Piri Piri Chicken

Piri piri sauce is made from the blazingly hot bird’s eye peppers which Portuguese explorers found in the New World and then brought back home and to their African colonies. In its purest form it is chopped pepper mixed with oil and likely salt, but there are many different versions that may also include garlic and either vinegar or perhaps some spirits added to cut the heat. There are parts of the world where piri piri sauce appears on the table as a condiment alongside salt and pepper. As a dish with the name piri piri, chicken or shrimp is marinated in the sauce, grilled, and more sauce is served on the side.

 

Here is an inauthentic but easily made marinade for your chicken that will not burn your mouth, and you can experiment with a hot piri piri sauce to use judiciously on the side. The recipe below gives you a choice to grill the chicken or cook it in the oven.

 

SERVES 4 TO 5

 

Ingredients:

FOR THE PIRI PIRI SAUCE:

8 dried red peppers, crushed

½ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

 

FOR THE MARINADE:

3 small dried red peppers, crushed

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

 

10 to 12 pieces of chicken, whatever you like: breasts, wings, drumsticks, thighs. Figure on two to three pieces for each person.

 

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Instructions:

▪ Make the piri-piri sauce at least a day ahead of time, if you can. Mix together the ingredients in a covered jar and let sit for 24 hours, then after that store it in the refrigerator.

 

▪ Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Put the chicken pieces in a shallow baking pan in a single layer and pour the marinade over them, making sure all the pieces are coated all over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24.

 

▪ A half hour before you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the refrigerator so it is not cold when it goes into the oven or on the grill.

 

▪ To cook in the oven, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Bake the chicken for 50 minutes to an hour.

 

▪ To grill, light the charcoal or preheat a gas grill to its high cooking temperature. Cook the chicken, turning as one side is done. Check often to make sure it is not burning. Total cooking time will vary on individual grills, but will likely be 40 minutes to an hour.

 

▪ The best way to check for doneness is with an instant-read thermometer. Insert it into the thickest part of a piece, not touching bone. The chicken will be cooked perfectly when the meat reaches 180˚F. Alternatively, prick the skin to see if the juices that run out are clear without a trace of pink. You can also test by making a small slit in the meat and checking that it is all white and opaque.