Peruvian Chicken – Wine Pairing

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Chicken – how can one not love it? Be it grilled, roasted, deep fried, sauteed, or shredded in a taco, this bird is a versatile favorite of creative cooks around the world. As such, our search for new ways to prepare it has taken us to a country that consumes 155 million hens annually: Peru.
Pollo a la Brasa, aka Peruvian Chicken, developed in Peru in the 1950s by Swiss immigrants, is considered to be their national dish. Peruvians consume it an average of three times per month. The original version consisted of a chicken roasted on a six-speared spit (called a “rotombo”oven) using charcoal and seasoned only with salt. Traditionally served with large french fries and eaten with the fingers, it is crispy-skinned and juicy, and almost always served with creamy (mayonnaise-based) sauces known as “aji”.

But how it’s roasted, served and eaten (with fingers) are not the distinguishing features of this dish. Rather, it is both the marinade and the aji (chili) sauce that make this preparation our new favorite.

Prepping and Roasting the Hen

The bird is easy to prepare; one just needs to marinate it (importantly, under its skin) for 24 hours – a crucial step that cannot be skipped. This renders one of the juiciest and flavorful chickens we’ve ever roasted. When coupled with the aji amarillo dipping sauce, the garlic, lime juice and spices present in both the marinade and the sauce reinforce each other, delivering a unique but not overpowering flavor sensation.

To roast the chicken, our go-to device is this vertical roaster. We add water to the cavity of the roaster, mount the hen, clip (or tuck under) the wing tips, and tie the wings to the breast using kitchen twine.

Simply set the roaster with hen on the grill, close the lid, and maintain a temperature of about 425-450 degrees. No need to turn the bird; but you should check-in after 30 minutes to insure the top of the bird is not overcooking. If the skin is getting too dark, simple make a small tent from aluminum foil and place over the top skin, then continue cooking as described below.

Aji: Peruvian Yellow Chili Sauce

Essential to the aji sauce preparation are these two jarred ingredients; both are available on Amazon. The photo on the right depicts the finished Aji Amarillo sauce (recipe below). Note that the jarred Amarillo paste brings a fruity, spicy flavor, while the Huacatay (WA-ka-tay) is packed with pungent aromas and flavors of mint, lime and licorice. Both have medium heat tamed by the mayo in the finished sauce; serving the sauce at room temperature allows the fruity, spicy flavors to shine.

Wine Pairing

We like white wines with this dish, especially those varietals that deliver a creamy mouthfeel with medium acidity. We favor these characteristics to complement the creamy aji sauce rather than wines that would rapidly cleanse the palate of the flavor complexity the sauce renders. So, high acid, steely wines like Riesling or Chablis aren’t the best pairings here. We favor Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Fiano di Avellino, Godello and Chenin Blanc. While we didn’t pair this Peruvian Chicken with an oaked Chardonnay, we believe that this could work (provided the acidity level is not too high), as the oak will deliver creaminess and subtle vanilla flavors.

Give this recipe and pairing a go and you’ll see why this Pollo a la Brasa is considered Peru’s national dish.