why did i cross the road? to get to the (damn tasty) chicken.

about 5 years ago, i went on a vacation to punta mita, mexico, which is about a half hour northwest of puerto vallarta. now, i have a lot of friends who've gone on vacation to this area, and love it so much that they keep going back. i myself thought it was just...aight.

was it because of the weather? no, the weather was great. was it because the beaches were substandard? nope, the beach i hung out on was pretty nice and the ocean was beautiful. was the service at the hotel bad? no way, the service was top notch. nope it wasn't any of those things. it was the FOOD. the food was just so-so. and yes, i went to all the restaurants you're supposed to go to when you're there. none of it was really all that memorable; some of it was even bleh. (this is around when i started to realize just how important food is to me. if you can believe it, i actually lost a little weight on this vacation.)

i would have lost more than just a couple pounds if i hadn't gotten so desperate on my hunt for tasty food that i stopped by a roadside bbq chicken stand on my way back to the hotel one day. there were these ladies with grills set up all along the sidewalks of the main drag in a town between puerto vallarta and punta mita (i think maybe it was bucerias), and it was here that i discovered the best damn grilled chicken i've ever had in my life.

this chicken - which was covered in some kind of red rub / marinade - was served with several freshly handmade corn tortillas, rice, and your choice of several salsas. my favorite was what i guess had have been made of habanero peppers, because it was just about the freaking hottest (but extremely delicious) salsa i've eaten.

the chicken was so good, that for the remainder of the vacation (a good 4 more days), i would drive out from punta mita to this little town to get lunch. when i would come back to the hotel, all the hotel staff would smile as they recognized the packaging the chicken was wrapped in, and say, "that's great chicken, isn't it?" and damn it was, every single time. twice i also ate it for dinner (yes, that's how good it was; but it's also a sign of how much the other choices sucked)... which didn't exactly thrill the restaurant waitstaff when i brought in my chicken and asked if they minded if i ate it at the table. (they were too nice to say no, and in fact not only brought me plates, but warmed up the tortillas and rice for me. i told you the service there was top notch.)

when i got back home, i dreamt of this chicken day and night for a solid month (seriously, not joking). i nattered on about it to all my friends until they got sick of hearing the story, and then i kept on nattering away anyway (this is why i love my friends so much). i can't say for sure how much of the chicken's tasty goodness was because i had some serious FOOD GOGGLES (kinda like beer goggles, except in this case it's when food that's only so-so seems to taste much better than it is), but i'm convinced this wasn't a case of food goggles. (but then again, i didn't get the er, benefit, of waking up next to it to see it exposed in the potentially cold, harsh light of reality.)

i would seriously go back to punta mita just so i could have that chicken. (a sure sign that food is DEFINITELY important to me.) i've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it was marinated in; i have one more recipe to try (i have a feeling this is it), but in the meanwhile, here's one that gets pretty close (recipe below). it's a little labor intensive, but i've found most good barbecue recipes are. there's no getting around that.

[btw - one other reason i would go back to puerto vallarta / punta mita is because the baskin robbins in PV happens to carry my favorite flavor - strawberry shortcake - that for whatever reason seems to have been discontinued in the US. go figure. i went a little ape shizzle over that, too, when i was there. great diet, hunh? good thing the ice cream was too far to get every day. otherwise, it would have been: chicken and ice cream, chicken and ice cream. i probably would have come back from vacation not a couple pounds lighter, but a completely different shape...one strongly resembling a circle. :]


Mexican-Style Barbecue Chicken

2 3-lb pastured chickens, each halved

Marinade (Achiote Recado)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsps achiote (annatto) seeds
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp freshly ground allspice
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup ancho chile powder
4 tsps coarse salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small saucepan bring water and achiote seeds to a boil. Simmer seeds, covered, for 30 minutes and remove from heat. Steep seeds for additional 2 hours.

Roast garlic and onion in oven on a rimmed baking sheet for 45 minutes, turning once, until browned and soft. Discard garlic skins. Drain seeds and using a blender, puree all the ingredients until smooth.

Rinse chicken, then place in large sealable plastic bags and pour in marinade, making sure chicken is completely coated. Marinate chicken overnight.

Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade). Bake chicken skin side up until cooked through. Cool completely.

Preheat grill on low. Oil rack and place chicken, skin sides down and grill chicken, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp, about 45 minutes. Serve chicken with rice, salsa, guacamole, and fresh corn tortillas. If you do serve it with an especially hot salsa, then make sure to provide your diners with a few cold beers to chase away the hot! Ok, who are we kidding - even if the salsa is the pansy kind, serve it with beers anyway. Serves 4.