aguachico
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Location: tijuana
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grilling mex chickens
This year's new taxes in baja and the doubling of my health insurance has me cutting costs.
One pleasure we have is Friday night chickens from Pipila. Two chickens, all the fixings and soda por los chicos was 180 pesos. Now it's 230. The
birds have a lot a flavor, but no a lot of meat.
I now have to look at cooking these birds at home. Since I always have a a 40K bag of sonoran carbon and a grill why not.
So what kind of chicken do they butterfly in Mexico to create these succulent little wonders?
Any marinade tips appreciated.
gracias
[Edited on 2-1-2014 by aguachico]
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desertcpl
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the best by far grilled chicken in MX
I was traveling thru a very small town in mainland MX
stopped at a small road side restaurant
small range fed,, they was marinated in citrus juice
orange, limes then butterflied and cooked over mesquite
it was to die for
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Udo
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I do not know which Mariano Matamoros city you live in. There is one near TJ, and one in the Mainland.
But whole chickens are hard to come by in Baja.
I know that Walmart carries them in Baja.
Regardless of how skinny they are, or how plump, the most flavorful and juicy chicken you can easily cook is in your own oven:
Try to find a 1-1/2 to 2 kilo chicken
Make a butter flavoring with two stick of melted butter and two tablespoons of Italian seasoning.
Blend the two parts and pour into the chicken area between the skin and flesh. Use your hands to separate the skin very gently, or it will tear.
Make sure the outside skin is dry, or use a hair dryer to blow dry the skin ( I do the same thing with Peking Duck).
Webber sells a chicken stand, and if you can find one, put the chicken butt-side down. Add some thyme sprigs, oregano sprigs, rosemary sprigs, two bay
leaves and two wedges of lemons though the neck cavity (or insert from the bottom before placing on the chicken stand). Without the chicken stand, put
the chicken on a beer can and stand it up on a pie dish.
Add 1/2 of rough chopped onion
1 rough chop celery stick
2 rough cut carrots
Then add about a 1/2 can of beer to the veg. You can do some experimenting liberty here, and add any other liquid you wish, including tequila.
Now for the big secret:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (use an oven thermometer...the temperature is critical). Move the oven rack so the chicken fits in there standing up.
Bake the chicken for 45 minutes. Check at 25-30 minutes...if the skin is getting a little too brown, use a small tent of tin foil on the chicken.
When you remove the chicken in 45 minutes, cover the chicken completely in the tin foil and let it rest for 8-10 minutes.
In writing, this recipe sounds more complicated than it is. Your chicken prep time is about 15 minutes.
Guaranteed juicy and crispy skin.
This will feed four.
Just remember 45 minutes at 450 degrees!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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CP
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Maybe ask Pipila what kind of chickens they use or where they get them? Not a strange question to ask.
This is my favorite grilled chicken recipe -
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/grilling-mexican-...
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DavidE
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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I miss my own pollo. The flavor difference is astonishing. Like comparing home baked bread to BIMBO. Pollo al carbon estilo Sinaloense found in those
roadside shacks frequently use ranch pollo and cook them over wood rather than carbón.
Bachoco chicken is rather like one of those skinny steers standing in the middle of the road, or Acme commercial food service mayonnaise. You don't
stand a chance no matter how much you screw with them.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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Hook
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The biggest name in chicken in our neck of Mexico is Bachoco. Whole chickens go on sale, pretty regularly, for around 20 pesos/kilo. When that
happens, we go and search out the largest ones from the store and stock up. Yes, Mexican chickens can be very small, so it pays to search through
them. Found one this week that was OVER two kilos! Chicken is very fresh over here as we have a lot of chicken farms in Sonora.
My favorite grilling recipe is any version of the El Pollo Loco marinade recipe (do a search) and I add a dusting of any of the Sinaloa dry chicken
seasonings they sell over here. The dusting gives the EPL marinade a bit of heat. I like the combo of citric fruitiness and chili powder/garlic powder
heat with some saltiness in the mix. I cook this indirectly over mesquite in a Char-griller BBQ.
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vgabndo
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I've often had success asking for pollo entero con hielado (sp) frozen whole birds. They are usually rock hard, and Mexican style, come complete with
the feet. I've bought them from the big market in Guerrero Negro, at Saul's in Mulege, and at the Pescador in Loreto. Seldom on display.
I par boil Mexican chicken before the BBQ. I want at least 160 degree internal temp for a bit, to account for any bacteria that doesn't get killed by
the irregular heat , and possible rare spots from grilling.
[Edited on 2-1-2014 by vgabndo]
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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chuckie
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In a Pinch, the grey pelican can be substituted for Chicken.tastes awful, hard to clean...aaaaaw Forget it 
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Udo
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One can also use the beak as a skewer, when using an open pit BBQ.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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aguachico
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Thanks for the info folks. Looks like a fryer chicken is the bird of choice for butterflying and grilling. Found this link and how to for cutting the
bird.
http://video.about.com/bbq/How-to-Butterfly-a-Chicken.htm
One of my favorite grilled chicken marinades is an achiote paste spice block blended with garlic, olive oil and orange juice. I never realized how
fatty chicken is until I purchased a 20K block from El Florido.
suerte y saludos
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bkbend
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I kind of enjoy the flavor of the Mexican chicken (tastes like chicken!) and usually just grill over carbon with salt and pepper. No enhancements
needed.
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David K
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Udo, that sounds marvelous! 
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Udo
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Thanks, David!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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captkw
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baja chickens
almost anywhere in Baja you will find chicken leg w/thigh (peiarna) and they are from the states btw ...de skin and cut in half soak in terrakki and
red chli peppers for at least 5 hrs and then bbg.....omg "Sabor"" try it your like it...Saterday I bbg'd fresh salmon from BC....mmm good !!!
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gnukid
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Iron pot on the grill works best
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