Piri Piri Chicken Recipe

Chicken is marinated in a spicy piri piri pepper sauce, then grilled in this simple but flavorful African-inspired piri piri chicken breast recipe. I like to serve this with a cool yogurt sauce and fonio pilaf.

Piri piri – also spelt/pronounced peri peri and sometimes pili pili is the name of a type of chili, and also the name of a sauce made with that chili…

At it’s best, it is a BBQd on coals, its a whole spatchcocked (butterflied) young chicken of about 3 to 4 months old, weighing less than 1kg, coated with that wondrous chili sauce, crispy and salty skin on the outside and literally oozing juiciness with every slightly greasy bite.

Ingredients For Piri Piri Chicken Recipe

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced

1 large shallot, peeled, quartered

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup piri-piri sauce or other hot pepper sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, backbone removed, opened flat

1 11 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 1 1/4-inch disposable aluminum baking pan (to catch drips)

Ingredient info: Bottled piri-piri sauce is available at specialty foods stores and online from africantradingco.com. Choose the heat level that suits you, keeping in mind that the mild version still has a nice kick to it

Also Read: Antipasto Potato Salad Recipe

Direction For Making Piri Piri Chicken:

1. Use rubber gloves to mince chiles and place them into a mixing bowl. Add cilantro, garlic, vegetable oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt, and black pepper. Mix piri piri sauce well.
2. Place chicken breasts and legs into a resealable plastic bag. Pour in piri piri sauce, seal the bag, and shake gently to cover chicken completely. Put the bag in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours.
3. Remove the bag from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to allow chicken to come to room temperature.
4. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
5. Remove chicken from the bag; discard bag and cilantro. Cook chicken on the preheated grill, rotating as necessary to cook evenly, until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 25 minutes.