A roasted or grilled Portuguese chicken, beautifully golden and juicy, kicked up with a lemony, garlicky, smoky piri-piri sauce. Serve with homemade fries, a simple salad, or white rice.
Ingredients
- 1.4 kg whole free-range chicken, ready to cook
- 4 pieces fresh red bird's eye chilies
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 piece lemon (preferably organic)
- 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 0.25 bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
- Spatchcock the chicken by removing the backbone, flatten it with the palm of your hand, then thoroughly dry the skin until it is no longer damp to the touch.
- Prepare the homemade piri-piri sauce, then coat the chicken on all sides; let it rest in the refrigerator at least until the meat takes on a lemony, garlicky, and spicy aroma.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge before cooking so it takes the chill off, while the oven heats up or the grill gets very hot.
- Place the chicken skin-side up in a dish or on a rack, then cook until the skin starts to sizzle and take on a golden color.
- Baste regularly with the remaining piri-piri sauce, without making the skin soggy, until you get a glossy, reddish-orange, and slightly caramelized surface.
- Flip briefly to the meat side if grilling, then turn back to the skin side to finish crisping without burning the chilies or garlic.
- Check for doneness: the juices should run clear near the thigh, the meat should pull away easily, and the skin should be deeply golden with a few darker charred spots.
- Let the chicken rest off the heat so the juices redistribute, then sprinkle with flat-leaf parsley and serve with a drizzle of lemony pan juices.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 587 kcal
- Protein
- 82.79 g
- Carbohydrate
- 5.57 g
- Fat
- 25.58 g
- Fibre
- 1.97 g
- Calcium
- 71.49 mg
- Iron
- 3.97 mg
- Magnesium
- 106.69 mg
