Marinate chicken pieces 4 hours in calamansi or lime, cane vinegar, lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Cook over medium two zone heat for around 30 minutes, basting constantly with annatto oil. Pull thighs at 80°C (175°F).
Two zone, moderate. Constant basting means constant dripping, so you need somewhere to move to.
Method
Bruise the lemongrass properly
Smash the stalks with the back of a knife before chopping. Lemongrass holds its aroma in oils that only release when the fibres are broken, and unbruised stalks contribute almost nothing.
Marinate four hours
Combine everything except the annatto oil and marinate the chicken for four hours. The vinegar and citrus are assertive, so much longer starts to firm the surface unpleasantly.
Make the annatto oil
Warm the annatto seeds gently in oil for a few minutes until it turns deep orange, then strain out the seeds and stir in the melted butter. Do not let it smoke, which turns the colour muddy and the flavour bitter.
Two zone, medium
Start the chicken on the indirect side, skin up, for around 20 minutes. Basting starts now and does not stop: brush with annatto oil every few minutes throughout.
Finish over the coals
Move the pieces over the bank for the last five to eight minutes to colour and crisp, still basting. Expect flare-ups from the oil and move the chicken rather than fighting them.
Serve with the dipping sauce
Pull dark meat at 80°C (175°F). Serve with rice, and a dipping sauce of cane vinegar, soy, calamansi and crushed chilli. The sharp dip against the rich basted chicken is the whole point.
Notes worth knowing
- Calamansi is a small Filipino citrus, sold frozen or bottled in Asian supermarkets. Two parts lime to one part orange is the usual substitute.
- Annatto (achuete) is for colour more than flavour and there is no real substitute for the look. Paprika gives colour but tastes quite different.
- The butter in the basting oil is not traditional everywhere but it browns beautifully and most modern versions include it.
Common questions
What does inasal mean?
It simply means grilled or roasted in Hiligaynon, from the Visayan region. Chicken inasal is most associated with Bacolod City, where it is a local speciality rather than a general national dish.
Why is my chicken not orange?
Either the annatto oil was not infused long enough or it was overheated. Warm the seeds gently until the oil is deeply coloured, and baste repeatedly rather than once at the end.
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