Piri-Piri Chicken
Spatchcocked chicken marinated in African bird's-eye chili, garlic, and vinegar, then flame-grilled and basted — a fusion born when Portuguese colonists in Mozambique paired their own grilling technique with a local African chili, later carried back to Portugal and globalized commercially from South Africa.
Meat
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
- 6-8 African bird's-eye chilies (piri-piri), chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, to taste
Steps
- Blend the chilies, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, paprika, bay leaf, and salt into a smooth piri-piri marinade.
- Reserve a portion of the marinade for basting, and rub the rest all over the spatchcocked chicken, working it under the skin.
- Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Grill the chicken over charcoal, skin-side up first, moving it to indirect heat once charred, turning and basting frequently with the reserved marinade.
- Cook for 40-45 minutes total, until the chicken is cooked through and deeply charred in spots.
- Let rest for a few minutes before carving and serving.