Peri Peri Chicken with Homemade Peri Peri Sauce
This Peri Peri Chicken is juicy, spicy and so flavourful! I'll show you how to make Peri Peri sauce from scratch too (better than Nandos!).
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Peri peri sauce:
- 2 red peppers sliced into large pieces
- 2 red onions peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) oil divided, (sunflower oil, vegetable oil or your favourite flavourless oil is fine).
- 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 (fan).
- 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.2 red peppers, 2 red onions, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 ½ tsp salt
- 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.4 cloves garlic, 2 red serrano chillies
- 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.10 dried African birds eye chillies, 1/4 tsp white pepper, zest and juice of 1 lemon, ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- Add the remaining vegetable oil and the red wine vinegar and blend again.120 ml (1/2 cup) oil, 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Now it's time to spatchcock the chicken. Place chicken breast-side down on a sturdy chopping board, with the legs towards you.1 medium chicken (1.4kg-1.6kg or 3 lbs-3.5lbs)
- 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 breastbone to flatten the chicken.
- Place the spatchcocked chicken, breast-side-up, on a baking tray and pour over one-third of the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ tsp salt and the black pepper.½ tsp black pepper
- Place in the oven (still at 180C/350F (fan)) for 45 minutes. See notes for barbecue (grill) method.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Cooking on the barbecue (grill)?
Heat up the barbecue and place the chicken, breast-side up, on the barbecue grill over indirect heat for 35 minutes, with the lid of the barbecue closed. Use a drip tray to catch any juices that may cause the fire to flare up.After 35 minutes, baste the chicken in the sauce, turn the chicken over and place over direct heat for 10 minutes, until the skin is crispy and slightly charred in places.
Check the internal temperature by inserting a cooking thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. It should reach 75C/165F. Cook a little longer over indirect heat if needed, to reach the correct temperature. Rest the chicken for 10 minutes before serving.
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
Calories: 713kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 1016mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g
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