BBQ Chicken with Piri Piri Sauce and Marinade

Surfing through the web checking out other blogger's tasty posts, I found this amazingly delicious barbecue chicken marinated in Piri Piri Sauce. The blog where I found this recipe is at LIVE. LOVE. EAT.
I’d never heard of Piri Piri before, so I went on the hunt for more information.

Apparently Piri Piri was the name given to a particular chile used in cooking in Mozambique, Angola and Portugal. The name is used to describe a special chile plant called the African Bird’s Eye Chile. Here is a picture of it.

There is an excellent review of Piri Piri at David Leite’s website: Leite’s Culinaria.


According to Wikipedia:
"“Nando's, the Portuguese-themed chicken restaurant, originated in South Africa from Portuguese who left Mozambique after the independence in 1975. The chain uses piri-piri in many of its dishes, and helped popularise them worldwide. The company, however, prefers the common South African spelling peri peri on its menus and branded sauces.”

The Congo Cookbook website also gives you a fascinating and detailed history of Piri Piri.

Here's the recipe:

Grilled Chicken Piri Piri

• 2-3 lemons, zested & juiced plus 2 sliced for garnish
• 1/2 head garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 red peppers, seeded & roughly chopped
• 5 chili peppers like serrano or jalapeno
• 2 cups fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 tblsp paprika
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pkgs cut up chicken pieces, skin on

In a food processor add lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper, chiles, parsley, paprika, red wine vinegar & oil. Process until it becomes a paste (wasn't too pasty to me, it was pourable). Season with salt & pepper. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce as set aside for garnishing cooked chicken later.
Divide chicken pieces into 2-3 large resealable plastic bags. Divide the marinade into both bags & seal. Turn the chicken around in the bags to distribute the marinade. Place chicken in the refrigerator & let it marinate for at least 1 hour & up to 1 day. I did mine overnight after baking it (see my thoughts).
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bags with tongs & drain well. Season with salt & pepper. Place on grill, skin side down first & grill for about 15 minutes on each side turning occasionally until cooked through.
Serve with lemon wedges & the reserved piri piri sauce.

{Her Thoughts}
Whenever I grill out with chicken I always bake it first for about 25 minutes with just a bit of salt & pepper in a 375 oven. (I totally agree with her on this point. It does cut down on the cooking time over the coals therefore keeping the chicken from getting that “burnt” look and taste.) Not only does this cut down on the time on the grill it also allows the marinade to really penetrate the chicken better. And it’s still on the grill long enough (about 15 min) to get that delicious grilled flavor. My Dad & I have been doing this for years & swear by it!!!!! For this recipe, I needed 2 baking sheets, one for the thighs & legs & the other for the breasts.I halved the original recipe & it’s reflected above. 3 pkgs of cut up chicken feeds about 6 for a BBQ at my house. As for the peppers, I used about 4 jalapenos because I didn't want it to be too spicy for my in laws. It was perfect.

{Back to me}
After combining the ingredients for the marinade and leaving the chicken to absorb the sauce in the fridge, I decided to add the left-over piri piri sauce to a cup of barbecue sauce. I love chile, but my tummy cannot tolerate anything too spicy. The results were quite delicious. The heat of the marinade had been infused into the chicken and when over the hot coals, a slathering of BBQ sauce with the remaining Piri Piri made it mouth watering.
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We roasted some corn and Lily cut up a fresh pineapple and removed the pits from a couple of nectarines. She squirted the fruits with limejuice and sprinkled some paprika over them and roasted these as well. This lovely meal was topped off with a root beer float and we were all quite content…and sleepy after the meal.

I decided to do this recipe after posting about all the delicious chiles available to us for our cooking adventures. I hope you try this magnificent sauce. I guarantee you’ll like it. Hasta luego my friends.
Come check out our latest chocolate indulgence -- Chocolate "Caliente" Souffle.
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A smiley, just for you! :)

THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
The eyesight to tell the difference.
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Always Remember This:
You don't stop laughing because you grow old,
You grow old because you stop laughing!!!

Beer Can Chicken

Take a pan like this..............
Add a roasting chicken, dry rub and half a can of beer.......
Slice it up; add some asadero cheese, avocado, tomato, jalapeno, lettuce, a delicious roll...
and you end up with this.....................

An absolutely tasty beer-can chicken torta. Add some homemade potato chips and a sangria and you have yourselves a fiesta. Doesn't get any easier than that.


Texas Dry Rub Beer Can Chicken Recipe
http://www.recipezaar.com/Texas-Dry-Rub-Beer-Can-Chicken-237676
SERVES 4 -6

For the rub
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (4-5 lb) whole chickens
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary leaf
1 large shallot, minced
1 lemon, juice of
1 (16 ounce) can beer (and 1 beer can chicken can holder) (optional)

In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients.

Remove and discard the neck, giblets, and any excess fat from the chicken. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly spray or brush all over with the vegetable oil and season, inside and out, with the rub. Let rest at room temperature while you preheat your grill.

Open the beer can and pour off half of the beer. (Or drink it if you don't want to waste it.) Set the half-full can of beer in can holder (or if you don't have a can holder, just be extra careful and place the can on a flat smooth surface), and add fresh rosemary leaves, minced shallot and lemon juice. This will help add moisture and flavor from the inside as your chicken cooks. You may need to use a funnel, to help add the ingredients to the can.

Slide the chicken over the top so the can fits inside the cavity. Transfer the bird to your preheated grill, while carefully keeping the can upright. Carefully balance the bird on its two legs and the can holder. (If can holder is not used just use the can and use the legs like a tripod.) Grill over Indirect Medium heat until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 170 F in the breast and 180 F in the thickest part of the thigh. 1 - 1/4 to 1 - 1/2 hours. Wearing barbecue mitts, carefully remove the chicken and the can (holder) from the grill. Do not spill the beer, it will be HOT. Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before lifting it from the can (holder). Discard the beer. Cut the chicken into serving pieces. Serve warm. ENJOY!
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Did someone say dessert?? Check out the strawberry cream bars on a chocolate crust that we made for our grand finale. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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Just for a Laugh!!!

I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape,
So I got my doctor's permission to
Join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But,
By the time I got my leotards on, The class was over.