Piri Piri Chicken
Spatchcocked chicken marinated in a fiery bird's eye chilli, garlic and vinegar sauce, grilled hard and basted throughout. Portuguese-Angolan in origin, and the reason a certain restaurant chain exists.
Photograph credit: 2018-02-03 Chicken Piri-Piri, Albufeira by Kolforn (Kolforn) I'd appreciate if you could mail me (Kolforn@gmail.com) if you want to use this picture out of the Wikimedia project scope. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0CC BY-SA 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 truetrue · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Method
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Blend all the sauce ingredients except the bay leaves until smooth.
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Divide the sauce in half. Pour one half over the chicken in a dish, working it under the skin and into every crevice, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
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Simmer the other half with the bay leaves in a small pan for 12 minutes until slightly thickened. This is your basting and serving sauce.
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Take the chicken out an hour before cooking and pat the surface dry. Season with the flaky salt.
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Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F, or prepare a barbecue for indirect grilling.
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Roast the chicken skin-side up on a rack over a tray for 30 minutes.
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Baste generously with the cooked sauce and roast 15 minutes more.
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Baste again and roast a final 10 to 15 minutes until the thickest part of the thigh reads 74°C and the skin is charred at the edges.
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Rest 10 minutes, then joint and serve with the remaining cooked sauce, lemon wedges and chips.
Chef’s Tips
- Never baste with the marinade that touched raw chicken. Cook a separate batch for that.
- Adjust the chillies to taste — ten is properly hot, five is approachable, twenty is a statement.
- Finish under a hot grill for 3 minutes if you want more char on the skin.
Common Substitutions & Variations
- A pinch of dried chilli flakes works in place of fresh chilli — start with about a third of the quantity the chillies in the list implies, since dried chilli is more concentrated, and add more to taste.
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
- Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.
Pairing Suggestions
- Chips and a garlic mayonnaise
- A cold Super Bock or a crisp white
- A green salad with tomato and onion
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate cooked chicken up to 3 days. The sauce keeps 3 weeks refrigerated and is excellent on everything.
Common questions
How long does Piri Piri Chicken take to make?
About 1 hour 5 minutes of hands-on work — 20 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking — plus 4 hours of chilling, so allow 5 hours 5 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 4.
What are the key tips for making Piri Piri Chicken?
Never baste with the marinade that touched raw chicken. Cook a separate batch for that. Adjust the chillies to taste — ten is properly hot, five is approachable, twenty is a statement. Finish under a hot grill for 3 minutes if you want more char on the skin.
What should I serve with Piri Piri Chicken?
Chips and a garlic mayonnaise; A cold Super Bock or a crisp white; A green salad with tomato and onion.
How should Piri Piri Chicken be stored?
Refrigerate cooked chicken up to 3 days. The sauce keeps 3 weeks refrigerated and is excellent on everything.
Is Piri Piri Chicken suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, high-protein and low-carb. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Piri Piri Chicken?
About 648 kcal per serving, with 52 g protein, 14 g carbohydrate and 42 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Nutritional Highlights
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
Reader Reviews
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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