Pollo Asado

Description

Now, I have to say that I am completely biased on this blend and have been testing and tweaking it for a while until I felt that I had it just right. Before I get into the blend I have to share the back story a bit. If you've haven't read our about us page you may not know that we consider our company Spices Inc to be our third act. The second act was Penny and I working for various catalog and internet companies across the country. The 1st act was in the restaurant business (again all across the country) that included stops at 7 different restaurant companies. One of the companies that I worked for (they had my favorite type of food by far) was a little regional chicken chain based out of Phoenix called El Pollo Asado (not to be confused with El Pollo Loco out of California). El Pollo Asado specialized in Mexican-style grilled chicken.

What is Pollo Asado?

Many of the world’s ethnic cuisines have their own take on grilled chicken and how to make it somewhat unique for their region of the world. Latin America weighs in on this with their pollo asados which include three leading contenders - Cuban, Mexican and Peruvian and there of course are even some subtle variations within each of these depending on a family's flavor preferences.

Pollo asado translates to "roasted chicken". Asado is generally considered a cooking technique of open-fire style (or grilling) of cooking meat that uses hardwoods and seasonings for flavor. I think that many of our chicken seasoning blends stand well on their own when used as a dry rub. For the Pollo Asado blend (since I worked for several years in the restaurant) I wanted to develop this one more as a marinade to get the full flavor effect. I am pretty much addicted to this style of chicken. It's incredibly flavorful, moist and succulent. You can eat this grilled or roasted chicken by itself or really go all out and slice them thin and then wrap these in homemade corn tortillas (or store bought wheat tortillas if you prefer) with some made from scratch pico de gallo, salsa or salsa verde - simply amazing!

This Mexican chicken seasoning balances perfectly with the citrus juice and this combination is the secret to this pollo asado marinade. While I of course prefer to use fresh limes, lemons and oranges whenever possible, I’ve also used lime, lemon and orange juices (preferably not from concentrate). I like to marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours (if just doing skinless, boneless chicken breasts) and I've marinated for up to 24 hours (especially if using whole chickens with the skin). The acid from the lime, lemon and oranges tenderizes the chicken and the natural sugar from the juices also helps create an amazing caramelized effect that just locks in the flavor. The sugar from the fruit also helps visually as it makes the signature grill marks very noticeable.

What's In It?

Hand blended from ancho, lemon zest, lime zest, garlic, orange zest, cumin, clove, Ceylon cinnamon and Mexican oregano.

Flavor Profile

The flavor profile of our Pollo Asado seasoning is citrusy (this is much more pronounced when used in the marinade) with earthy undertones from the ancho and cumin and hints of sweetness. 

Helpful Hints

To marinate 3 lbs of chicken use 1/2 cup of lime (or 2 fresh limes), lemon (2 fresh lemons) and orange (1 medium to large orange) fresh squeezed juice, 1/4 cup of vinegar (apple cider vinegar is more common in Mexican cuisine), and 1/4 cup of Pollo Asado seasoning. Add all these ingredients to your blender and mix thoroughly. Pour the marinade over the chicken (I like to use a zip lock style bag to full submerge the chicken) and then place in the refrigerator for the allotted time.

When I worked for El Pollo Asado we would marinade chickens (cut in half) in a very similar marinade for up to 24 hours and then cook the 1/2 chickens on the grill before cutting them up and serving with tortillas and a variety of sides.


If you're a fan of Mexican cuisine then you may be interested in our Barbacoa Rub and Yucatan Recado Rojo, and if you’re a fan of Latin American style chicken marinade seasonings then check out our Bahamian Chicken.

Related Blog Posts

Mexican Spices, Seasonings and Chiles
Tex-Mex vs. Mexican
The 66 Best Seasonings & Spices for Chicken
The Oregano Throwdown: Mediterranean vs Mexican

Nutritional Information
Serving Size 1 Teaspoon, Amount Per Serving: Calories 4.3, Fat Cal. 1.8g, Total Fat 0.2g (0% DV), Sat. Fat 0.0g (0% DV), Trans Fat 0g (0% DV), Cholest. 0.0mg (0% DV), Sodium 0.6mg (6% DV), Total Carb. 0.9g (0% DV), Dietary Fiber 0.5g (2% DV), Sugars 0.1, Protein 0.1g (0%DV), Vitamin A (5.7% DV), Vitamin C (2.2% DV), Calcium (0.9% DV), Iron (1.5% DV), Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.