Peruvian Roasted Chicken

This roasted chicken is made Peruvian style with an amazing marinade. We will be letting it marinate for 24 hours. The final result is simply fantastic. You will not believe how flavorful and juicy and moist this chicken is. Although the marinade includes an habanero pepper, this chicken is not spicy.

We will start cooking this chicken breast side down at a high oven. We will then flip it and finish cooking it at a lower temperature. This will not only brown the back, it will also keep the breast from drying up.

I know that this recipe has a lot of ingredients but I promise you that it is absolutely worth the effort.

Peruvian Chicken Recipe in the Oven

1 - 5 to 6 pound whole roasting chicken

FOR THE PASTE:
6 garlic cloves — peeled and chopped
1/2 of an habanero pepper
1/4 cup mint leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons lime zest (that should be approx. two limes)
2 limes — juiced
1/4 cup oil

Place all of ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a smooth paste. If you do not have a high powered blender chop everything before adding to the blender.

Trim any excess fat from the chicken. Carefully run your fingers between the skin and the breast and thigh meat, to separate them. Be careful not to break the skin.

Rub half of the paste on the meat under the skin and the cavity. Coat the chicken on the outside, making sure to rub under the wings.

Place the coated chicken into a container. Place the container into a grocery store bag and tie it. Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.

COOK THE CHICKEN:

Remove the chicken from the fridge and take it out of the bag.

Place a rack into a roasting pan and coat it with oil. Place the chicken on top of the rack, breast side down. Allow it to come to room temperature by sitting on the counter for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400F (200C).

Place the chicken into the oven — breast side down. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven. Carefully flip it by inserting a meat cooking fork inside the cavity and grabbing the other end with an oven mitt.

Reduce the oven to 350F (175 C).

Add some water to the bottom of the roasting pan, making sure that it doesn’t touch the chicken.

Return the pan to the oven and cook for an hour. Remove the chicken from the oven and insert a thermometer between the thigh and the leg — making sure not to touch the bone. It should register 165 to 170 F (74 to 76 C). Return it to the oven if it needs to continue cooking. Check it every 15 minutes.

Tent the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Allow the chicken to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Carve and enjoy with your favorite sides.

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