Pollo a la Brasa or Peruvian Chicken as it is widely known, is one of the most consumed dishes in Peru and has become a great sensation in the United States.
This dish originated in the 1950?s in the capital city of Lima. The origin of this style of cooking the chicken is credited to Mr. Roger Schuler who is a Swiss citizen who was in the hotel business in Peru. He carefully observed the way his housekeeper cooked the chicken slowly under the shade from the trees in the Santa Clara estate. He observed how she would place the small chickens on a metal bar that was approximately 3 feet long and slowly cooking them over wood.
The cook will use local ingredients such as huacatay, hot spices and black pepper in distinctive proportions. Mr. Schuler gradually began perfecting the recipe and partnered up with fellow Swiss native, Franz Ulrich, and began carving out ideas as to how they can create a self-rotating oven to evenly cook the chicken. A short time later they ultimately opened the Granja Azul restaurant in Lima. Mr. Schuler focused on the administrative side of the restaurant while Mr. Ulrich specialized in developing the ovens and its self-rotating mechanism. To this day, the Granja Azul is still serving its mouthwatering chicken a la brasa.
During the 1950?s until the late 1970?s, this consumption that was mostly for the wealthy was not common in this third world nation and unfortunately many of the natives did not get to experience this flavorful dish. The original version consisted of cooking the chicken over a layer of charcoal and only marinating the chicken with light salt. In addition, the chicken was served with French fries and traditionally eaten with fingers and without cutlery.
Mr. Schuler and Mr. Ulrich began experimenting with various spices and ultimately revolutionized this dish and began offering it to the locals at a very affordable price. They started selling and advertising their chicken on the side of the road with a sign that read ?All you can eat chicken for 5 soles? which is about 2 dollars. This was immediately a huge hit with the locals and a wonderful meal to many of those who could not previously afford it.
Now, today we have the best peruvian style chicken in Ashburn VA. Come and enjoy our chicken. It is to die for.
