How to make piri piri chicken: Piri piri is a popular Portuguese sauce made with African bird’s eye chilies. It is a popular dish in both Portugal and parts of Africa with a spicy, sweet and salty flavor, perfect for both meats and fish.

Piri piri chicken thighs – 6 – 12

  • 2 large red bell peppers, halved
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 dried bird’s eye chilies or serrano chilies, stemmed and seeded
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
  • Position racks in the middle and upper thirds of the oven. Preheat broiler to high, Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with oil.
  • Place the bell peppers, onion and garlic (skin on) on the prepared pan. Broil on the top rack, turning often, until charred on all sides – about 8 minutes. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 425F.
  • Heat oil and chilies in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until chilies start to darken in color – about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  • Coarsely chop the bell peppers and onion, and peel the garlic. Transfer to a blender, add the chilies and oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika and pepper. Puree until smooth.
  • Return the sauce to the pan and add bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
  • Pat chicken dry with paper towel. Place on the baking sheet, skin side up, sprinkle both sides with the remaining salt and generously brush with 1 1/2 cup of the sauce.
  • Bake on the upper rack until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh, without touching bone, registers 165F – about 30 minutes. Turn the broiler to high and continue coking until the chicken begins to brown – about 2 minutes.
  • Brush each thigh with another 1 tablespoon of sauce.
  • Serve with additional sauce and charred lemon wedges (optional).
(Visited 20 times, 1 visits today)