Piri Piri Chicken — Portuguese Peri-Peri Grilled Chicken
The fiery, garlicky grilled chicken that travelled from Portuguese-speaking Africa to Lisbon and the world: a spatchcocked chicken marinated in a punchy sauce of piri piri (bird's eye) chillies, garlic, lemon, paprika and herbs, then grilled until charred and smoky and basted with more sauce. Tangy, spicy and impossible to stop eating, piri piri chicken (frango piri-piri) is the soul of a Portuguese churrasqueira — best with chips, and plenty of extra sauce on the side.
Make a piri piri sauce by blending red bird's eye chillies with garlic, lemon juice and zest, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and olive oil. Spatchcock a whole chicken (remove the backbone and flatten it) so it cooks evenly, and marinate it in half the sauce for several hours or overnight. Grill or roast it, skin-side down first then turning, basting generously with the marinade, until charred, smoky and cooked through. Rest, then serve with the reserved fresh sauce spooned over and on the side, with chips and lemon.
- Spatchcock the chicken (flatten it) so it cooks evenly and gets maximum charred, crisp skin.
- Marinate well (hours to overnight) in the chilli-garlic-lemon piri piri sauce for flavour all the way through.
- Keep back some fresh sauce (don't reuse the raw marinade) to spoon over the cooked chicken and serve on the side.
Equipment
- Grill or oven
- Blender
- Kitchen shears (to spatchcock)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
Piri piri sauce
- 6–10 red bird's eye (piri piri) chillies, to taste
- 4 garlic cloves; juice and zest of 1–2 lemons
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp oregano
- 80 ml olive oil; salt
To serve
- Chips (fries) or rice; salad
- Lemon wedges; extra piri piri sauce
Method
- STEP01
Blend the chillies, garlic, lemon juice and zest, vinegar, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and olive oil into a punchy piri piri sauce. Set aside about a third as fresh sauce for serving (keep it separate from the raw marinade).
- STEP02
Spatchcock the chicken (cut out the backbone with shears and press flat). Coat it all over with the marinade portion of the sauce, working some under the skin, and marinate in the fridge several hours or overnight.
- STEP03
Cook the chicken over medium grill heat (or in a hot oven, then finish under the grill), skin-side down first for char, then turning, basting with the marinade, until deeply coloured, smoky and cooked through (juices run clear), about 35–45 minutes.
- STEP04
Rest the chicken 10 minutes so the juices settle.
- STEP05
Cut into pieces and spoon over some of the reserved fresh piri piri sauce, serving more on the side. Serve with chips or rice, a salad, and lemon wedges.
Make ahead
Make the piri piri sauce well ahead — it keeps for over a week and the flavour matures. Marinate the chicken the night before (the longer the better). Then just grill or roast to serve. The sauce is a brilliant all-purpose condiment to have on hand for chicken, prawns, vegetables and more.
Storage
The sauce keeps a week or more refrigerated (and is great on everything). Cooked chicken keeps 3 days and reheats well, or is delicious cold in salads and sandwiches. Marinated raw chicken can be frozen in the marinade. Always keep the fresh serving sauce separate from any marinade that touched raw chicken.
Variations
Spice level
Use more or fewer bird's eye chillies (and remove seeds) to dial the heat from mild to fierce.
Pieces or prawns
Use chicken thighs/drumsticks instead of a whole bird, or brush the sauce on grilled prawns.
Oven method
No grill? Roast spatchcocked at high heat and finish under the broiler for char.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
Frequently asked
What is piri piri?
Piri piri (also spelled peri-peri) refers both to the small, fiery bird's eye chilli and to the sauce made from it. Portuguese explorers encountered the chilli in southern/eastern Africa, and the garlicky, lemony, spicy sauce became a Portuguese (and Angolan/Mozambican) staple, especially for grilled chicken. The sauce blends the chillies with garlic, lemon, vinegar, paprika, herbs and oil.
Why spatchcock the chicken?
Spatchcocking — removing the backbone and pressing the chicken flat — lets it cook evenly and quickly with maximum skin exposed to the heat for char and crispness. A whole, un-flattened bird cooks unevenly (dry breast before the thighs are done). Flattened, it grills or roasts beautifully and soaks up more marinade. It's the classic way to do piri piri chicken.
How spicy is it, and can I control the heat?
Bird's eye chillies are quite hot, so authentic piri piri chicken has a real kick — but you control it entirely by how many chillies you use and whether you include the seeds. Use fewer (and deseed them) for a milder, more family-friendly version, or pile them in for a fierce one. The garlic, lemon and paprika flavours stay regardless.
Why keep some sauce separate?
For food safety, the marinade that's been in contact with raw chicken shouldn't be served as-is on the cooked dish. So set aside a portion of the fresh piri piri sauce before marinating, and use that to spoon over the cooked chicken and serve at the table. The marinade portion can be used to baste during cooking (it gets cooked), but the serving sauce stays fresh and raw-chicken-free.
What do you serve with piri piri chicken?
The classic Portuguese churrasqueira pairing is chips (fries) — or Portuguese rice — with a simple salad, lemon wedges and lots of extra piri piri sauce for dipping and drizzling. Grilled vegetables or corn also work. A cold beer or a glass of vinho verde rounds it out. It's casual, messy, generous food.
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