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Writer's pictureChris

Piri-piri chicken recipe

Updated: Feb 3, 2021



Going to Nando's is basically a fantasy by now, but I'm about to make all your piri-piri dreams come true - my spicy chicken recipe packs a bigger punch than Mike Tyson! DING DING!!


Ingredients

  • Dried African bird’s eye chillies

  • Fresh chillies

  • Garlic cloves

  • Sea salt

  • Sweet smoked paprika (or just smoked is fine)

  • Olive oil

  • Two lemons

  • Good bottle of port or brown sugar (port makes it next level, though!)

  • Mayonnaise

  • Potatoes

  • Rosemary

  • Good-quality, medium-large chicken

  • A sturdy pair of scissors or very sharp knife to spatchcock the chicken

Method

  • Start off by bashing the dried African bird’s eye chillies (if you don’t have a pestle & mortar, you can make the marinade in a blender)

  • Add fresh chillies - I love the contrast of using dried and fresh chillies in marinades. Remove seeds if you want, but I’m a big fan of lip-numbing spice and piri-piri needs that kick - otherwise what’s the point??

  • Throw in the garlic cloves, sea salt, smoked paprika, olive oil (never use extra virgin when you’re cooking), juice of two lemons and a generous glug of port. As Keith Floyd used to say, if the booze isn’t good enough to drink, it isn’t good enough to cook with! Pour yourself a glass and feel those Portugese vibes, baby!

It can be tricky to cook a whole chicken because the shape isn’t very symmetrical, and the legs take a lot longer to cook than the breast does. But, to halve cooking time and make sure you end up with an evenly cooked, super juicy-juicy chicken, spatchcocking is the only way!

  • Take your time with this, and be careful! Flip the chicken so the backbone is facing you. Use strong scissors or a sharp knife to cut down both sides of the backbone, then discard. Put the chicken bone-side down and push down on the breasts to get it flat. BOOM!

  • Place the chicken in an oven tray and massage it well with the marinade. Leave it to chill in the fridge overnight if you want, but don’t worry if you haven’t got time to do that - it will still taste NEXT LEVEL!

  • Fire up the BBQ or pre-heat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6, and in it goes for around an hour. Put a lot of love into the cooking, baste frequently, and the colour transformation will be insane!

  • I love to serve piri-piri chicken with small, super-crispy potatoes - plus they’re ready in the same time as it takes to cook the chicken. Heat olive oil in a tray with garlic and rosemary for a few minutes, peel and break the potatoes into small chunks then throw them in the tray. Keep an eye on the potatoes and turn them over a few times. After an hour the smell in the kitchen will be OFF THE HOOK!!

  • It’s essential to leave the chicken to rest for at least 10mins. While it’s resting, put mayo from the jar into the bowl then add the piri-piri marinade and chicken juices from the bottom of the tray and BOOOOOOOOOOOM! Instant piri-piri mayo that smashes anything you’ll buy from a shop. Nando’s will never be the same again after you’ve tried this out for yourself!!


Cyw iar piri-piri 

Dwi’n siwr bod chi’n breuddwydio am stwffio’ch wynebau hefo Nando’s erbyn hyn, so tan bod chi’n medru mynd allan efo mets chi am bryd massif eto, dyma 'chicken piri-piri' fi - mae hwn yn pacio mwy o pynsh na Mike Tyson!! 


Cynhwysion

  • Tsilis ‘bird’s eye’ wedi sychu

  • Tsilis ffres 

  • Garlleg

  • Halen môr

  • Paprica blas mwg a melys (neu jest blas mwg yn iawn)

  • Olew olewydd

  • Dwy lemwn

  • Potal o port da ne siwgr brown (port mwy next-level ddo!)

  • Mayonnaise

  • Tatws

  • Rhosmari

  • Cyw iâr (cwaliti da a seis gweddol fawr)

  • Siswrn cryf neu cyllell finiog iawn i spatchcockio’r cyw iar

Dull

  • Cychwyn trwy basho tsilis ‘bird’s eye’ wedi sychu yn y pestle & mortar (neu fedrwch chi ‘neud y marinade mewn blendar) 

  • Ychwanegu tsilis ffres (tynnwch yr hadau os ‘da chi ddim isho cic, ond dwi’n ffan mawr o sbeis sy’n rhoi gwefysau fi ar dan - a ma piri-piri’n goro cael cic, tydi?!!) 

  • I fewn hefo’r ewin garlleg, halen môr, paprica, olew olewydd (peidiwch byth a defnyddio extra virgin pan chi’n cwcio), jiws dwy lemwn a glyg da o port. Fel roedd Keith Floyd arfer deud, os ‘di’r booze ddim digon da i yfed, dio’m digon da i gwcio hefo! Tolltwch wydraid o port i chi’ch hun a teimlo’r Portuguese vibes, baby! 

Ma cyw iar yn gallu bod yn anodd i gwcio’n dda yn gyfan gan bod o ddim yn shap cymesur iawn, a mae’r coesau’n cymryd lot hirach na’r brest i goginio. Ond, i haneru’r amser cwcio a cael ciw iar jiwsi-jiwsi sydd wedi ei goginio’n gyfartal, spatchockio ydi’r ffordd orau amdani! 

  • Spatchcockio’r cyw iar: Cymerwch eich amser a byddwch yn ofalus! Fflipiwch y cyw iar fel bod yr asgwrn cefn yn gwynebu chi. Defnyddiwch siswrn cryf ne cyllell finiog i dorri i lawr dwy ochr yr asgwrn cefn (wedyn taflwch o). Rhowch y cyw iar ‘bone-side down’ a gwthiwch i lawr ar y brestiau i gael o’n fflat. BOOM! Rhowch y cyw iar mewn tray popty a massagio fo’n dda hefo’r marinade. Fedrwch chi adael o i chillio yn yr oergell dros nos, ond peidiwch a phoeni os chi’m hefo amser i wneud hynny - bydd o dal yn blasu’n NEXT LEVEL!

  • Tanio’r BBQ neu cynhesu’r popty i 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6 a rhowch y cyw iar i fewn am tua awr. Rhowch llwyth o lyf mewn i’r cwcio, bastio’r cyw iar yn aml a bydd y gwahaniaeth yn y lliwiau’n insane!

  • Dwi’n licio syrfio hwn hefo tatws bach rili crispi, a mae nhw’n cymryd yr un faint o amser i goginio a’r cyw iar. Cynhesu olew mewn tray hefo garlleg a rhosmari am ‘chydig o funudau. Piliwch a torrwch y tatws yn ddarnau bach, yna i mewn i’r olew a nhw. Cadwch llygad ar y tatws a troi nhw o gwmpas ‘chydig o weithiau. Ar ol awran bydd yr arogl yn y gegin OFF THE HOOK!! 

  • Mae mor bwysig gadael y cyw iar i orffwys am o leiaf 10mun. Tra mae’n gorffwys, rhowch mayonnaise o’r jar mewn powlen, ychwanegu’r piri-piri marinade a jiwsus y cyw iar o waelod y tray a BOOOOOOOOM - instant piri-piri mayo sy’n chwalu unrhywbeth gewch chi o’r siop! Bydd Nando’s byth yr un peth ar ol i chi gal go ar hwn!!!





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