A Latin Celebration

• recipe

  Peruvian Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lime

  Authentic versions of this spit-roasted bird boast an evenly bronzed exterior, moist meat, and robust seasoning. We hoped that an oven—and supermarket staples—could do the job.

• recipe

  Cuban-Style Black Beans and Rice (Moros y Cristianos)

  Cooking beans and rice in a single vessel sounds like a straightforward one-pot meal—that is, until both elements cook up mushy and bland.

• equipment

  Vertical Roasters

  Vertical roasters cook poultry evenly and crisp the skin all over—and you don’t have to turn the bird the way you would on a traditional V-rack.

• taste test

  Brown Rice

  While tasters liked most entries just fine, there was one crowd favorite—and one clear loser.