Pollo pibil (Mayan-style Barbecued Chicken)

When I used to live on Toronto Islands, I loved having people over in the Summer (people tended to avoid the Islands in Winter) and have barbecues. In general, I like exposing people to authentic Mexican, especially dishes that are less run-of-th-mill. Pollo pibil was a regular in those barbecues, and it was very well liked. In fact, a friend of mine asked me to post the recipe for it.

The better known version of this dish is one made with pork (cochinita pibil): a whole suckling pig is marinated, covered in banana leaves and cooked in a pit lined with hot stones, left to cook for hours. Rick Bayless, the chef and Mexican food aficionado, even made it on his back yard.

This verion of the recipe uses chicken instead of pork and a coal barbecue in place of the ground pit. The recipe is modified from Dianne Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico, including her substitution for Seville orange, which I've never been able to find in Toronto.

Ingredients

16 serving pieces of chicken

1 heaping tbsp achiote (annato) seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp oregano, Mexican if possible

12 peppercorns

3 whole allspice

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed.

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp orange juice

1 1/2 tbsp grapefruit juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix the orange, grapefruit and lemon juices together.

Grind to a powder the achoite and cumin, oregano, peppercorns and allspice. Add the garlic, salt and about 3 tbsp of the citrus juice mix, then mix together. You should get a thick paste; if it's too dry, add some more of the juice mix.

Rub each chicken piece with some paste, then wrap each piece in aluminum foil. Make sure that each package is sealed. Refrigerate overnight.

Next day, open packages and add some juice mix so the paste is thinner, and wrap again. Then, barbecue the chicken packages over hot coals (or however you barbecue), until chicken is tender and juices flow clear when pierced.

Notes

Each chicken piece can be a thigh, drumstick or part of breast. I mention "serving pieces" because I find supermarket chicken breasts too big, so I consider each breast portion 2 serving pieces.

You don't have to cook 16 pieces of chicken to use this recipe, of course. You can make the paste and just use enough for the pieces you would cook, saving the rest of the paste in the fridge for another day.

You can get achiote seeds in any Latin American store, House of Spice in Kensington market, or any Philippine food store, where they are called achuete. You can also get them in any Chinese market that has a Philippine food section.

I've been able to get Mexican oregano in Latin Emporium in Kensington market.

You can also get blocks of pre-prepared paste, also called axiote. It's not as good as home made, but in a pinch it will do. You can also get the paste in mostLatin American shops, as well as in The House of Spices in Kensington market.