Piri-Piri Chicken
Portugal's grilled chicken with roots in Mozambique — a butterflied bird marinated in a fiery paste of bird's eye chillies, garlic, lemon, paprika and vinegar, then grilled and basted until charred.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1.6 kg whole chicken
- 8 red bird's eye chillies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tsp salt
Nutrition (estimated)
high confidenceRecipe total: 4109 kcal · P 449.1g · C 81.2g · F 207.3g
Estimated from 9 of 9 ingredients
Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.
Video
Steps
Steps
- 1Butterfly the chicken: cut along both sides of the backbone with kitchen scissors, remove it, turn the bird over and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten it. Slash the legs and thighs to the bone.
- 2Blend the chillies, garlic, the zest and juice of the lemon, the vinegar, paprika, oregano, oil and salt into a smooth sauce. Set 4 tbsp aside for basting.
- 3Rub the rest all over the chicken and under the breast skin, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
- 4Heat a barbecue or grill to medium, or the oven to 200°C.
- 5On the barbecue, cook skin-side down for 20 minutes, then turn and cook for 20–25 minutes more, basting with the reserved sauce. In the oven, roast skin-side up on a rack for 45–50 minutes, basting halfway.
- 6It is done when the thickest part of the thigh reads 75°C or the juices run clear; for char, finish skin-side down over high heat for a few minutes.
- 7Rest for 10 minutes, cut into pieces and serve with the juices poured over.
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Questions and answers
How long does Piri-Piri Chicken take to make?
About 70 minutes: 20 min prep and 50 min cooking.
What ingredients do you need for Piri-Piri Chicken?
9 ingredients: whole chicken, red bird's eye chillies, garlic cloves, lemon, red wine vinegar, sweet smoked paprika, dried oregano, olive oil, salt.
How many servings does this Piri-Piri Chicken recipe make?
4 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.
How many calories are in a serving of Piri-Piri Chicken?
About 1027 kcal, with 112.3 g protein, 20.3 g carbohydrate and 51.8 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.
Which diets does this Piri-Piri Chicken recipe suit?
It is gluten-free and dairy-free.
What cuisine is Piri-Piri Chicken?
Piri-Piri Chicken comes from Portuguese cuisine.
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