Piri piri chicken is traditionally made with African bird’s-eye chilis, hence its name, which is derived from the Swahili word piri-piri, or “strong pepper.” With your first bite, you taste the tomato and bell pepper in the sauce, then the heat of the chilis kicks in, followed by the racy acidity of the lemon juice and cider vinegar. Since piri piri chicken has yet to be appropriated by a major fast food chain, its unique taste profile is a welcome diversion from the more popular styles of chicken.
The beauty of piri piri chicken is that once you have made the sauce, it multitasks as the marinade, the tenderizer, the basting sauce and the dipping sauce — creating a full 360° piri piri experience.
1 whole, best-available chicken, or the equivalent in boneless or bone-in pieces
2 cups Piri Piri Piri! Sauce (see recipe here)
1 cup chopped parsley to finish
If using a whole chicken, butterfly it, or cut it into two halves.
Place your chosen cuts of chicken in a large resealable plastic bag and add 1 cup Piri Piri Piri! Sauce.
Squeeze out the air and seal the bag.
Massage chicken through the bag until it is thoroughly covered in sauce.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
For butterflied chicken, chicken halves and all bone-in pieces:
Preheat the grill for indirect medium-high heat and place the chicken bone-side down over the section of the grill with no direct heat.
Close the lid and cook until the internal temperature of the breast is 160°F and the thigh is 165°F, or until the juices in the thigh run clear when poked with a fork — roughly 45 minutes.
Baste with extra sauce in the last 10 minutes.
If any parts of the skin start to get too dark, lightly tent the darkened section with a small piece of aluminum foil.
For boneless pieces:
Preheat the grill for direct medium heat, about 400°F, and place the chicken onto the grate directly over the heat source.
Close the lid. Turn once after about 5 minutes; baste with extra sauce before turning.
Close the lid again and continue cooking for 5 more minutes, or until the internal temperature of
the breast is 160°F and the thigh is 165°F, or until the juices in the thigh run clear when poked with
a fork.
To serve:
Serve with remaining Piri Piri Piri! Sauce for dipping and sprinkle.
This recipe is from Bob’s latest cookbook, Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Betterfrom Flavorbomb by Bob Blumer. Copyright © 2020 Bob Blumer. Photography by Suzi Q. Varin.
Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved
Gastronaut, author, and eight-time Guinness World Record holder Bob Blumer is best known as the creator and host of Food Network’s award-winning shows Surreal Gourmet, Glutton for Punishment, and World’s Weirdest Restaurants. He has also written seven cookbooks in which he transforms ordinary ingredients into wow-inspiring dishes through simple cooking methods and whimsical presentations that have become his culinary trademark. His 7th book Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better is a collection of the tricks, tips, hacks and techniques he gleaned as he ate his way around the globe for the past 25 years. The Toronto Sun says “Blumer once again pushes boundaries, but in a way that encourages readers to let go their own culinary hesitations to create simple meals built on layers of flavor.”
Bob is a long-term ambassador for Second Harvest, Toronto, a perishable food bank. He is also the ambassador for Love Food/Hate Waste, a national Canadian zero-waste initiative. When he is not traveling for work or pleasure, the transplanted Canadian cycles daily in the canyons near his home in the Hollywood Hills, doing his best to stay in shape for his next big adventure.
