If you’ve not had Piri Piri chicken before, you’re really missing out. It’s a fiery, flavour-packed dish with roots in both Portuguese and African culinary traditions. At its heart is piri piri sauce: a punchy marinade made from fresh chillies, roasted peppers, garlic, herbs and bright citrus acidity that gives you explosive flavour in every bite.
In this recipe I’ll show you how to make this incredible dish at home using a whole chicken + how you can serve it family style. We’ll run through all the ingredients and processes for creating the deeply flavoured marinade along with how to spatchcock your chicken for faster, more even cooking in the oven. The spicy rice is great as a side and it couldn’t be easier.
Everyone likes a roast chicken dinner, but this takes things to new heights in terms of flavour, so let’s get into it.
A few things to know before you begin:
Chillies: Use a variety of raw and roasted for maximum depth and complexity. More on the chillies shortly.
Spatchcock the chicken: A flatter bird will allow for more even cooking and crispier skin. I’ll show you an easy way to get this done, it’s actually really simple!
Marinate: Leave your chicken to marinade in peace. Longer marination = deeper flavour.
Spicy Rice: Cook your rice in a flavour-infused liquid. I’ll show you just how to make it in no time at all.
Finishing sauce: Cook out the marinade and add in a few extra bits to mellow out the flavour profile.
Serves: 4
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