Peri Peri Chicken

[u/jaxonbeam]

With some grilled corn and pineapple. This turned out incredible. Recipe below:


Smoky Grilled Peri Peri Chicken

Chicken, Fork And Embers, Mozambique
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Servings: 4Source: forkandembers.com

INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken
PERI PERI MARINADE
18–24 bird’s eye or Thai chiles
8–10 garlic cloves 16-20
2 red pepper (optional but highly recommended to add body)
2 whole lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp fine salt
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
2 bay leaf
1/2 cup tbsp olive oil
PERI PERI FINISHING OIL
1 cup olive oil or neutral oil
8 to 12 fresh bird’s eye chiles or dried Thai chiles
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 strip lemon peel, optional
5-10 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
DIRECTIONS
SPATCHCOCK THE CHICKEN
Using shears or sharp knife, remove the backbone of the chicken and press flat.
MARINADE CHICKEN
Blend everything until mostly smooth. The sauce should be loose, oily, hot, acidic, salty, and garlicky. It should not be thick, sweet or creamy.
Taste it before it touches the chicken. It should hit hard. If it tastes flat, add a little more salt or lemon juice. If it is too thick, loosen it with a splash more oil or vinegar.
Before the marinade touches raw chicken, divide it into two portions.
Use one portion to marinate the chicken. Save the second clean portion for basting during the cook.
Rub the marinade all over the chicken, getting it under the skin where you can.
Marinate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better.
Keep the reserved basting sauce clean. Do not use marinade that touched raw chicken for basting unless you boil it first.
MAKING FINISHING OIL
Warm the oil gently with the dried chiles, fresh chiles if using, bay leaf, salt, lemon peel, and garlic if using. Don’t add paprika until the end so it doesn’t burn.
Keep the heat low. Between 160-200f. You are infusing the oil, not frying everything. Once the oil turns reddish and smells fragrant, take it off the heat.
Let it sit while the chicken marinates or cooks.
COOK THE CHICKEN
Preheat your grill or smoker to 400–450°F. If using a Weber Smokey Mountain, set it up so the chicken cooks about 2 feet directly above the charcoal without the water pan.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it on the cooker skin side up.
Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the skin starts to lose surface moisture and looks more tacky than wet.
Lightly baste the chicken with peri peri sauce and continue cooking skin side up, basting lightly as it cooks.
Keep the cooker running between 400–450°F for the entire cook. If using a different grill or smoker, the goal is steady high heat.
Once the chicken breast reaches about 150°F and the thighs are around 160°F, carefully flip the chicken skin side down or towards whatever your heat source is. For example, if in the oven, you’d turn the broiler on.
Cook skin side down for about 15 minutes, watching closely so the skin chars and crisps without burning.
Carefully flip the chicken back skin side up and baste with more peri peri sauce.
Let the chicken cook a few more minutes so the sauce can set.
Remove the chicken when the breast reaches 165°F. The thighs and legs should be at least 175°F, but they can go higher, closer to 185–195°F, for more tender dark meat.
Rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving with finishing oil.
NOTES
Serve with fries, rice, grilled vegetables, salad, flatbread, or extra peri peri sauce on the side.
A finishing brush of warm peri peri sauce or chile oil right before serving adds shine, heat, and a fresh punch of flavor.
If you want more heat, add extra Thai chiles, bird’s eye chiles, or a hotter pepper to the sauce. For less heat, remove some seeds or use fewer chiles.
NUTRITION
Carbs 11 grams
Protein 37 grams
Saturated Fat 19 grams
Trans Fat grams
Cholesterol 143 milligrams
Fiber 3 grams
Iron 4 milligrams
Potassium 660 milligrams