Craving for some Chicken Inasal? I did it my way! (Bacolod Chicken)

Chicken or Beef? A very familiar line to those of us in Qatar. Line that usually rouses you from your sleep while inbound to or outbound from the Middle East, and if you aren't from Dubai or Bahrain, would also be the usual fare in your home. But how much chicken adobo or chicken afritada can you handle in a week? In my quest to be more creative with my chicken recipes, I start to crave for chicken inasal, more commonly known to us as Bacolod chicken.
And since I don't think this craving will be statisfied in the near future, I had to put matters into my own hands. Thus began the search for the best chicken inasal recipe in the internet. After checking out several sites, I decided the one from Market Manila looks very promising. And the best part of it is that most ingredients are available in our kitchen cupboards and refrigerator. So here is my own version of that recipe.

Chicken Inasal

12 pcs. chicken legs whole (medium size)
1 cup cane vinegar
2 bulbs garlic (minced)
ginger (about the size of a bulb of garlic - you can add more if your partial to ginger)
4 stalks fresh lemongrass
2 tbsp. lemon juice (in place of calamansi)
1 tsp. brown sugar
salt and black pepper to taste

Basting
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. achuete seeds (you can use achuete powder you can find in Filipino food stores and some groceries)
Dash of ground black pepper
1/2 cup Star Margarine (luckily in Qatar you can now find this in most supermarkets and groceries)

I strongly recommend to use fresh chicken parts when you fry, grill, or bbq chicken. However, in that fateful morning, Family Food Center in Al Nasser had run out of stock of fresh chicken parts and since it's almost 11am already when most shops are closing for mid-day prayers, I decided to settle for the frozen ones instead of trying my luck running around town.

This is a very simple recipe where basically you just mix all the main ingredients and just toss in the chicken parts to marinate. I would have wanted to leave it for at least for hours, but I do not have the luxury of time and could only wait for 2 hours. Make sure to stir every half an hour to coat and distribute the flavors evenly. I do not however recommend to keep it overnight as it may turn too sour and the chicken meat would be cooked in vinegar. That won't be good for the texture of the chicken also. Of course you want your chicken inasal to be juicy. To prepare the basting heat your olive oil in very low heat then add the achuete seeds. Once you've achieved the desired color, take out the seeds. In another pan, melt the Star margarine also in low heat so as not to burn the margarine. When melted blend in your achuete oil. Then baste your chicken at least 15 minutes prior to grilling.

On the grill, baste your chicken from time to time to avoid the chicken from being dried up. Baste also just when your about to lift from the grill. I am not too satisfied though with the color of my chicken inasal, it could have been better, but having 8 hungry mouths to feed when it's almost 3pm in the afternooon, I guess I can always try again next time.

The verdict? Well, I don't want to think I had the unfair advantage of having very hungry stomachs waiting for lunch but I must say it tastes sooo good! I wouldn't claim it as commercial quality --- yet, but I dare say it's as good as you're gonna get anywhere in Qatar!

Oooops! Almost forgot, no chicken inasal would be complete without its accompanying vinegar condiment. That would be vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt & pepper, a bit of brown sugar and lots, I mean lots of onions. You can also add some chili peppers if you're in the mood for some fiery punch!