Mozambican Piri Piri Chicken

★★★★4.7· 374 ratings

·Serves 4

About this Dish

Chicken grilled over flame and basted in fiery, garlicky piri piri chili sauce.

History & Origin

Piri piri chicken traces to Portuguese colonial Mozambique, where Portuguese traders combined African bird's eye chili with their own garlic-citrus marinades.

IngredientsServes 4

🍗Whole chicken, 1.5kg spatchcocked (backbone removed and flattened)

🌶️Fresh piri piri (bird's eye) chilies, 10-15 whole

🧄Garlic cloves, 8 large peeled

🍋Lemons, 2 (juice and zest)

🫒Olive oil, 80ml

🧅White onion, 1 small roughly chopped

🌿Fresh oregano, 2 tablespoons (or 1 tbsp dried)

🧂Salt, 1.5 teaspoons

🫙Sweet paprika, 1 tablespoon

🍶White wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons

Method

Make the piri piri sauce by blending the chilies, garlic, onion, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, paprika, and salt together in a blender until fairly smooth but with a little texture remaining.

Reserve about one third of the sauce in a small bowl for basting during grilling, then pour the rest over the spatchcocked chicken, rubbing it well into every surface and under the skin. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight for best results.

When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before grilling to come to room temperature. Prepare your charcoal grill for medium-high indirect heat, or heat a gas grill to medium-high.

Place the chicken skin-side up over indirect heat, close the lid, and cook for 20 minutes, then flip it skin-side down and move it to direct heat for 10-15 minutes until the skin is charred and crispy, watching closely to avoid burning.

Baste the chicken generously with the reserved piri piri sauce every 5 minutes during the final stage of cooking. The chicken is done when the juices run clear and the internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh reaches 75°C (165°F).

Rest the chicken loosely tented with foil for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces. Serve with extra sauce on the side, crusty bread, and a simple salad.

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