Neil Perry's piri-piri chicken
This spicy, delicious dish is made for eating with your fingers.
Ingredients
FOR THE PIRI-PIRI OIL
120g medium-long red chilli
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic
30ml red wine vinegar
30ml whisky (optional, but provides great flavour)
juice of 1 lemon
1 bay leaf
250ml olive oil
FOR THE MARINATED CHICKEN
1.6kg whole chicken, washed and patted dry
sea salt
30ml piri-piri oil
10g smoked paprika
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10g thyme, finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
lemon wedges, to serve
Method
1. For the piri-piri oil, place all the ingredients except the oil into a blender and blitz until smooth, slowly adding the oil after 20 seconds. Place in a container and let sit for a minimum of 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
2. For the chicken, use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to remove the backbone. Then flatten it out by placing it skin side up on a cutting board and applying firm pressure to the breastbone. Rub with sea salt in both the cavity and skin before transferring it to a wire rack set over a foil-lined baking tray.
3. In a bowl, combine the 30ml piri-piri oil, smoked paprika, garlic, thyme and lemon juice and mix well to combine. Rub mixture all over the chicken and allow chicken to marinate for 1 hour or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 240ËšC (220ËšC fan-forced). Roast the chicken, basting occasionally with extra piri-piri oil until cooked through, about 25 minutes. The juice should run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
5. Remove chicken from the oven, and allow to rest before carving and serving with extra piri-piri oil and lemon wedges.
Appears in these collections
The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.
Sign up
Neil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.
