Piri Piri Chicken
The chicken in this recipe is very spicy with a crispy crust and tender insides. It is first spatchcocked (butterflied), which is easy to learn (see below) and will quickly become your go-to for grilling or roasting poultry. After marinating for a few hours, the chicken is then grilled, sauced, and devoured. Serve with French fries and a nice green salad.
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Servings: 4
Equipment
- Food Processor or blender
- Poultry Shears
- small saucepan
- Disposable aluminum baking pan (to fit over ½ of grill)
Ingredients
- 1 3½ to 4 pound whole chicken
- ¼ cup Cilantro, chopped
- 1 Ginger, 2-inch piece peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 small Onion, peeled and quartered
- 3 cloves Garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup Piri Piri sauce, Jamaican hot sauce, or Sriracha
- ⅓ cup Commercial BBQ sauce
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup `Olive or vegetable oil
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp Each, salt and pepper
Piri Piri Sauce
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Piri Piri hot sauce or another favorite hot sauce
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender (or by hand), finely chop cilantro, ginger, and garlic. Add piri-piri sauce, oil, lemon juice, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Process until blended.
- Flatten spatchcocked chicken skin side down. Pour ½ of marinade into a ceramic 11x7x2-inch baking dish. Place chicken skin-side down in dish, opening it like a book. Pour remaining marinade over. Cover and chill at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
- To grill, remove grate and heat ½ of the grill. When medium hot, place aluminum baking pan across unlit part of grill and put grate back on. Place chicken skin-side up over pan on unlit side of grill. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes, until thigh reads 165°F (74°C). Move to hot part of grill skin-side down and crisp skin for no more than 5 minutes, being careful not to burn it. Transfer to a platter and pour warm sauce over.
Sauce
- While chicken is cooking, heat 3 tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves and 2 minced garlic cloves. Cook about 2 minutes until garlic begins to change color. Add 2 tbsp piri piri sauce (or another hot sauce) along with 2 tbsp lemon juice. Turn heat to low and cook 2 minutes more, stirring.
How to Splatchcock a Chicken
- Lay the chicken flat on a surface, legs down.
- Hold the neck and cut down 1 side of the back with shears until the end. Do the same thing on the other side or the backbone. Remove backbone
- Pry open the chicken, turn over and press-pound until it's flat with the legs splayed.
Notes
- Save removed backbone to use later for homemade chicken stock.
- If it's not possible to grill, put the spatchcocked chicken on a baking rack set over a baking sheet. Cook chicken in a 350F (177C) oven until thighs reach 165F (74C), about 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 646kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 1328mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 381IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 3mg