Lechon Manok or spit-roasted chicken is a Filipino favorite. It goes well with my homemade lechon manok sauce and some papaya atchara on the side. I enjoy eating this with freshly cooked white rice.
If you are in the Philippines, you can be considered lucky enough because lechon manok is available almost everywhere. Chances are that there are several stalls/stores near your place that sells this yummy food and they all compete with each other in terms of quality and price. Andok’s, Baliwag, Sr. Pedro, and Chooks-to-go are some of the popular names when it comes to lechon manok.
But, what if you live abroad? What are your options if you start to crave for one? I am not sure on how it is in your location, but I can say that I have very few options here in Chicago, so I decided to make one for my family. It is not as convenient as buying cooked lechon manok in Manila, but I developed the confidence and the bragging right to say, “I made one myself and it was delicious”.
Before we start, let me tell you that you will need the proper equipment to spit-roast the chicken with ease – you do not want to manually turn the chicken for 3 hours. It will be great if you have a spit-roaster that you can turn to autopilot to make things more convenient. I just happened to have a grill (Weber Summit S‑670) that does almost everything, and it even has a spit roaster where I can make lechon manok or even lechon de leche.
The recipe is very simple. A little bit of time is needed to marinate the chicken though. It has been one of the best lechon manok that I ever had (and I am not being biased). It is very tasty and juicy. The sauce was a plus.
Try this Lechon Manok Recipe. Enjoy!
Watch the Video on How to Cook Lechon Manok
Lechon Manok Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 2 to 3 lbs. whole chicken
Marinade
- 4 thumbs ginger crushed
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 5 pieces dried bay leaves crumbled
- 1 stalk lemongrass bottom part crushed
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ¾ cups 7-up
Stuffing
- 1 stalk crushed lemongrass tanglad
- 2 bunches of green onions dahon ng sibuyas
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients. Mix well.
- Place the chicken inside a large re-sealable bag. Pour the marinade in the bag with the chicken. Put the onion and lemongrass inside the cavity. Seal and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the bag and then stuff with fresh lemongrass and green onion.
- Prepare to roast the chicken on the grill by skewering the entire fowl on a spit and secure both sides with a grill fork.
- Spit-roast (or i-litson in Tagalog) for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the chicken is done
- Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with lechon manok sauce and atchara.
- Share and enjoy!
chrisd says
Hey--you’re from Chicago! Great! I’m a southsider! Love your website.
I am half and half. My mom is from Negros Occidental (near Bacolod)
This looks delicious--I’ll have to try
Vanjo Merano says
Hey Chrisd -- good to hear from you. I am located in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago.
It is really good. The marinade did a good job in infusing flavor to the chicken.
Please try this recipe and let me know how it went.
Eppie Kramer says
Thanks a lot for your delicious, easy to make recipes.
I enjoy watching your videos. Are you located in the Phil ?
I live for more than 35 yrs in Europe.
That’s why I terribly miss pnoy foods.
Again, thank you.
Mrs. Kramer
Vanjo Merano says
Hi Mrs. Kramer,
Thanks for the message. It feels good to know that you enjoying the videos.
I live in Chicago, but was born and raised in the Philippines.
Gelene says
Hi Chef Vanjo! I’m an avid reader [and follower] of your recipes! I learned to cook almost a year ago through your blog! from chicken, pork, shrimp recipes up to maja blanca! so im sending you virtual hugs, thank you for inspiring the inner “chef” in me! 🙂
Vanjo Merano says
You are welcome , Gelene. Happy cooking!
katren says
how many degrees will I set if its oven?
Vanjo Merano says
This recipe is intended for spit-roasting. The outcome will not be the same. If you really want to roast this in the oven using the marinade recipe above, please follow the temperature and roasting/baking time of this oven baked chicken recipe. This is for a 2lb. (1 kilo) whole chicken. Please increase the time if you will be using a bigger chicken.
Ismael Sta Romana says
I live in Racine Wisconsin, an hour away from Chicago. If you have a restaurant, I will go there with all my family and other relatives in Northern Chicago.
I am cooking the lechon manok as we speak (or as we write). What should the grill be set at -- high, medium or low?
Not being sure, I set mine at medium. Hope I am doing it right.
I have a 5 lb chicken. Will the cooking time be longer?
And just curious, what does the 7-up do for the chicken?
Vanjo Merano says
I was going to recommend setting the grill to medium. However, the size of the chicken is bigger than the usual and you do not want to quickly cook the outside while leaving the inside kinda raw. If there is still time, set the grill between low and medium. 4 to 4 1/2 hours should be enough.
lei d says
yeah I have the same question as katren. what’s gonna be the temp of we will use an oven? 🙂
charlene says
hi sir,
I am ofw i want to try ur recipe but i only have turbo. Can i use turbo. For turbo how many hours to cook and what will be the tempreatur thankyou. Iam charlene from bahrain.
Lembest Lechon says
I always watch tutorials from your vlogs 🙂 really nice help for us newbies in the kitchen. Thank you and more power.
-- Pao
Rey says
Ok lang oven gamitin?
Maria says
Hi Sir Vanjo! Ano po kaya pwede gamiting alternate sa lemongrass? Nasa northern part po ako wala po mahanap na tropical vegetable dito e. Thanks in advance!