Making (probably) The Most Flavorful Chicken in the World

Chicken inel is a true Filipino classic. Marinated, fire roasted, and basted until perfectly golden. I've got a great sauce, a crazy easy to make delicious side dish, and a couple of insider techniques.

But first, we pick the right cut of chicken. Sound good? Let's cook.

I've got six bone in chicken legs weighing right at 3 lb. Now, if you want, you could fabricate your own chicken if you were looking to hone some skills and save a bit of money. However, classically, the thighs and drums together are the traditional cut in this dish.

But chicken breasts can be used, and to me, they've got to be split chicken breast with the bone in. And these are for my wife and daughter because they don't like dark meat. Good.

More for me. Now, to get some more flavor into the chicken, I'm just going to score three to four slits about a/4 of an inch or so deep onto each side of the chicken. But before we get started on the marinade that's going to make this insanely delicious, we need to make a staple ingredient, anato oil.

So, in a small sauce pot, add in 1 cup of neutral flavored oil. Then a/4 cup of anato seeds. Honestly, you can find these in the Latin aisle at the grocery store.

These are going to add some awesome earthy, slightly sweet flavors along with a crazy highlighter like color. Now, to make this oil even better, smash three garlic cloves and add it to the pot along with a half sliced shallot. Then, let's bring it back over to the cook top.

And over low to medium heat, we're just going to simmer everything together for about 10 to 12 minutes while occasionally stirring. And you'll notice the shallots and garlic will start to fry. And these extra ingredients are just going to make this better and in return, the marinade better.

Little techniques like this just make meals worth. remember it. You'll also see that the anato seeds will start to bleed into the oil, making it a vibrant orangish reddish yellowish color.

Sorry, that was a lot. Okay, let's strain everything up. And at this point, all I'm looking to do is cool it down to room temperature.

So, I'm just going to pop it in the fridge for now. And in the meantime, some light marinade prep. I'm going to smash the white ends of three stocks of lemongrass just to help them become more aromatic and release more flavor.

Then thinly slice them and add them right to a large bowl. Next up, I'm going to grate in some garlic. You know, I love to joke about Filipinos and their garlic, and I seriously think they love it more than Italians do, but we're still going to add a good amount in.

I'm going to grate in a total of 10 garlic cloves. May seem like a lot, but I promise this is the way. Next, I've got a hunk of ginger that is about the length of my thumb.

No need to be overly precise here. This marinade is very forgiving. And to peel it, I learned this little trick using a spoon from a chef I used to work for.

It works perfectly every time. Now, just like the garlic, finely grated into the same bowl. At this stage, I'm adding in 1/3 cup of packed light brown sugar.

And then next up, I'm adding in a/4 cup of soy sauce. And after several Filipino recipe videos, I'm convinced Silver Swan is where it's at. But datu puti it's definitely fantastic.

And you can get both of those at any Asian or Filipino market. But of course, regular soy sauce will work as well. Next, I'm adding in a/3 cup of calaman sea juice.

And there are some options. You can use calaman sea extract. And this stuff is just gold.

Seriously, I would drink it. It's got all the calaman sea flavor, but it's sweetened up. Or you could use regular calaman sea juice.

It's great to use. And I picked up both of these from Amazon. Now, if you've got neither, fresh lemon juice is a perfect substitute.

Now, for some more acid, pour in one cup of vinegar. And it's incredibly classic to use coconut vinegar in this dish. However, data cane vinegar is great, too.

And now, for a little insider Filipino tip, let's pour in 1 and 1/2 tspoons of what we call liquid seasoning. This is essentially an ooami bomb. Think of it as liquid MSG.

And the two brands that'll get you there are Maggie or Noir. Both popular, both pretty easy to find. If not, hit up Amazon.

Okay, almost done with this marinade. But first, and for a bit more umami, two teaspoons of fish sauce. And please tell me why I smell this after every use.

Yep, gets me every single time. Okay, let's now pour in half of our natto oil. Give it a season of salt and pepper.

Get a whisk in there and mix everything together until it is completely combined. And then of course, let's give it a little taste. Ooh, that gets you right there.

That's going to be ridiculous. It should be over-the-top flavorful. Remember, we aren't eating the marinade.

We're eating the chicken, and it needs to be overly delicious in order to perfectly season and flavor it up. Speaking of, let's add that chicken right to the marinade and take a minute or two to really massage in the ingredients to ensure it is coated on all sides and that it's making its way into the scores. After all, that's why we did it.

