Roast Chicken With Garlic Rub (Pollo Asado)

Tasty roasted chicken Puerto Rico style.
By Daisy Martinez (www.daisycooks.com)

Ingredients:
One 4-5 pound whole chicken [washed and patted dry inside and out]
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ½ tablespoons fine sea or kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Adobo Sauce:
Pound the garlic cloves and salt to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add the peppercorns and oregano,
pounding well after each to incorporate them into the paste. Preparation of the garlic with herbs and spice could be done in a food processor.  Stir in the olive oil and vinegar.   This can be made ahead and best if it sits for +1 hour.

Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Or use a hot grill at ~400F.

2. Loosen the skin covering the chicken breast by working your fingers gently in between the meat
and the skin that covers the breasts. Do the same to as much of the legs and thighs as you can
without breaking the skin. Flip the chicken over and repeat on the chicken’s back. Using a
teaspoon, rub the adobo under the skin all over the chicken as well as the inside of the chicken
cavity.

3. Truss the chicken with kitchen twine and set on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes.
Lower the heat to 400 degrees F, and continue to roast until the juices from the thickest part of the
thigh near the bone run clear, about 45 minutes.  Alternately, roast until an instant reading
thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the joint where the thigh meets the
backbone. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.