OK here goes...its Thanksgiving and we just can't take the same old bird this year. Its 2009...it's about time we get our 'Thanksgiving Mojo on' and roast some bird...no matter how big.

Turkey is a challenge because ...well....it's Freakin' Huge!

Ok...so lets take a step back: The classic Pollo a la Brasa recipe could not possibly penitrate the massivness that is the North American Turkey. How can we get to the soul of this meat without over marinading?....ah....BRINE!!

Because we are brining the bird in advance of applying the Pollo a la Brasa paste; we'll make a couple of adjustments: First, we will dial back the salt in the paste recipe. Next we'll want to replace the traditional Pollo a la Brasa Aromatics with those more reminicent of a North American Thanksgiving. Let us know if you had the balls to switch it up this year and took your turkey to the Brasa. Please experiment and let us know how it goes. Remember one thing as always: this is supposed to be a paste, so keep you liquids to a minimum. In our Substitutions section, we offer some tips on how to acheive the best results from even the humble oven. In this section we also offer alternatives to other hard to come by ingredients. [More]

Boston usually conjures up the Sox, lobsta rolls, cold pints, and clam strips from Kelly's etc.... but lets refocus that energy to all things Pollo a la Brasa in the Boston Area. The best Brasa joints in Boston seem to be totally under the radar. A couple of our favorites include: Pollos A La Brasa El Chalan in Chelsea, Rincon Limeno in East Boston, La Casa De Pedro in Watertown...and many many more. This just made us wonder ...why is there no good Pollo a la Brasa in Jamaica Plain??? Oh well...guess we’ll just have to hope for the Pollo Revolution!! Let us know if we missed any of your favorites. [More]

Florida gets praise from everyone in one form or another. From ‘New Jersey people’ looking for the Promised Land to Florida's many fans on Fark; Florida has a reputation to live up to. Sometimes that reputation is bad and sometimes good but you can guarantee that you're friends in the sunshine state will live up to whatever oddly stereotype laced moniker you might devise. One of those stereotypes is a state with crazy good Pollo a la Brasa and let us tell you brother… you will not be disappointed. So step into our Toyota Mini with the Tazz 'Back-Off' mud flaps and buckle-up there Joe Dirt, we are in for a crazy good Pollo a la Brasa tour of Florida ...the land of great chicken and much much more... [More]

There are so many good Brasa joints up, down, and throughout California that we found even the task of plotting these on Google daunting...we think we did a pretty good job of getting at least the essential places on the map. If you think we've missed one or have a neighborhood place in mind, let us know and we'd love to add it to the growing list. California Pollo a la Brasa ranges from curb-side classic to high end and all point in between. We've tried to pick the best restaurants that both Cali natives and out-of-towner recommended from experience. If you have any to add, please do so. Some of the best Pollo in California comes from the least likely places, so share your stories and inspirations along the way. [More]

New York is the most culturally and ethnically diverse city in the world. With all of the mixing of culture and language comes the most natural human tendency of sharing food. With this sharing comes blending and hyperbole. No where is this more the case than Manhattan. While many of us are used to our Pollo a la Brasa coming from a classic Brasa joint...Manhattan and the 5 boroughs break many of those conventions. Among the list of Pollo a la Brasa are restaurants whose core specialty ranges from Cuban to Brazilian to even Asian. We've tried to keep this diversity in mind when compiling this map of the best Pollo a la Brasa in New York by not excluding a restaurant because it didn't conform to what many think of as Pollo a la Brasa. So hop to it....bring on the Brasa...New York Style! [More]

The history of pepper is essentially a story of the history of the European spice trade. So revered it is sometimes called the ‘King of Spices’. In origin, Black pepper is a tropical 'twining plant' from southern India. In the ancient world, the most important source of black pepper was India's Malabar Coast, the southwest coast of the country predominated by modern day Goa. These days black pepper is grown throughout all of South-East Asia. Though black pepper is a staple around the world, it was once so valuable it was used as currency. [More]

Another Mayo recipe you say? Of course! The Mayo is to Pollo a la Brasa what salt is to the ocean: absolutly essential. Ok...maybe thats a little overstated, but a good mayo goes a long way. Maybe thats too understated? At any rate, once you've made your own mayo, its hard to go back to the jarred stuff. It really doesn't take much time and your Pollo will love you for it. If you are in a MAD rush or simply can't beat eggs because you have a moral issue with beating Pollo embroys...we get it, so we've added a note below that substitues the fresh egg and oil with store bought jarred stuff. Add the reamining ingredients (as in the recipe) and you will be very close to fresh. If you must do it this way, we suggest using Dukes (assuming you are luckey enough to live in the south). For the rest of us, let the whisking begin! If you are concerned about salmonella, see the words of comfort below from Alton Brown of Food Network's "Good Eats" [More]

This recipe comes by way of our good friend Carlos. His recipe is so good you might want to be careful that is not your arm you are eating after you chowed your bird. The lime in the recipe really offers a different dynamic. We love it and hope you do too. Say a little Holy Pollo prayer of thanks to Carlos for coming through for us on this one. Let us know what you think. After making this recipe a few times, you may want to improvise the marinade paste to 'make it your own'. Please experiment and let us know how it goes. Remember one thing: this is supposed to be a paste, so keep you liquids to a minimum. [More]

Salsa Madre - This versatile little mother is at home with Chicken as it is Beef, Pork, and Fish. You want to use it while it is fresh, but we've kept some in the fridge for 2 weeks and the flavor really held up. Like any good sauce it is a simple mixture of ingredients you undoubtedly have laying around. [More]

We wern't sure if there was anything else we could call this recipe...it pretty much sums it up: your standard Pollo a la Brasa with the deep carmel flavor and hoppy bite of a rich Porter. We even tried this baby with the Rogue Mocha Porter...wow. This is based on our Classic Pollo a la Brasa with the emphasis on the beer. We found that for some reason, (maybe the extra carmel in the beer), that we need a bit less Soy Sauce than our standard bird. Also, becasue the beer has its own profile, we have not called for the typical splash of vinegar b/c we found the flavor to competed too much with the hoppyness of the beer. Let us know what you think...enjoy! [More]