This Cuban Mojo Chicken is infused with a flavorful Mojo marinade made with citrus, garlic and spices, then oven roasted until golden brown, juicy and tender! This mouthwatering Mojo Chicken is perfect for dinner any day of the week and also fabulous for company!
Remove the chicken giblets. They can be discarded or saved for other preparations like stocks or gravies. Rinse the chicken inside and out and remove any excess fat. Pat dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper (the marinade has salt and pepper as well but a whole chicken needs quite a bit of seasoning).
In a small bowl, mix all the Cuban Mojo marinade ingredients. Pour the marinade all over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange a rack in the lower third part of the oven.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a large roasting pan. Discard the marinade. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Bake the chicken for 1 hour. If the breast is getting too golden, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the breast. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.
Remove from the oven and tent with aluminum foil. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. Garnish with lemon, lime and/or orange slices (optional).
Notes
Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the chicken.
If you use butter for the marinade instead of olive oil, the butter will solidify a little bit while marinating in the refrigerator. This is OK - I don't stress over it!
I buy jumbo zip top bags to marinate whole chickens and big cuts of meat. This makes cleaning up a lot easier. Just throw away the bag!