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Pollo al Carbón Tacos

Inspired by "Chicken al Carbon" from Little Rey
Servings: 6
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Overhead shot of ingredients for pollo al carbón

Ingredients
 

Mojo Marinade

  • ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 oz tequila
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic (or more, measure with your heart)
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • 2 dehusked and diced tomatillos (if you can't find tomatillos, you can substitute a salsa verde, but you need to taste to make sure it's right!)
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Pickled Red Onion

  • 1 cup thinly sliced red onion (you want to slice onion halves, not an entire onion)
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sugar

Chicken and Grill

  • 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
  • 4-6 fresh jalepeños (or less, or none, these are roasted for taste)
  • water soaked wood chunks (I prefer hickory, but use whatever is your preference)

Tacos

  • corn or flour tortillas
  • crumbled queso fresco (to taste)
  • pickled red onion (from above)
  • shredded chicken (from above)
  • cilantro (to taste)
  • Chaloula hot sauce (to taste)
  • sliced roasted jalepeños (to taste, if you made them)

Directions

Mojo Marinade

  • Heat a pan with about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat.
  • Add the red onions and tomatillos and slowly cook until they have softened.
  • Add garlic to the pan and cook for about 1 or 2 minutes, without burning the garlic.
  • Add the orange, lemon, and lime juices. Stir to combine, then add the tequila.
  • Season marinade to taste and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
  • Set the marinade aside to cool until it is room temperature.

Pickled Red Onion

  • Add sliced red onion, vinegar, and sugar into an airtight container and combine well. You will want to taste to make sure it is tangy and tart like vinegar should be, but with a hint of sweetness. It's ok to add a little more sugar if you would prefer the onions to be a bit sweeter.
  • Seal the container and place in your refrigerator for 4-6 hours prior to cooking (overnight is preferred, though).

Chicken and Grill

  • Put wood chunks of your choice (I use hickory) into water to soak several hours prior to cooking. I typically do this in the morning to let them get pretty well soaked by the time I get the grill going. This will allow them to smoke instead of burn.
  • About 2-4 hours prior to cooking, spatchcock a whole chicken. With a pair of kitchen shears, cut the chicken backbone on either side to remove it, then open the chicken so it lays flat, breast side up.
  • Pour the cooled marinade into a large, gallon freezer bag, then place that bag into another freezer bag (to help avoid any spills).
  • Place the spatchcocked chicken into the bag with the marinade, seal tightly, and make sure that the chicken is completely coated. Store in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
  • When you are close to done marinating, prepare your grill by bringing it to a roasting temperature of 300-325 degrees. If using charcoal, move coals to one side of the grill to create an indirect cooking surface. Add some wood chunks to the edges of the coals and let them start to smoke.
  • Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill, breast side up, over indirect heat. If using a meat thermometer (highly recommended), insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the chicken breast.
  • Close the grill and slow roast for roughly 20-30 minutes, or roughly until the internal temperature has reached 120 degrees.
  • Flip the chicken to be breast side down and continue roasting until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees, roughly another 20-30 minutes.
  • Flip the chicken one more time to be breast side up and make sure you have a nice even char on the outside. This is really just for presentation, but it looks nice :)
  • Roast just a bit longer until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees. Remove and set aside to rest.
  • If you are roasting jalepeños, place them on the grill on more direct heat. Roast thoroughly on each side until the peppers are softened and beautifully charred on the outside. This took me about 10 minutes or so.

Tacos

  • After resting, shred the chicken using two forks in either hand.
  • Assemble your tacos by placing shredded chicken, pickled red onion, a couple slices of roasted jalepeño (if you made them) on a corn or flour tortilla. Top with crumbled queso fresco, cilantro, and Chaloula (optional).
  • Serve and enjoy!