Women and men, the wealthy sort, gathered, and sat to dinner, ready to devour a plate of Pollo a la Brasa. The place: Lima, Peru. The year: somewhere between the 1950s and the 1970s; prior to people of lesser means' consumption of the dish. The chicken is salty, smoky and juicy, and it's traditionally served on a bed of large-cut French fries, and is traditionally eaten sans cutlery and with fingers.

Now, Peruvian families, rich and poor, congregate for their cut of the charcoal blackened chicken, particularly for the holidays. Young children and adults peel the seasoned chicken from the bone, and it eat it alongside ceviche and Chifa.

Roger Schuler, a Swiss citizen in Peru, is credited with originating the recipe for what is sometimes simply referred to as Peruvian chicken. He devised the present day method of preparing the chicken, which is done using a six-spit rotisserie, considered the "centerpiece" of pollerias from Arlington to Lima. During the 1950s, Schuler opened what would become one of Peru's most successful pollerias, La Granja Azul, in the capital city, Lima.

While mesquite wood from Peru's abundant Algarrobo trees aren't available for the ideal cook, nor the fish-fed chickens of Peru (chickens in the US have a grain-heavy diet), the recipe can still be achieved in the home, and be some of the best barbeque to rest on the plates of hungry family members.

POLLO A LA BRASA (PERUVIAN GRILLED CHICKEN)

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
5 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (3 1/2 lb) whole chickens, quartered
1 lime, quartered (for garnish)
DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and oil in a blender.
2. Put chicken in a large sealable bag and add marinade. Seal bag and marinate, chilled, 8 to 24 hours. Turn occasionally to assure even marinating.
3. Prepare grill for medium-high heat.
4. Discard marinade, then pat chicken dry. Oil grill rack.
5. Grill chicken over area with no coals (or over a turned-off burner), skin side down first, covered, turning over once, until cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes (add charcoal to maintain heat).
6. Garnish with lime wedges.
7. (IF OVEN ROASTING - Preheat oven to 500°F, and roast chicken for 30 minutes in a 13x9-inch roasting pan with 1 cup water. After 30 minutes of roasting time, tent with foil and continue roasting until browned and cooked through, or about 15 minutes longer.).

Or, try the recipe here.

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