Mountain Recipes

Those of you who know me know that I've tried to con, wheedle, steal, and/or duplicate El Pollo Loco's marinade recipe. A friend who was head chef at the Hilton years ago (obviously, if I'm calling it the Hilton!) had it on his computer, since he did consulting work for them once, but his hard-drive crashed.

So, I had to resort to legitimate means. This is NOT the recipe. However, I think you'll agree that it's 99.8% there.

Don't substitute lemongrass for oregano, then write and bitch that it "doesn't taste like El Pollo Loco." TRY the recipe my way first, and if you want to tinker later, then feel free.

EL POLLO LOCO CHICKEN MARINADE

1-1/2 cups warm water
Juice of 1 large ripe navel orange
Juice of 1 large ripe lemon
Juice of 1 ripe heavy lime
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1-1/2 tsp. mild chile powder ("California chile powder"
1-1/2 tsp. cumin seed, ground
1 tsp. oregano leaves, ground
1 large or 2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. white vinegar
25 drops yellow food coloring

Use a small, scrawny, skinny chicken (marinade penetrates better than a fat chicken). Split open by cutting down between the breasts. Mix marinade in a 1-gallon ziploc bag and marinate refrigerated for 3-4 hours and 1 more hour at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a flat trivet or rack on it. Place chicken on the rack split side up. Place pan on highest rack nearest the heating element (or, if element is below in the broiler, remove broiler pan and place on the bottom of the broiler). Roast for one hour, turning over and basting every 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is done and the skin is nicely glazed.

Serve with taco-sized flour tortillas and pico de gallo. Serves 3-4 family members or two gluttons (like me).

If you like this recipe, then PLEASE share it with others. I always promised I'd share the recipe if I ever nailed it; well, I think I nailed it. Let me know what you think!

Chili powder. Chili powder. My bad.

Those of you who loaded up on 59 cent a pound chicken last week at Stater's will have something new to try. Really heavy, meaty chickens do not work nearly as well, since white meat is extremely difficult to marinate. Haven't tried a flavor injector, and I have no use for syringes, but that might possibly work. Failing that, stick with a skinny chickie.

If you think about it, the originator from Sinaloa must have used farm chickens, which actually use their muscles and have much more dark meat than mass-produced commercial chickens. Chicken quarters -- thighs and legs attached -- would therefore work great as well. I know that white meat is lower in fat and healthier; I know eating the skin is fatty and bad for you. But I know what works in food, and breasts just aren't the same.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. And DO give me credit when you forward the recipe! Lots of experimenting went into this effort.

I can't wait to try it! My fridge is loaded with chickens! I'll let you know how my family likes it. Thank you!

Yum! The citrus sounds like a nice balance. I'm going to try it. I'm vegan, so it won't go on chicken, but it looks like it could be used for a lot of things.

Pete Thank you for this recipe it is great. I marinated the chickens overnight. To feed my family I cook 2 chickens that are 4-5 lbs each. I usually have to search through all the chickens to find the biggest ones. When I went looking for scrawny ones for this recipe there were none the smallest I found was just under 4 lbs. The long marinade time really helped the flavor soak in.

I cooked one as written & put the other one on the BBQ. They were both great. It was a little strange when I'd turn them as one the flames were on top (the broiler) then to the BBQ flames on bottom.