Dinner · 45 min · mexican

Copycat Fire-Grilled Chicken (El Pollo Loco’s style)

Mexican flavors, weeknight effort. Bone-in chicken breasts meets chicken wings in a 45-minute dinner worth keeping in rotation. Each serving lands at 290 calories with 44g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. No specialty equipment and nothing hard to find at a regular grocery store.

Ingredients

• 2 Bone-in chicken breasts
• 4 Chicken wings
• 1/2 cup Orange juice
• 1/4 cup Lime juice
• 2 tbsp White vinegar
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Ground achiote
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tsp Ground cumin
• 1 tsp Fine salt

Steps

1. Blend the orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, achiote, oregano, cumin, and salt until the garlic disappears completely.
2. Pour over the chicken in a zip bag, reserving 1/4 cup of marinade separately for basting — never baste with marinade that touched raw chicken.
3. Marinate 4 hours or overnight; the citrus does the tenderizing work for you.
4. Grill over medium heat with the lid down, 12 to 15 minutes per side, basting with the reserved marinade as it goes.
5. Finish over direct high heat 2 minutes per side for the charred, crackly skin.
6. Rest 5 minutes so the juices settle, and confirm 165°F in the thickest part before serving.

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