Piri piri chicken thighs

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.

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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).