Poc Chuc de Pollo — Wood-Fire-Grilled Chicken Cutlets with Charred Tomato and Onion Salsas

Maní, Yucatán — pueblo approximately 100 km south of Mérida, on the eastern edge of the Puuc hills

Poc chuc (Póok chúuk in Yucatec Maya, meaning 'roasted or grilled in the embers of wood coals') is one of Yucatán's most direct expressions of ancient Maya preservation technique: salt the meat, rinse it, cook it fast over fire. The chicken variant follows the same logic as the pork original — brine, pound flat, hit with Mojo de ajo and Seville orange marinade, then sear over wood smoke in under two minutes per side. The dish belongs to Maní, a town roughly 100 km south of Mérida along the Ruta Puuc foothills, where the technique has been practiced continuously in open-air kitchens. Three elements arrive together at the table: the charred chicken, a coarsely crushed Chiltomate (k'uut bi p'aak) of charred Roma tomatoes and habanero, and Cebollas asadas — whole red onions blackened over the same coals, then pickled in Seville orange juice with recado para escabeche. None of the three components holds without the others.

Poc chuc de pollo is fundamentally about contrast between salt-forward charred meat and the acidic brightness of Seville orange. The Chiltomate adds smoke and moderate habanero heat — present but not dominant. Cebollas asadas bring a soft, slightly sweet bitterness that anchors the plate. The three elements eaten together in a single forkful produce the full Yucatecan poc chuc experience; eaten separately, each tastes incomplete.