Peruvian Chicken & Green Sauce

The marinade and the green sauce are the real stars of this Peruvian chicken dish.

Cumin, paprika, garlic, oregano, lemon juice, and vinegar are all components of the marinade. Combining the lemon’s subtle citrus notes with the vinegar’s tang, the oregano’s earthiness, and the cumin, paprika, and garlic’s spiciness makes for an interesting flavor profile. Jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, lime, and vinegar all have their place in the green sauce, which was developed specifically to complement the roasted chicken.

Some of the Peruvian chicken recipes you see online call for spatchcocking the chicken (a crazy phrase for butterflying it, really), but I have no idea how to do that. I didn’t want to since, while spatchcocking helps the bird cook more quickly, roasting it whole keeps the meat tender and moist.

Served with a helping of oiled rice and beans, this dish is on the NEXT. LEVEL.

Here’s a pro tip for cooking black beans: add oil, chopped onion, and chopped garlic to a medium pot. Try adding some of the liquids from the roasting pan to a can of black beans, then covering them with chicken stock and seasoning them with salt before serving. Feeling this way will remind you how lucky you are to be alive.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 4 pound of whole chicken
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 medium onion; sliced
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon of black pepper
• ½ teaspoon of dried oregano

Green sauce:

• 2 whole roughly chopped jalapeños
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Juice of 1 lime

Instructions:

1. Put the garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a bowl and mix well.
2. Cleaning a chicken entails rinsing it, taking out the internal organs, and drying it with paper towels.
3. Carefully rub the spice mixture beneath the skin, all over the outside, and into the chicken cavity, then place it on top of the sliced onions in an enameled baking dish and bake it. Use some kitchen string to bind the legs together. Put in the fridge for 4-24 hours covered.
4. The chicken should not be ice cold from the refrigerator; instead, take it out a few minutes before you plan to roast it and let it come back up to temperature. In the meantime, set the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
5. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken and baste it with the pan juices. Roast for 45-60 minutes further at 375F (190C) or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165F (74C), and the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. You can turn it over and baste it a couple of times as it roasts. Allow the chicken a few minutes to rest after removing it from the oven.
6. Mix the jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, mayonnaise, lime juice, and vinegar in a blender’s container. Blend on high, scraping the sides as needed until completely smooth. Olive oil should be added carefully while the mixer is running. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Put in a storage jar and chill in the fridge until needed.