Peri Peri Chicken
This Peri Peri Chicken recipe is so amazing! It’s all about the sauce and it definitely has a punch of flavor!
Ingredients
PERI PERI SAUCE
- 1 1/4 cups white onions, roughly chopped
- 1 1/4 cups red peppers, roughly chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 to 4 whole bird's eye chili peppers, stem removed
- 2 tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp. ground Himalayan sea salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 1/2 cup canola oil tips & tricks
- 2 ounces Port wine
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice tips & tricks
- 4 large chicken legs, skin on and bone-in
YOGURT SAUCE
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice tips & tricks
- 1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped plus more for garnish tips & tricks
- ground Himalayan sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
Directions
- In the jar of a blender, add white onions, red peppers, garlic cloves, bird’s eye chili peppers, smoked paprika, brown sugar, rosemary, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, canola oil, Port wine and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Place the lid and process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a large measuring cup and set aside.
- In a 9x13-inch baking dish, place the chicken legs and pour just enough sauce to coat; flip them and pour on more sauce.
- Leave them skin side up, cover and transfer to the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Cover the remaining sauce and set aside for later.
- A few hours later, take the chicken legs out of the fridge and bring them back to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all the yogurt sauce ingredients. Stir well, cover and keep chilled until needed.
- Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and carefully flip them on the other side before spooning on half of the remaining peri-peri sauce on top of the legs making sure to cover the surface.
- Return them back to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
- When time is up, take them out, flip them again (skin side up) and spoon on the remaining peri-peri sauce, covering the meat entirely.
- Return them to the oven for the last 20 minutes.
- When the cooking is done, put the broiler on and cook them for 5 minutes or until nicely charred. Remove from the heat and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- When ready to eat, sprinkle on some fresh chopped cilantro and serve with yogurt sauce and a side of salad and roasted potatoes.