Piri Piri Grilled Chicken

Name: Piri Piri Grilled Chicken
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 4-5 lbs whole chicken, spatchcocked (backbone removed), spatchcocked; 4 fresh red Fresno or serrano chiles (sub: 1-2 tsp cayenne), stemmed, seeded; 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 6 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1.5 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Juicy Portuguese-style grilled chicken marinated in a fiery piri piri sauce made from fresh chiles, garlic, lemon, and olive oil. Plan ahead: marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours or overnight.

80 minMediumServes 4430 cal/serving

PortugueseDinnerGrillHigh ProteinLow CarbDairy-FreeGluten-FreeNut-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeCorn-Free

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

4-5 lbs whole chicken, spatchcocked (backbone removed), spatchcocked
4 fresh red Fresno or serrano chiles (sub: 1-2 tsp cayenne), stemmed, seeded
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

1

Make the piri piri marinade: combine 4 stemmed, seeded fresh red Fresno or serrano chiles (sub: 1-2 tsp cayenne), 6 roughly chopped garlic cloves, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 6 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1.5 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2

Place 4-5 lbs spatchcocked whole chicken, spatchcocked (backbone removed) in a large bag or baking dish. Pour about three-quarters of the marinade over the chicken, reserving the rest for basting. Turn to coat well. Seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
3

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat (400-425°F). Clean and oil the grates.
4

Place the chicken skin-side down on the grill. Cook with the lid closed for 15-20 minutes until the skin is charred and crisp. Flip and baste with the reserved marinade. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.
5

Check for doneness: the chicken is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F (74°C) and the juices run clear.
6

Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces. Serve with remaining juices.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Keep this recipe

Prints the ingredients and method only.

Questions

What oven temperature does Piri Piri Grilled Chicken need?

For Piri Piri Grilled Chicken, the oven is set to 425 F (about 220 C) in step 3. The target internal temperature is 165 F (about 75 C), given in step 5. A probe thermometer removes the guesswork.

Why rest the meat in Piri Piri Grilled Chicken?

Step 6 reads: "Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces." Heat drives the juices toward the center. The rest in step 6 lets them spread back out, so they stay in the meat instead of running onto the board when you cut.

Do I need any special equipment for Piri Piri Grilled Chicken?

Beyond a knife and a board, the method uses a blender (step 1) and a probe thermometer (step 5).

How hot is Piri Piri Grilled Chicken?

Moderately. The heat in Piri Piri Grilled Chicken comes from 4 fresh red Fresno or serrano chiles (sub: 1-2 tsp cayenne), stemmed, seeded. For a milder plate, remove the seeds and ribs from the chiles, or use half; nothing else in the method changes. For more, add it at the table rather than in the pot, so everyone sets their own level.

Is Piri Piri Grilled Chicken low-carb?

A serving of Piri Piri Grilled Chicken carries 1 g of carbohydrate. Against a strict 20 g keto day that is 5 percent of the budget; against a moderate 100 g low-carb day it is 1 percent.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,544 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.