Gusto Chicken

This recipe is inspired by the fantastic Peruvian chicken that my brother and I would get growing up in DC. We’ll be adding vinegar and oil to our Hatch Chile Taco Gusto to make a paste that will be rubbed all over our chicken before cooking. This is something you really want to cook outside on a grill. It just wouldn’t be the same in the oven. I spatchcock/butterfly my chicken so that it lays flat on the grill. This is the best way to cook a whole bird on a grill without a rotisserie attachment. If you’re lucky enough to have a rotisserie on your grill, by all mean use that and cook as you normally would and skip the part about spatchcocking.

A note about scaling this recipe. 

The quantities in the ingredients list below made enough paste to cover a 4.5lb to 5lb bird if you’re cooking a larger or smaller bird you can scale this recipe up or down following this ratio: 2 parts Taco Gusto, 1 part oil, 1 part vinegar.

A note about the spatchcocking the chicken. I’m not going to go into how to spatchcock a chicken but here is a link to some detailed instructions that also includes a video by one of my very favorite food writers, J. Kenji López-Alt.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2012/08/the-food-lab-how-to-grill-a-whole-chicken.html

INGREDIENTS

  • 5 tablespoons Taco Gusto - Hatch Chile 

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Vegetable oil 

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Vinegar - (any type of vinegar, but I use red wine vinegar)

  • 1 Whole Chicken, spatchcocked if not using a rotisserie (see note above)

  • 1 to 2 teaspoons salt to taste


RECIPE

  • Place Taco Gusto in a small bowl and add the salt, vinegar and oil.

  • Massage with your fingers until a paste forms

  • Rub the paste onto both sides of your chicken

    I like to prep the chicken a little early and let it sit with the rub on it for a couple of hours, but I don’t think it would hurt to get it right on the grill after rubbing it with the chile paste.

    Prepare the Grill:

  • Light a chimney full of coals.

  • When the coals are ready, set the grill up for indirect cooking. This means that there are only coals under half the cooking surface. 

  • Place your bird on the opposite side of the grill from the coals, skin facing up and the breasts pointed away from the hot side of the grill

  • Open the bottom vents on the grill and align the top vent so that it is above the chicken and open it. 

  • Grill with the lid on until the internal temperature of the thick part of the breast has reached 115 degrees.

  • Flip the bird so that it is skin side down and the breast is facing away from the hot side of the grill

  • Place the cover back on and continue to grill until the breast temperature has risen to 155 degrees.

  • If the skin begins to burn before the bird reaches temperature, move it to the cooler side of the grill and continue cooking.

  • Once your bird has reached 155 degrees in the breast, transfer it to a cutting board and let it rest for 5-10 min.

  • Bring to the table whole for an impressive presentation.

  • Goes great with fried or grilled Yucca and Aji Amarillo Sauce

  • Enjoy your Gusto Chicken.