Peri Peri Chicken - Spicy Spatchcocked Chicken
Peri Peri Chicken combines a whole chicken marinated in a blend of bell pepper, bird's-eye chilis, smoked paprika, and vinegar, and served with grilled lemons on the side.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Base ingredients
- 1 whole young chicken
- 2 large lemons halved
For the marinade
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt divided
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 large shallot chopped
- 5 dried bird's eye chilis use less if you don't like it too spicy, see notes below
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3 large bay leaves
Instructions
- Place the chicken on a large cutting board, breast side down and with the tail side facing you. Pat it very dry with paper towels. Using kitchen shears, cut from the tail end on one side of the backbone all the way to the neck. Repeat the same cut on the other side of the backbone. You can cut away any loose overhanging skin by the neck opening. Save the backbone for chicken stock.
- Flip the chicken over and with two hands press the breast bone down until the chicken is flattened. You should hear a couple of cracks during this process. The goal is to flatten the chicken for even cooking. Poke holes into the chicken skin so that the marinade can penetrate.
- Place all of the marinade ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Place the chicken into a baking dish and pour the marinade onto it. Using your hands massage the marinade all over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours but ideally overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 1 hour prior to grilling. Remove the chicken from the marinade onto a plate. Pour the marinade along with a 1/2 cup of water into a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Heat half of a gas or charcoal grill to medium to medium-high heat (400- 425°F), leaving a cool side for indirect cooking. Wipe the grates with oil or cooking spray. Grill the chicken until well charred on both sides, flipping occasionally to prevent burning, then move the chicken over to the cool spot and close the grill. If you have a wireless thermometer, place it into the thickest part of the breast, otherwise use an instant read thermometer. Cook until the thickest part of the breast reaches an internal temperature of 160°F (approximately 30-40 minutes) then remove it to a platter and tent with foil.
- Add the lemons to the hot side of the grill and cook until charred then remove to the platter as well. Baste some of the boiled marinade all over the chicken before serving and serve the remainader at the table with the grilled lemons. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chili peppers. Birds eye chilis are very spicy. This recipe calls for 5 dried chilis but you can sub fresh or dried chilis of any variety or even crushed red pepper flakes. For a milder version, a few fresh fresno peppers work well. Or for no spice, simply omit the chili peppers.
- Spice level. Simply start out with 1 pepper or as little spice as you like then taste test the marinade after blending. Add more chili peppers until you reach your desired spice level.
- Grilling technique. Whenever grilling a large piece of meat, it's important to have both a hot zone and a cool zone on the grill. If the chicken starts to brown too quickly or begins to burn, simply move it to the cool side of the grill. The cool zone is also where the chicken finishes cooking over indirect heat after getting a good sear. Leaving the chicken over direct heat for the entire cooking time can easily burn the outside before the inside is fully cooked. For Peri Peri chicken, a deep char is part of what makes it so delicious, but there's a big difference between charred and completely black.
- Oven method. Roast on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, breast side up, for 20 minutes at 475°F then turn the heat down to 375°F and continue to bake until the chicken breast reaches an internal temperature of 160°F (30-40 more minutes).
- Let the chicken rest. Let the chicken sit for 10-15 minutes before eating. This will help the chicken reabsorb all the pan juices.
- Leftovers. Peri Peri chicken can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 740kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.5g | Protein: 53.5g | Fat: 52.3g | Saturated Fat: 12.8g | Cholesterol: 235mg | Sodium: 1180mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1.5g | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg
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