PortugueseMain

Peri Peri Chicken

Name: Peri Peri Chicken
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 6 cloves garlic; 3 medium shallots, roughly chopped; 5 Fresno chiles, roughly chopped; 1 tsp salt; 3 dried bay leaves; 3 tbsp smoked paprika; 16 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped; 4 tbsp tomato paste; 1 lemon, juiced; 1½ tbsp white wine vinegar; ¾ cup olive oil, (177 ml); chicken pieces, enough for up to 2 whole chickens; smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, for dusting; 3 tbsp unsalted butter, for the basting sauce

Grilled chicken in a Fresno-chile, smoked paprika, and lemon marinade, basted with a buttery reduced sauce.

Jump to recipe

Not rated

Ingredients

Marinade

6 clovesgarlic
3medium shallots, roughly chopped
5Fresno chiles, roughly chopped
1 tspsalt
3dried bay leaves
3 tbspsmoked paprika
16 sprigsthyme, leaves stripped
4 tbsptomato paste
1lemon, juiced
1½ tbspwhite wine vinegar
¾ cupolive oil, (177 ml)

Chicken

chicken pieces, enough for up to 2 whole chickens
smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, for dusting
3 tbspunsalted butter, for the basting sauce

Method

Step 1: Blend all marinade ingredients in a food processor until you get a liquid marinade; a bit chunky is fine. Add more oil if it's too thick.
Step 2: Set aside half the marinade for later. The other half is plenty for about 2 whole chickens or a few dozen pieces.
Step 3: Dust the chicken with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, then coat everything in the marinade.
Step 4: Marinate 6–8 hours. Longer is better, but overnight is probably too long.
About 7 hr
Step 5: When ready to grill, heat the reserved marinade in a saucepan for 10 minutes, stirring, to cook off the raw flavor. Finish by stirring in the butter.
About 10 min
Step 6: Grill over medium heat or it might flare up (I learned this lesson!). Flip every 3–4 minutes, basting each side with the cooked sauce. Ideally flip 4–5 times.

Version 1 · updated November 15, 2026