Have you tried grilling your own Chicken Inasal or Filipino (Bacolod) style grilled chicken?
Chicken has been a very common food for us nowadays, and it is not a surprise at all when even the most delicious and easy dishes which use chicken can be very repetitive. Why not try something special that most of you have not likely tried doing yet?
So here we have the Chicken Inasal, although it is a well-known dish, this is rather unique because of how it is prepared. So it’s not a food you’re probably going to eat everyday and it’s sure to pique your interest.
In this recipe article, you are going to learn how to make the famous Chicken Inasal! With this, you’re going to have a little more variation in your “chicken recipe arsenal” so you can make more special dishes for special occasions or gatherings, if you want.
Continue to read below to see more tips and trivia about the Chicken Inasal.
What is Chicken Inasal?
Chicken Inasal is one of the most popular chicken dishes all over the country. It originated from the city of Bacolod–which boasts a lot of really mouth watering dishes of chicken–and has since then spread out all over the country.
The term inasal literally means “grilled”. It is basically a grilled chicken marinated in vinegar, calamansi juice, and loads of other spices. It also boasts its unique basting sauce which gives the inasal a yellowish color.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chicken
This recipe makes use of a whole chicken which is then cut into serving parts. The serving parts may consist of a pair of breast and wing and a pair of leg and thigh. If available in your local marketplace, you may opt to use 4 pieces of either breast and wing or leg and thigh.
Chicken Inasal Annatto Oil
There are readily available chicken annatto oil which you can buy simply at supermarkets or grocery stores, but this recipe also includes making your own specialized annatto oil partnered with the chicken inasal.
This is entirely optional but if you want to have a more savory flavor for the chicken inasal and you want to have the full experience of preparing it, you can try this also.
Aside from these, you will also use regular pantry ingredients like garlic, ginger, lemongrass, vinegar, calamansi, sugar, salt, black pepper, bay leaf, butter, and cooking oil . If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Grill- Chicken inasal is traditionally cooked over a charcoal grill and this is still the best way of cooking this. You may opt to use other types of grillers like a grilling pan or electric griller but it does affect the flavor.
- Skewers (Optional)- You may also use bamboo skewers for the chicken to make it easier to handle while grilling.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Cook Chicken Inasal
Making Chicken Inasal is actually easy, the only downside of this dish is that it takes at least 2 days to prepare. So if you want to have this dish, you’re going to plan ahead of time so you can also maximize the flavor of the inasal.
There are two simple processes in creating this dish. First is preparing the marinade, and then the second is grilling the chicken while smothering it with the basting sauce every now and then.
When preparing the marinade, just mix all of the ingredients listed for marinating and then just put them in a ziplock bag with the chicken. The recommended amount of to marinate the chicken is overnight.
Any longer than that may cause the chicken to break down due to the vinegar. So keep in mind of that when marinating.
Cooking Tips
- In the recipe, we try to make use of a grilling pan since it is easier to use, although it might not have that true grilled taste. But if it’s not available or you want to have a more “natural” way of grilling, you can always use the charcoal grill.
- If you have a meat thermometer available with you, use it to have an accurate reading of the temperature of the grill, to avoid having the chicken overcooked or undercooked. Having it overcooked means dry chicken and having it undercooked means an unpleasant flavor of the chicken.
How to Serve Chicken Inasal
Chicken inasal is best served fresh off the grill. It is served with freshly cooked white rice and usually drizzled with the chicken/annatto oil. It is also best to serve this with atchara or any pickled dish and a dipping sauce made up of soy sauce and calamansi alongside it.
How to Store and Reheat Chicken Inasal
To store leftovers, transfer the chicken into a clean food container with lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To reheat, you can either use a microwave oven or a conventional oven.
Other Grilled Recipes
- Classic Filipino Pork Barbecue Recipe
- Tender Inihaw Na Liempo (Grilled Pork Belly) Recipe
- Pork Sisig Recipe
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Authentic Chicken Inasal Recipe
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
Main Ingredient
- 1 kg chicken, cut into serving parts
Marinade Ingredients
- 1 head garlic, minced
- 1 pc thumb-sized ginger, chopped
- 1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
- ¾ cup vinegar
- ¼ cup calamansi juice
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
- ½ tbsp ground pepper
Annatto Oil Ingredients (Can be reserved for future use)
- 1 cup cooking oil
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) chicken skin and/or chicken fat
- 4 tbsp annatto seeds
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 pc bay leaf
Basting Sauce Ingredients
- 4 tbsp annatto oil
- ½ cup butter, or margarine, melted
- 1 tsp calamansi, or lemon juice
- salt, to taste
Instructions
Chicken Procedure
- In a large bowl, add-in and combine all the marinade ingredients. Whisk until well-incorporated.
- In a freezer bag or ziplock, place the chicken parts and pour-in the marinade. Seal the bag and marinate chicken for 1 to 5 hours.
- In a large bowl, add-in and combine all the basting sauce ingredients. Mix well and set aside afterwards.
- Prepare the charcoal grill or preheat the grilling pan in medium heat.
- Grill the chicken parts for 30 to 50 minutes while generously brushing with basting sauce every 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving plate or serving tray and let it rest for 10 minutes. Serve immediately afterwards and enjoy!
Annatto Oil Procedure
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, pour-in the cooking oil and add-in the chicken skin and/or chicken fat. Cook for 10 minutes until chicken oil starts to come out. Remove all the chicken pieces using a slotted spoon.
- Apply low heat and add-in all the remaining annatto oil ingredients. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the oil into a jar and discard seeds and aromatics. Set aside.
Notes
Nutrition
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