Recipe: the world-famous piri piri chicken
South African cuisine encompasses so much more than just the world-famous braai. And if anyone knows how to showcase that surprising cuisine, it is South African-born chef Duncan Welgemoed. He does so in Australia, where his restaurant Africola won the award for best restaurant within a year of opening. And recently, the Africola cookbook was also published, featuring the best-kept recipes from the Africola kitchen. Such as this fantastic piri piri chicken.
“Okay, come on in, kids. Time for a serious talk. Chicken piripiri is the most important dish in my entire life, because food from Mozambique and Portugal was central to my childhood in Johannesburg. This recipe comes from my father, the most important man in my life (apart from my two sons), and I haven’t changed a thing about it. It is better than pretty much all the other recipes for this dish and it leaves no trace of those sacrilegious, famous, franchised, overcooked and far too expensive chickens whose name I cannot mention for legal reasons. That’s why I call them N@NDHOES. As a tribute to my father, my beautiful city Johannesburg and the chefs who prepare this dish day in, day out… I present here the world-famous piri piri chicken that makes N@NDOES look ridiculous.”
How to make the piri piri chicken
- For the piri piri sauce, preheat the oven to 180 °C. Place all the chillies on a baking tray and roast them for 10 minutes.
- Let the chillies cool and roughly chop them. Put them in a saucepan with the garlic, salt, bay leaves, paprika, olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice and heat for 2–3 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool, then purée it into a smooth sauce in a blender or food processor. Store the sauce at room temperature in a container with a tightly fitting lid; the sauce will keep for a month. Shake before use.
- For the brine, put all the ingredients plus 1 litre of water in a large pan and bring to the boil. Let the brine cool, then place the chicken in it overnight. When you want to prepare the chicken, remove it from the brine and rinse it with cold water.
- Put the chicken in a bowl and pour half of the sauce over it. Spread the sauce over the chicken and leave it to marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
- Light your braai. When the coals are grey, place the chicken on the grill above them. Put the lid on the braai and grill the meat for 10–15 minutes on both sides, or until the chicken is cooked through. Lift the lid occasionally and baste the chicken with the rest of the marinade. Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, sprinkle the smoking wood over the coals and put the lid on the braai.
- Serve the chicken with extra piri piri sauce, lemon wedges and soft bread rolls.
Title: Africola
Author: Duncan Welgemoed
Price: €29,99
Publisher: Fontaine Uitgevers
Read also:
