Piri Piri Chicken Recipe
This Piri Piri chicken gets its flavor from a spicy, buttery sauce that’s basted on while it grills. Using individual chicken pieces is the way to go here; it’s just easier to manage on the grill and every piece gets plenty of sauce.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2-2.5 lbs of bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks are best)
- Kosher salt to taste
For the Piri Piri Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 5-6 hot red chili peppers (like Thai chilis or cayenne)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
First, Make the Piri Piri Sauce
Combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, chili peppers, bay leaf, paprika, oregano, and salt in a blender. Don’t add the butter or lemon juice yet.
Blend everything until it’s mostly smooth.
Pour the mixture into a small pot, add the butter, and warm it over low heat just until the butter melts. Pull the pot off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set it aside.
Grill the Chicken
Get your grill heated to medium-high, somewhere around 375-425F. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and season them with salt.
Place the chicken on the grill grates skin-side down for about 4-5 minutes to get a good color.
Flip the chicken and baste the top side with the piri piri sauce. Grill for another 4-5 minutes.
Keep flipping and basting the chicken every 4-5 minutes. The oil in the sauce can cause flare-ups, so keep an eye on it.
The chicken is done when it hits an internal temperature of ~165F in the thickest part, which usually takes 30-40 minutes.
Let the Chicken Rest
Once it’s cooked through, take the chicken off the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Piri Piri Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2-2.5 lbs of bone-in thighs and drumsticks are best, skin-on chicken pieces
- Kosher salt to taste
For the Piri Piri Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5-6 hot red chili peppers like Thai chilis or cayenne
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Method
- Blend olive oil, vinegar, garlic, chilies, bay leaf, paprika, oregano and salt until smooth.
- Heat sauce in small pot, melt in butter, remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
- Heat grill to 375-425°F.
- Pat chicken dry and season with salt.
- Grill chicken skin-side down 4-5 minutes until browned.
- Flip, baste with sauce, grill another 4-5 minutes.
- Continue flipping and basting every 4-5 minutes until internal temp reaches 165°F, about 30-40 minutes total.
- Rest 5 minutes before serving.
