El Pollo Loco

[chopsaw]

Nice work . That's a great lookin meal .

 

[Texas Cookin']

That is some good looking bird right there. I ate at a similar place called Super Pollo out in Andrews Texas that seems similar! Also, we had a Shakey's pizza in my hometown growing up that is now closed . The fried potatoes that they did in a pressure cooker called rojo's were the best potatoes I have ever had. If I could replicate these I would do so in a heartbeat!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Yeah i liked them taters.

I went back to calif 6 years ago to visit my mom and sis. They had a shakeys open again but it was nasty.

 

[Teal101]

Excellent cook!

My dad worked at a Shakeys in highschool. It closed down years ago, but there is still one open in Pasco Washington!

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I made this tonight and I must say it was excellent. The chicken was among the most tender and juicy I've ever made. Even my wife thought it was pretty good! I will definitely make this again!

I apologize for the lack of pictures. We're having some work done around the house and it cramped my cooking style the the extent that I couldn't manage pictures. Suffice it to say my result looked very similar to SFLsmkr1's.

I spatchcocked a whole chicken and marinaded it for about 36 hours. I was able to use a one gallon plastic bag for the chicken and marinade and turned the bag 4-5 times. I used a blender and pulsed the marinade a few times to ensure everything was well-mixed.

I cooked it on my Weber Genesis with no smoke. I wanted to taste the seasoning unaffected by smoke. The flavor is very complex; my wife tasted the cinnamon right away, even though there wasn't much in the marinade.

I held the grill temperature at right around 400 and started with the chicken over indirect heat (between the left and right burners), skin side up. Once the internal temperature hit 140, I turned on the middle burner and turned the chicken over so the skin side was down. I turned up the heat just a bit and crisped up the skin for about 10 minutes. Then I turned it back to skin side up, shut off the center burner and turned the outside burners down to maintain about 400 degrees until the breast was at 160 and the thighs were at 174.

El Pollo Loco started moving into North Texas big time about 3-4 years ago There was great fanfare at the time about the quality of their food. The chicken was good for sure, but the quality and service were really uneven. I suspect the tried to expand too quickly and got over their skis. Many of them have closed up in the last couple years, but a couple still remain nearby. We visit one of them from time to time. The chicken I made with this recipe was much better than what I get at El Pollo Loco.

I grew up near Joliet, Illinois and I remember there being a Shakey's Pizza there as a kid. I remember the pizza was OK, but in Chicagoland there is just way too much good pizza for a chain that makes "OK" pizza to survive long. They've been gone from there for probably 50 years.

Thanks, OP, for the great recipe. I really enjoyed it!

 

[thebarbequeen]

YUM! just used this on chicken thighs; went into the marinade about 10am until around 6 pm. Baked in the oven at 425 for about 40 min. Plenty of flavor, nice and moist. We lived in SoCal for a while, loved El Pollo Loco. Served with chilerelleno's frijoles negro and black rice, adapted the frijoles for instant pot.

Mexican Night, Cachete, Pollo, Arroz Negro, Frijoles Negro Charro and More

Another big Mexican feast night is in the works at the Relleno house. I've been keeping it flowing smoothly all day between the smoker, kitchen and couch, can't let it become too much like... :eek: work. As usual a great day needs a great breakfast, and sticking with my Mexican menu I brough a...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[BGKYSmoker]

OP?

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

OP?

Sorry. OP="Original Poster". I carefully wrote my message and forgot to go back and put your name in everywhere when I finished. My apologies.

Thanks again for the recipe. I really enjoyed the chicken.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Sorry. OP="Original Poster". I carefully wrote my message and forgot to go back and put your name in everywhere when I finished. My apologies.

Thanks again for the recipe. I really enjoyed the chicken.

LOL

Ok no biggie, not really up on abbreviations, Brain cramp on my end