PIRI PIRI CHICKEN

 

Ingredients:

1 4lb chicken, butterflied or cut in pieces

For the sauce:

• 2/3 cup lemon juice
• 2/3 cup white vinegar
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 7 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika (Hungarian, if you can find it)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 heaping tablespoons coarse sea salt
• 14 African birds-eye chilies or 10 Thai chilies, chopped (or red chili peppers)
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To prepare the sauce, combine the ingredients in a glass jar. Blend using an immersion blender or simply shake the jar. Allow the mixture to rest in the fridge for a minimum of two hours, but ideally, leave it overnight.

To begin cooking up the chicken for the Piri Piri chicken, preheat the oven to 400°. Cook the chicken for 30 minutes in a deep baking pan. It needs to be deep enough to catch juices from the chicken. About halfway through the cooking process, baste the chicken in its juices, using a basting brush to spread the juices from the pan over the chicken. Your chicken is fully cooked when the internal temperature is 165°. 

After the chicken has cooked in the oven, you will need to heat it up in a skillet to give it that authentic Piri Piri look and texture.

Heat the skillet to medium-hot. Brush the oven-baked chicken with Piri Piri sauce, covering completely. Once the pan is hot, add in the chicken while leaving space between each piece and cook for 2 minutes on each side. The chicken should get brown as it cooks in the sauce on the stove. It should also start to char, and that’s important for that authentic Piri Piri look. Cook on the other side for two minutes. 

Serve with Piri Piri sauce.