Lemon & Herb Piri Piri Chicken
Written by: Rachel Phipps
Tangy, spicy charred piri piri chicken is one of the best things to make on the barbecue, and this recipe has scalable heat levels. Make it as written for medium to spicy chicken (depending if you leave the seeds in the chillies or not), switch the birds eye chilli for another regular one and remove all the seeds for a mild version (perfect for small children!), and switch out the sweet smoked paprika for a hot version to make things extra spicy.
The chicken is dropped straight off the grill into a second lemon and herb marinade which guarantees super-juicy chicken every single time!
Instructions
Blitz half the lemon juice, the garlic, sea salt, chillies, sweet smoked paprika, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, 1 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil and the sugar into a relatively smooth marinade.
Pour it over the chicken, toss to coat, and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Prepare the barbecue to cook over an area of high heat with a cooler area off to one side for resting the chicken.
In a large, heat-proof bowl, stir together the rest of the lemon juice, olive oil, a pinch of salt and the chopped herbs.
Cook the chicken in batches over the area of high heat, moving to the area of low heat to finish cooking once they’re nice and charred on the outside.
Once the chicken is cooked, transfer it to the second marinade, give everything a good stir to coat, then serve.
Ingredients
Available in store
- juice 1 lemon, divided
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp sea salt, plus extra for the second marinade
- 2 red chillies + 1 birds eye chilli, or 3 red chillies
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- small handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
- small handful tarragon or coriander, chopped