So the marinade can penetrate deep into the chicken so that every bite is dang tasty. I promise you, you've got this and you're going to love how good this is. And at this point, cover it up.

And then we're heading into the fridge to marinate for as little as 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Now, the closer you can get it to that 24-hour period, the more flavorful this will be. Now, when it's the day of and you're ready to cook and eat, let's just take out the chicken and let it sit at room temperature to take the chill off.

And I have to say, it looks incredible. And the aroma's already ridiculous. Going to be so, so good.

Set it to the side. And in the meantime, we're going to make our basting sauce, which is incredibly classic to use in this. So, in a smalls size pot, add in the remaining anato oil, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tsp of nor liquid seasoning, 1 teaspoon of calaman sea juice, 2 tsp of packed light brown sugar, salt, and pepper, and then let's cook.

Bring the pot over to the cook top and heat it up over low to medium heat. We just want this to be warmed up. Doesn't need to be anything more than that.

Give it a stir for maybe 2 to 3 minutes. And then let's mount it with 2 tablespoon of unsalted butter. This right here is going to make this base even richer and more delicious.

Yep, I'm game. Chicken that's just too juicy and just too flavorful. Okay, let's set it to the side and it's time to cook.

Now, the most classic way to cook the chicken is definitely on the grill. And I'll show you another way in a minute if you don't want to go outside because that was the original plan. But yeah, we got pounded with snow.

Why do I live here again? Anyways, make sure your grill is over high heat, roughly between 450 and 550° F. At this stage, simply place the chicken down, and the goal is to cook it for roughly 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until some light charring starts and looks like this.

Give it a flip. And now is when we're going to break out our basting liquid and give everything a good sauce pat. Then after four to six more minutes, flip it back again and again base it up.

We'll flip it two more times total while basing after each flip and will give us a total cooking time of 16 to 24 minutes. Just make sure the legs are at 170° F internal and 160° F internal for the breast. Just let them rest on a rack for a few minutes.

Now, for the other method, they're going on a rack over a sheet pan and on a middle rack in the oven to roast at 425° F for a total of 30 to 35 minutes while basting every 10 minutes until it's brown and roasted just like this. And just like the grilled chicken in a cell, let it rest on a rack for a few minutes. And yes, as soon as this chicken's done resting, you can eat it and it's delicious.

But there is an incredible sauce that's very commonly served with it called saan. To me, it is a must serve next to the chicken. Start by dicing up a half shallot.

Then, finally, grate three garlic cloves into a small bowl with the shallots. Next up, small dice one small pickling cucumber. This will equal out to be around a half to 2/3 cup diced.

Then, pith and seed one time chili. Now, this is, of course, if you love spice because these things have crazy heat. Or if you're like me, why not small dice up one Fresno pepper.

Ah, that's more like it. Add it to the bowl along with one cup of the cane or coconut vinegar, a/2 cup of soy sauce, 2 tsp of calaman sea juice, 2 tbsp of packed light brown sugar, a little salt and pepper, and mix everything together until the sugar is dissolved. Then, of course, give it a taste.

And yo, talk about delicious. I want to drink this. And I'm guessing this is going on everything I eat because wow, >> I put that on everything.

>> That's right, Miss Hamilton. Okay, for the next side, the classic garlic fried rice, also known as sinan. Thinly slice six cloves of garlic.

Then bring it back over to the cook top and in a walk, add enough oil just to coat the bottom. Now, over medium heat, add in the garlic and cook it just until very lightly brown, which will only take a few minutes. Be sure to watch it closely because you do not want to burn this.

It'll get bitter. Then, for a little insider secret of the pros, hit it with two tablespoons of unsalted butter for a little more fat and flavor. Then comes the rice.

Now, you can just use my foolproof technique on the stove top or just do it the Filipino way and in the rice cooker. It's easier and clean. So, at this stage, add in four cups of rice and stir fry for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the rice starts to sear a bit.

Finish with a little SMPP and you're good to go. Super good and super easy to make. Chicken has rested, sides are done, and it's almost time to eat.

But first, let's plate this up. Add the chicken right to a plate. And I like to add a few non-traditional garnishes like some sliced Fresno peppers and some sliced green onions.

It's good to go. But don't forget about that rice and dipping sauce. Let's get in this.

Ridiculously simple and loaded with flavor. And if you're into Filipino cooking, my caldera is next up. Watch the video.

See you there. It's so flavorful and juicy and tender. Now I'm going to eat all of it.