Lechon Manok

A whole chicken stuffed with lemongrass and turned slowly over coals.

Chicken. Not vegetarian — contains chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.6 kg
• 4 stalks lemongrass, bruised
• 120 ml soy sauce
• juice of 8 calamansi, or 3 limes
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• a thumb of ginger, sliced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 60 ml oil
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Marinate the whole bird in the soy, calamansi, garlic, ginger, pepper and salt for 8 hours or overnight, turning it. Use a bag and squeeze the air out so the marinade touches all of it.
2. STUFF THE CAVITY WITH THE BRUISED LEMONGRASS, as much as will go in. It steams from the inside and perfumes the meat in a way no surface marinade reaches — this is what makes it lechon manok rather than grilled chicken.
3. Bruise the stalks with the back of a knife first, or they release nothing.
4. Truss it and set it on a rotisserie over embers, or in a 190C oven on a rack.
5. Cook 75 to 90 minutes, basting with the oil mixed with a little marinade every 20 minutes, until the thigh juices run clear.
6. ADD THE BROWN SUGAR TO THE BASTE ONLY FOR THE LAST 15 MINUTES, for colour. Earlier and the skin blackens.
7. Rest it 15 minutes before jointing. Serve with the lechon sauce or a vinegar dip.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes