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Pollo a la Brasa

Peru’s iconic rotisserie chicken, marinated overnight in aji panca, soy, and cumin, then roasted until the skin is bronze and crackling.

⏱ 25 minPrep time
🔥 1 hrCook time
🍽 6Servings
🏷 DinnerCategory
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Pollo a la Brasa

Pollo a la brasa was born in a small Lima suburb in the 1950s, when a Swiss immigrant and his Peruvian partners perfected a marinade and rotisserie method that conquered the nation. Today it is Peru’s most-ordered dish, served with fries and salads at thousands of pollerías.

The marinade is the whole religion

Overnight in aji panca, garlic, and soy, the chicken turns deeply savory and faintly sweet, and the high-heat roast gives it skin that shatters and meat that stays impossibly juicy. It is the platonic ideal of roast chicken.

Step by stepInstructions

  1. Blend the aji panca, soy sauce, vinegar, aji amarillo, garlic, cumin, oregano, oil, beer, salt, and pepper into a smooth marinade.
  2. Pat the chicken completely dry, then massage the marinade all over it, inside and out, working some under the skin of the breasts and thighs.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight.
  4. Preheat the oven to 425°F and place the chicken breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
  5. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and roast for 35 to 40 minutes more, until the skin is deep bronze and the juices run clear at the thigh.
  6. Rest for 15 minutes before carving — this keeps the juices in the meat.
  7. Serve with fries and a crisp salad, with extra aji or mayo on the side.

💡 Chef tips & storage

Drying the skin before marinating and roasting on a rack is what gives you crackling skin. Leftover pollo a la brasa keeps 3 days refrigerated and is incredible cold or shredded into sandwiches.

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Recipe details

Prep25 min
Cook1 hr
Servings6
CategoryDinner
PublishedAugust 17, 2026
Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →