This is a current favourite in our house. We are supposed to be heading to Portugal this summer and piri piri chicken is one of the things we are really looking forward to eating. I looked at a lot of recipes online to find the one I liked best and my recipe is based on Felicity Cloake’s article in the Guardian.

As it is still cold to use the bbq here in Ireland I have been finishing the chicken off on a griddle pan but can’t wait to try it on a bbq.

I served this with homemade oven chips or roast potatoes along with steamed broccoli or a nice salad.

Peri Peri Chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Marinating Time 1

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Marinade:

Juice of ½ lemon
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt

Piri piri Sauce:

2 red bird’s eye chillies
2 plump garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp brown sugar

Chicken:

1 chicken jointed

Instructions

Joint your chicken into 6-8 pieces. You can always ask the butcher to do this for you.
Mix together the lemon juice and garlic for the marinade. Put the chicken in a roasting tin just big enough to hold it, and pour the marinade all over it, making sure it’s well coated. Sprinkle with the salt, cover and leave at room temperature for an hour.
Roughly chop two chillies and the garlic, add the lemon juice and salt, and puree using a food processor. Whisk in the paprika, oil and sugar and then set aside.
Prepare the barbecue, if it is warm enough outside. Once it’s at cooking temperature, grill the chicken for 45 minutes with the lid on, then check. If it’s almost done, then brush with piri piri and cook, lid off, for about another 10 minutes, until cooked through.
Alternatively, heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 5 and roast the chicken for about 45 minutes, until cooked through, basting with its juices occasionally. Heat a griddle pan to medium hot, brush the chicken with piri piri, and grill for a few minutes on each side, until just starting to char.
Serve hot with the extra sauce on the side.