Chicken Al Carbón

Chicken al carbón. Johnny Autry

Chicken Al Carbón

A beautiful and delicious dish, chicken al carbón is a whole chicken roasted over the fire. To me, what makes this shine is the extra time it requires to smoke on the grill, which develops a distinctive campfire flavor. The variety of light and dark meat, along with the occasional charred bits of skin, are delicious when rolled up in a tortilla. Served with rice and beans, fresh salsa, and maybe some grilled onions, this is a hands-on family dish, where you pull off the meat and build your own tacos with corn or flour tortillas.

Serves 4 to 6

• 1 (4- to 5-pound) whole chicken, giblets and excess fat removed
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for grilling
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 (3.5-ounce) packet achiote paste (see Tip)
• 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed
• 6 dried chiles de árbol, stemmed
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, store-bought or homemade
• 2 medium onions, cut into thick rings
• 3 large jalapeño peppers, stemmed and cut in half lengthwise

Place the chicken on a clean work surface, breast-side down. Using kitchen shears, cut lengthwise along both sides of the backbone from the neck to the tail. Remove the backbone and save it for stock or discard. Open the bird like a book, then place it skin-side up. Press down firmly with both hands to flatten the bird.