This Peri Peri Chicken is juicy, spicy and and loaded with flavour! I'll show you how to make Peri Peri sauce that you'll want to smother on everything, AND how to spatchcock a chicken so it cooks in super quick time!
It took a little bit of time to get the recipe right for my peri peri (piri piri) sauce, but I've got to admit, I did kind of pat myself on the back in the end. It's so amazingly delicious. It's also pretty darn hot! But that's the way I like it. You can always reduce the chillies to make it less spicy.
I'm going to admit something else too.
You know I started with the recipe for this sauce?
I totally looked at the ingredients on the back of a bottle of Nando's Peri Peri sauce. I mean, that's Peri Peri gold standard isn't it?
My next step was to cut out all of the weird stuff - you know, the stabilisers and antioxidants. And to swap out the stuff that you can't buy in the shops like lemon puree (for lemon zest and juice) and rosemary extract (for dried rosemary).
Finally, I wanted to bulk out the recipe (hence the red peppers) and give it a little more depth of flavour (hence the roasting of the peppers, onions, garlic and chillies, and the addition of smoked paprika).
And the result is tongue-tinglingly damn tasty. This recipe ensures you have enough to marinade the chicken, with plenty leftover for dipping.
We start by roasting the peppers and red onion with oil, paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne and salt.
Then add the garlic and chillies and roast for a further 10 minutes.
We then transfer this smoky-roasted goodness to a blender, along with dried Bird's eye chillies, white pepper, lemon zest and juice and dried rosemary.
Blend it all up to form a thick paste:
Then add the remaining vegetable oil and red wine vinegar and blend again to a lovely thick, spoon-able consistency. If you want it thinner, simply thin it out with more oil, or you can stir in some cold water.
How to spatchcock a chicken:
Now we need to spatchcock the chicken. Spatch-cocking basically means removing the backbone, opening up the carcass, and flattening it out. Doing this means it cooks so much quicker in the oven.
- Place the chicken breast-side down on a sturdy chopping board, with the legs towards you.
- Using heavy-duty scissors or poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone. It's a little fiddly, as you have to cut through each of the rib bones as you go. So it's better to go slowly, rather than trying to cut through multiple ribs at once.
- Once you've cut through both sides of the backbone, discard the bone (or save it to make stock). Turn the chicken over and press down with both hands on the breast bone to flatten the chicken.
Now place the chicken on a baking tray and smother with a few tablespoons of Peri Peri sauce. Bake for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, I like to baste the chicken and spoon on a little more sauce. Then finish of the chicken in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
It will come out of the oven a deep dark red. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes to ensure it's extra juicy.
Then serve with the rest of the Peri Peri sauce.
What to serve with peri peri chicken:
- Special Fried Rice
- Veggie matchstick fries
- Rainbow noodle salad
- Garlic chilli oven baked fries
- Baked parmesan carrot fries
Piri-piri or peri-peri - which one is it?
I don't think there's a definitive answer on this, but both terms, along with the term pili-pili are used to describe the African Bird's eye chilli. So technically, if you're using African Bird's eye chillies, I guess any of these terms are correct.
However:
- Piri-piri is the correct spelling in Portuguese.
- Nando's calls their sauce Peri Peri.
- Piri Piri (at the time of writing this) is searched for about 4 times more often than peri peri in google.
I've used the term peri peri in my recipe because that's what I'm more used to hearing in the UK.
More Of My Spicy Chicken Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Curry
- Spicy Chicken Nourish Bowls
- Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
- Chinese Crispy Chicken with Honey Garlic Sauce
More Copycat and Street-Food Recipes:
- Copycat Firecracker Chicken (Wagamama)
- Orange Chicken (Panda Express)
- Pad Thai
- Gua Bao (Pork belly Bao buns)
- Pork Gyros
- Spicy Pork Ramen
Peri Peri Chicken with Homemade Peri Peri Sauce Recipe:
Peri Peri Chicken with Homemade Peri Peri Sauce
Ingredients
Peri peri sauce:
- 2 red peppers - sliced into large pieces
- 2 red onions - peeled and chopped into large chunks
- ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil, divided
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic - peeled
- 2 red serrano chillies - deseeded and sliced in half
- 10 dried African birds eye chillies
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
Chicken
- 1 medium chicken (1.4kg-1.6kg or 3 lbs-3.5lbs) - spatchcocked
- ½ tsp black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Place the peppers and red onion on a baking tray. Drizzle on 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil. Sprinkle on the paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and 1 tsp of the salt and toss together.
- Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Add the garlic and serrano chillies and toss together again, then place in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a blender (make sure you pour in all the juices from the tray). Add the dried chillies, white pepper, lemon zest and juice and the dried rosemary. Blend until smooth.
- Add the remaining vegetable oil and the red wine vinegar and blend again.
- Now it's time to spatchcock the chicken. Place chicken breast-side down on a sturdy chopping board, with the legs towards you.
- Using heavy-duty scissors or poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone. It's a little fiddly, as you have to cut through each of the rib bones as you go. So it's better to go slowly, rather than trying to cut through multiple ribs at once.
