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Victoria Haneveer

Authentic El Pollo Loco Chicken Marinade

The key ingredients in El Pollo Loco marinade for chicken are chilies, garlic, oregano and lime. Yellow food coloring can be added so the chicken not also tastes like the Pollo Loco chicken but looks like it too. You can omit this ingredient if you prefer. Take the stem out of the chili and remove the seeds too. You can then mince the flesh finely. I recommend wearing gloves for this. If you don’t have any, wash your hands straight after handling the chili. You don’t want to rub your eye, for example (and yes, I know this from experience!)
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Marinating 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 6 oz (175ml) pineapple juice
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 9 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
  • 4 lbs (2kg) chopped fryer chicken
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely minced chili pepper (e.g. Anaheim)

Method
 

  1. Mix everything but the chicken in a bowl.
  2. Reserve about 1/4 cup (60ml) of the marinade and for basting later.
  3. Put the chicken in a glass dish and pour the marinade over.
  4. Make sure it’s evenly covered.
  5. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and keep it chilled overnight, turning once or twice if possible.
  6. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least 45 minutes before cooking it if you can.
  7. Now you can drain the chicken before grilling it for half an hour over medium coals or until there is no pinkness left inside.
  8. Turn it over every 10 minutes during cooking and baste it several times with the reserved marinade.