Peri-Peri Chicken
Peri-Peri Chicken is a flavourful and spicy dish, featuring tender chicken marinated in a vibrant mix of herbs, spices, and fiery peri-peri sauce. If you don’t have peri-peri chilies, you can use red bird’s eye chilies instead. Add them gradually to the sauce, tasting as you go, until you reach the desired level of heat. Aim for the sauce to be slightly spicier than you want, as the heat will mellow during cooking.
Ingredients
- 20 peri-peri chilies (or 10 birds' eye chillis)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 lemon, juice
- 4 sprigs coriander
- 1 small onion
- A pinch-dried oregano
- 2 tbsp port/sherry
- 150ml olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Chicken
Step 1
Set the oven to 220°C and allow it to preheat.
Step 2
Blend the peri-peri ingredients until smooth, adjusting the flavour by adding more spice, garlic, or salt to suit your taste.
Step 3
Spatchcock the chicken by using kitchen scissors to remove the backbone. Place the chicken breast-side up in a cast-iron skillet and coat it with half of the marinade, including the backbone. This will infuse additional flavour into the sauce.
Step 4
Grill the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes, then baste with additional marinade and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.
Step 5
Increase the oven temperature to its highest setting, baste the chicken again, and cook for 10 more minutes or until it's charred. Check the chicken's doneness with a probe (it should read 72°C). If desired, use a blowtorch to achieve additional char.
Step 6
Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest.
Step 7
Pour the remaining marinade into the pan, adding a bit of water to help loosen it. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 8
Carve the chicken and serve it with the sauce.