Chicken Inasal
Another Filipino dish, this time one for the grill, just in time for summer barbecuing! Chicken Inasal is an Ilonggo dish, or more specifically a Bacolod dish. The chicken pieces, imbued with a reddish hue from achuete or annatto seeds, is nothing but appealing to your sight, but it’s the smell of inasal cooking that always brings about rumblings in the stomach, and you can’t wait to sink your teeth into it.
Living in the Midwest, there is hardly any hope here of us procuring authentic Inasal, so we do what we can at our backyard grills. Charcoal is essential, though the use of a gas grill is forgivable.
To make inasal for 6-8 people (with other accompanying dishes), you need
2 free-range chickens, approx. 3 pounds each, or if you can find smaller chickens, use 3 of them
3/4 cup Filipino vinegar, palm if you can find it, or cane; or if you must, the equivalent in kalamansi juice (available in the frozen aisle of your Asian market if you don’t have access to fresh)
1/4 cup garlic, minced very finely, or better yet, mashed into a paste with 2 teaspoons sea salt
2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and chopped finely, optional
achuete or annatto oil, made by steeping 1/4 cup annatto seeds in 1/2 cup hot oil for half an hour
thick wooden skewers, soaked for 1 hour in water prior to cooking
Bottled spiced vinegar for serving, or make your own by mixing Filipino vinegar, lots of crushed garlic, a bit of salt, and a handful of Thai peppers or other tiny red hot peppers
Quarter the chickens, or if using the small ones, halve them. Marinate in the vinegar, garlic and salt, several hours or overnight, turning several times.
Preheat grill to 350 degrees. Make sure your grill is cleaned and oiled well. Cook over indirect heat for 20 minutes, basting with the achuete oil. Turn and cook for 10-15 minutes more, or until thickest parts of chicken exude clear juices when pierced.
Serve immediately with the spiced vinegar. Other welcome additions to the vinegar: some soy sauce or fish sauce if you like, or even some minced ginger
Variation:
Another technique I’ve found to work well, is to heat the oil in which the annatto is to be steeped, and to steep the garlic (and lemongrass if using) together with the seeds. This ensures a more even distribution of flavors. Just remember to discard this mixture when you’re done with the cooking, as you risk botulism from the garlic. Or, if you want to make it ahead of time, be sure to refrigerate the oil to retard any toxins from developing.
If your chicken is particularly fatty, you could render the fat slowly in a skillet, and use that instead of cooking oil to steep the annatto seeds. In which case, you’ll want to have enough not only for basting but also for serving later, as there’s nothing more appetizing than chicken inasal drizzled with this orange concoction.
As with most Filipino foods, it is oftentimes the place in which it is served that makes a huge difference in the gastronomic experience. See this post on authentic inasal if you’d like to know what you’re missing.
Tags: Chicken Dishes : Asian, Filipino, UncategorizedRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Chicken Dishes : Asian, Filipino
20 opinions for Chicken Inasal
ramon christopher d.royeca
Jul 19, 2007 at 6:00 am
gs2 ko lng poh mlaman ang mga recipe ng chicken inasal kung papa anu gagawin..plzz contact number 9629291..tnks
Mark
Aug 2, 2007 at 8:28 pm
wat a delicious food…..pls sn ibgy s’kin ung tunay n recipe
jennifer_20
Sep 26, 2007 at 1:29 am
oo nga’,plzz d’ complete ingredients of chken inasal plz.,
angela
Sep 26, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Gie the real chicken inasal recipe. Thank you
mchael
Oct 9, 2007 at 4:22 am
how to make a fresh kalamansi juice (flowchart)
juancho
Nov 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm
i dont like you victoria if you didnt steal the recipe of the chicken inasal,
di sana naka publish na sana ngayon yon. Please send me the recipe
Hersel Javier
Jan 29, 2008 at 9:17 am
Hahahahahhh. . . Ysabella’s chicken parin talaga ang d best inasal for me:)
Margot Co
Jan 29, 2008 at 9:21 am
I’ve don’t know about the Ysabella’s telenovela but I’ve tried the Ysabella’s chicken that Bacolod Chicken Inasal do served and I really like so much.
Rasel Domingo
Mar 4, 2008 at 3:31 am
Bacolod Chicken Inasal is definitely the best when it comes to chicken inasal.
Ysa Generacion
Mar 5, 2008 at 10:51 pm
BCI? Nice choice there. Try their suman also for the dessert. So unique.
Jolly "doods" Abajar
Mar 26, 2008 at 6:10 pm
hello good day sa inyo at sa lahat na gztong matuto magluto, i am originated from prov. of ozamis since d2 ako sa cotabato ngayon natrabaho. ‘kabubukas lang kc ng 1 restaurnt at ang main Menu nila ay Chicken Inasal .. i heard that b4 in other places basically hindi sa cotabato kaya interesting in my part kako lotong visayas yan ah, at nahilig po akong magluto ktunayan nga asa cooking lesson ako homestudy ‘ang ginawa ko . kaya po ninais kng sumulat sa inyo pra humingi ng tmang ingredients at direction pra dyan.. i was thinking of cebu, bacolod and ilo-ilo Inasal taste
maraming salamat …
well wait
Nes Vicente
Mar 29, 2008 at 1:48 am
Why just suman? or some? Try them all. :) Anything ’bout Bacolod Chicken Inasal is the best. Swear.
Phing
Mar 30, 2008 at 4:48 am
balak kasi namin mag lagay ng small business ng prend ko, enm chicken inasal ang gagawin naming main para sa aming business, d2 kami sa pangasinan ngayon sa tingin nyo ba cli clik un?
jedzlinks
Apr 3, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Please send me a copy of chicken inasal. Would love to try it at home. Thank you.
CDO Adventure « insubstantial
Apr 19, 2008 at 12:54 am
[…] first day that we were there, we had lunch at Jo’s Manukan. They had their own version of Chicken Inasal and it was crazy good. After lunch we went to Malasag Gardens and explored around a bit. They had […]
ronaldo john g gaerlan
Apr 20, 2008 at 7:40 am
I’m currently looking for a place to establish a business here in Angeles City Pampanga. And I’m looking forward to having a business of chicken inasal here. If you can help me in all the ingridients and possible slices of chicken that are necessary in the business.
thank you
Hance Gabito
May 4, 2008 at 11:57 am
If you wanna start a business here in Metro Manila, try nyo inasal house like Bacolod Chicken Inasal. Dami kasing naghahanap nun.
Cha De Guzman
May 6, 2008 at 7:41 am
What’s with bacolod chicken inasal? Can you tell us more about it. Thanks.
vilma
Jun 17, 2008 at 11:35 am
hi there….once nag try akong kumain ng bacolod chicken inasal at nasarapan ako kaya gusto ko sanang matutunan kung pano ito iluto para maipag luto ko ng chicken inasal ang mga anak ko…
Eia
Jul 18, 2008 at 10:09 pm
i like the taste of jt inasal. gusto k po sanang ma22nan, ang iksaktong pag luto, para gawing maliit na business na balak kong itayo. thanks sana matulongan nyo ako.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: