Pollo Asado Navideño [Recipe + Video] Christmas Chicken

1. Making the seasoning

1. In the bowl of the food processor or blender, combine cubanelle pepper, onion, garlic, capers, salt, parsley, soy sauce, and bitter orange juice. Blend to obtain a coarse paste.

2. Marinating the chicken

1. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Pour the seasoning, and rub the chicken making sure the inside of the whole chicken cavity is coated with it, and leaving some of it covering the chicken breast.Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and let it rest in the fridge for 12 hours. Remove from the fridge and let it rest on the counter for about an hour to reach room temperature.

3. Roasting the chicken

1. Heat the oven at 350 ºF [175 ºC].Remove the chicken from the bowl and place it on a roasting pan (with wire tray). Loosely cover the chicken with the aluminum foil. Roast in the preheated oven for 1¾ hours.Remove the aluminum foil, cook at your oven maximum temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature measured inside the thigh indicates 165 ºF. If you do not have a thermometer, puncture the flesh between the thigh and the body and check there is no pink liquid present. Using a meat thermometer [Amazon affiliate link] is very highly recommended [1].

4. Serving

1. Remove from the oven, garnish with parsley (rosemary or fresh thyme also make great garnishes, if you have some), and serve.