Spatchcocked chicken and tomatoes grilling on a barbecue

Spatchcocked Piri-Piri Chicken

Annabelle Waugh

Restaurant-style churrasco chicken, covered in rich and super-spicy piri-piri sauce, is straightforward to make yourself. Piri-piri is typically made with bird’s eye chilies, but hot, long finger peppers are easier to find and a little milder. Spatchcocking—removing the backbone and flattening—helps chicken grill quickly and evenly.

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Course dinner

Cuisine Portuguese

Servings people

Equipment

Grill

Ingredients

Spatchcocked Piri-Piri Chicken

6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tsp lime zest
⅓ cup lime juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 whole chicken (1.5) kg
1 tsp salt
Piri-piri sauce (recipe follows)

Piri-Piri Sauce

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 hot red finger peppers, stemmed and seeded
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 fresh bay leaf
¼ cup lemon juice
½ tsp salt

Instructions

Spatchcocked Piri-Piri Chicken

In a large, non-reactive bowl or dish, combine garlic, lime zest and juice, and oil. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken along each side of the backbone; discard backbone. Turn chicken, breast side up; press firmly on breastbone to flatten. Add chicken to oil mixture, turning and rubbingall over to coat. Loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
Set foil drip pan under one rack of two-burner barbecue or under centre rack of three-burner barbecue. Pre-heat remaining burners tomedium-high (about 375°F). Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off. Sprinkle chicken all over with salt and discard any remaining marinade.
Place chicken, skin-side up, on greased grill over drip pan; close lid and grill, flipping twice, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced and thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 185°F, about 1 hour. Baste with piri-piri sauce in the last 15 minutes.
Remove to cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with remaining piri-piri sauce.

Piri-Piri Sauce

In a blender or food processor, whirl all ingredients until smooth. Transfer to bowl; refrigerate till serving.

Notes

TIP: To carve a spatchcocked chicken, slice through the breastbone to halve the bird. Cut between the legs and breasts, then between the drumsticks and thighs at the joint. Cut breasts in half, through the bone, on a slight diagonal.

Keyword chicken, grilling

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