Portuguese Piri Piri Roasted Chicken

Piri Piri is the name given by the Portuguese for the African bird’s eye chili. This little chili pepper is commonly made into a sauce to be used with chicken and sometimes fish in Portuguese Cuisine. The chili rates about a 7 on a heat rating scale of 1-10, 10 being the hottest.

I suggest making the sauce at least a day ahead to give it time to intensify flavors. Do keep it refrigerated unless you are going to use it the day you make it. The chili peppers are hard to find in your local grocery store but here are some substitutions; Pequin, Cayenne and Tabasco. The heat of all these are about the same. Amazon does have Piri Piri but I purchased Pequin from a local grocer.

Doesn’t it make a nice presentation here with my roasted chicken. This recipe can be taken to the barbecue. I teased the idea but favored the oven instead … This time!

 Recipe

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F

4-5 Pound chicken with giblets and neck removed from cavity

Carrots or potatoes or both to be used as a roasting surface for the chicken. Wash the vegetables and peel as desired or not. Place in the bottom of a roasting pan or iron skillet.

Piri Piri Sauce

2 Cloves Garlic
8-10 chili peppers-fresh if you can find them but dried will do in a pinch
3/4 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup white vinegar
1 Generous teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon pepper
Large bay leaf
1 Tablespoon paprika-optional

Mix all ingredients except bay leaf in a blender until smooth. Pour blended ingredients into a jar and add the bay leaf. Refrigerate for 24 hours for best flavor and heat. Careful not to touch eyes or face with hands that have touched the peppers or sauce.

Prepare the chicken by cutting along either side of the backbone and remove. Rinse chicken carefully (or not-the new theory) then pat dry. Open up the back of the chicken and place the open back against a clean surface and press to flatten out the breast. Divide the Piri Piri sauce half, saving one half for serving with the chicken when done. Slather the back side of the chicken with the Piri Piri sauce. Place the chicken over the vegetables, breast side up, in the roasting pan.

Slather the top of the chicken thoroughly with the sauce. Place the chicken on the middle rack in the preheat oven at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Slather more sauce. Turn oven down to 375 degrees F and continue baking for one hour or until done. Use a meat thermometer if needed. You may wish to baste several more times during the cooking process.

Remove the chicken from the oven when done and let it rest. Serve with a side of rice, or the vegetables cooked beneath the chicken. Tender Juicy Delicious!