’s worth a try.
The rotisserie? Cajun Bandit sells it. It was about $150 years ago. Only fire sells one for the Weber Kettle. Not sure if it’ll fit the WSM. Sorry for the late response. Thnx for watching!
Hedy Karim - mine is the typical 22” Weber Kettle. Most charcoal grills will work. Just apply the same principles - coals on one side, chicken spatchcocked or split on the other side.
Where did you get the 17th of July celebration info from ? Peruvian Independence Day is on the 28th of July and that's when we peruvians eat , drink and celebrate (party) like there's no tomorrow !!!
@@RaleighSmoke I forgive you :-) But seriously, peruvians don't celebrate anything on July 17th. The party starts on July 28th and ends on July 29th. Also, most South American countries celebrate their individual independence day some day in July, so maybe the article you read got the countries mixed up.