- Once you've cut through both sides of the backbone, discard the bone (or save it to make stock). Turn the chicken over and press down with both hands on the breast bone to flatten the chicken.
- Place the spatch-cocked chicken on a baking tray and pour over one third of the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ tsp salt and the black pepper.
- Place in the oven (still at 180C/350F) for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, baste the chicken and spoon over 2 more tablespoons of the sauce. Place back in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve with the remaining sauce.
✎ Notes
Can I make it gluten free?
Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten free. However, it's always best to check your ingredients, as some brands may use wheat/barley in their products (i.e in certain types of vinegar) or packing environments.How long will peri peri sauce keep?
Covered and refrigerated, this peri-peri sauce should keep for 2 weeks.Nutritional Information is per serving - including one-quarter of the peri peri sauce per person.
Nutrition
Wharton Galtrey says
Hi Nicky,
Love your recipe for Peri Peri. In terms of the spelling I am pretty sure that the Portuguese in Mozambique adapted a traditional recipe with African ingredients and used Peri instead of Piri. Back in the day Lourenco Marques (renamed Maputo after independence) was famous for Peri Peri chicken and especially prawns. Many Portuguese moved over the border into South Africa after independence and the rest is history. Nandos originally started in South Africa.
Be it Peri Peri or Piri Piri it is delicious and addictive !! Thanks again for your r ecipes and apologies for my ramblings.
Trisette says
Dear Nicky,
The best chicken I have ever eaten. My
daughter's (28, 23) favorite take away is Nandos, they both said it was definitely better than Nandos 😊😊 (I know it was a very sincere complement as I always ask them to critic my food). The marinade sauce was super delicious which is the secret. I cooked it on charcol.
Thank you so very much.
Nicky Corbishley says
Thank you Trisette - I'm so happy you and your daughters enjoyed it. High praise indeed 🙂 I bet it was fantastic over charcoal!
Sam L says
Just tried this recipe and it was great, even marinated the chicken over night for extra flavour. One question, could the oil used in the sauce be substituted for anything’s else to reduce the calories?
Nicky Corbishley says
SO glad you liked it Sam. The oil really does help to give the sauce a more velvety texture, but you could trying reducing the amount by half if you'd prefer.
Zohra says
Hi! What’s the substitute for red wine vinegar?
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Zohra, You can substitute with white wine vinegar, or a mixture of 3 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tbsp red wine.
Wan says
Hi Nicky and Chris,
I would like to try this recipe soon, but I don't know what is the suitable chicken weight to be used for it.
Do you mind clarify this matter?
Many thanks.
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Wan, I would use a medium-sized chicken - about 1.4kg-1.6kg (3 lbs-3.5lbs)
Wan says
Hello There,
I'm yet to try this awesome recipe, but somehow i didn't know what is the suitable chicken weight for it?
Could you please help me on this?
Many thanks.
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Wan, I used a medium chicken about 1.4kg-1.6kg or 3 lbs-3.5lbs. Thanks, Nik
Barbara says
Oh my gosh, I just finished eating this and still can't forget it it's sooo good! and very spicy! Thanks so much for posting!
H.Goldenberg says
Hi Nikki, I am Goldie and love to try your PP marinade. Once done I would prefer to do a Barbie rather than in the oven.
Any suggestion?
Thank you
HG
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Goldie, are you intending to cook the spatchcock chicken on the barbecue? If so I would probably cook in a pan/tray for about 50-60 minutes with the lid on
OR directly on the grill (rib side-down), over an indirect heat, with a drip-pan underneath, with the lid on. The internal temperature of the chicken needs to reach 75C/165F.
I'd spread the sauce on about 30 minutes before the end of cooking, then brush/spoon on a little more about 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
Katya Buratovich says
Amazing! Have made it multiple times. You can also keep the sauce in the fridge for a week and it makes an amazing sandwich spread or base for a salad dressing (with a bit of a kick of course)
Debbie Carter says
I’ve tried several recipes and this is by far the best. The flavour from the sauce is incredible! I did marinade the chicken before I cooked it but other than that followed the recipe exactly.
Will definitely be making again. Huge success with the whole family
Chris Corbishley says
Thanks Debbie, So glad you enjoyed it. I am planning to cook this on the BBQ next time we have a nice weekend.
Thanks
Chris
Wa ode Dirgahayu Egerton says
I loveee try this recipe..maybe dinner tonight.yuuymmm
Floranet says
Keep growing!! You are doing great Job.
Hady says
tried it today and got thumbs up all around.
It was difficult to find dried African birds eye chilies where I live but i improvised and it turned out beautiful.
Lavina Datwani says
OMG! I'm so super excited to try this recipe! My sister and I are die-hard fans of Nandos and peri peri sauce and whenever we visit the UK, we go to Nandos at least 10 times for meals! Back when I was studying in London and lived in an an apart with a shoebox sized kitchen, I couldn't be bothered cooking in it so got takeaway from Nandos at least 3 times a week for dinner! 😛 Thanks for this copycat recipe, and I cannot wait to try it! 🙂