Piri Piri Chicken

The first time I tried piri piri anything was when I lived in South Africa.  There was a fast-food chain named Nandos and piri piri chicken was their specialty.  A West African red chili pepper, piri piri is commonly used in African, Portuguese and Brazilian cuisines.   Extremely spicy - one of the hottest chili peppers, according to the scoville scale - this piri piri chicken is not for the faint of heart.  But I think some things are just worth the suffering.

Piri Piri Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

1 chicken, spatchcocked

Everyday Spice Blend

1 piece of ginger, thinly sliced

3 scallions, sliced

piri piri sauce, recipe below

Preparation:

Season chicken with Everyday Spice Blend.  Brush with half of the piri piri sauce.  Sprinkle with the ginger and scallions.  Marinate in the refrigerator overnight or at least 4 hours.

Cook the chicken on an outdoor grill or broil in the oven.  As it cooks, turn the chicken and baste it with the remaining sauce.  Remove the chicken from the grill or roasting pan.  Check for doneness with a meat thermometer - 180 degrees in the thigh or 165 degrees in the breast.

Piri Piri Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
6 piri piri chili peppers (can substitute with 2 Tablespoons dried Thai chili peppers)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

5 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or 1 teaspoon paprika, for less heat)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley, optional *

1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients, except olive oil, in a food processor until smooth. 

Once the sauce begins to get smooth, drizzle in the oil slowly while the machine is running. Once it is all incorporated, put the sauce in a glass jar and let stand at room temperature for up to a day.  For longer storage, seal in a jar and keep in the fridge up to a month.

*Use of parsley could result in a greenish-colored sauce