This dish, also known as frango de churrasco à Portuguesa (Portuguese style barbecued chicken), is a famous traditional Portuguese Chicken recipe. It originated during the Age of Discovery, when the Portuguese sailors brought back the chilli peppers (malaguetas) from Mozambique. The Portuguese then combined it with another typical pepper based barbecue sauce. This gave rise to the now unique and delicious Portuguese delicacy known as Chicken Piri-Piri.
You can find this dish easily and readily available in most supermarkets that have a takeaway section, or in specialised chicken takeaway establishments/restaurants throughout the country. It is typically served with chips (fries) and/or rice and salad in a restaurant but you can purchase these separately in the takeaways and supermarkets. You can also opt out of having the piri-piri sauce.
The recipe presented below is for preparing this dish yourself at home. It is also one of several ways to prepare it. You can oven roast the chicken or roast it on an open charcoal grill (electric grill will work fine too). If you decide to grill a whole chicken I suggest you open it down the middle.
If you would like to learn how to read the method and pronounce the ingredients in Portuguese please click on the following links for the videos. The written version is below after the English one.
Beginner (just the ingredients)
Intermediate (ingredients and method at medium speed)
Advanced (ingredients and method at normal conversational speed)
Ingredients for the piri-piri sauce
- 4 heads of garlic
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 large seedless red chilli peppers
- 2 seedless red bell peppers
- 6 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of lemon juice
- 2 tbsp of whiskey or port wine or brandy
Ingredients for chicken
- 4 chicken legs (or a whole chicken)
- 4 tbsp of Piri-Piri sauce
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- A little bit of salt
Preparation of the Piri-Piri sauce
- Separate the garlic cloves, crush them and remove the skin.
- Wash the chillies, cut them into pieces after removing the stem.
- Put all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until everything is well mixed. The intensity of the sauce will decrease when cooking, so taste the sauce now and add more chillies if you want the sauce to come out spicier.
- Continue to liquefy the sauce until it’s thin. Then transfer to a clean, sterilized jar. You can store it in a fridge up to 1 month.
Preparation of the chicken
- Place all the ingredients in a large tray or bowl and mix until the chicken is well covered.
- You can cook the chicken immediately, or let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
- Cook until the skin is crispy and sticky, the meat is easily removed from the bones, and the juices run clear.
Would you prefer to use ready made Piri-Piri instead or can’t get the right chillies in your area? order some sauce here! These were ones I could find on Amazon, prices and shipping fees vary from county to country. (I don’t set these prices) I will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you do order through these links. It’s another way you can help support my work. Thank you in advance!
Amazon.com / Amazon.es / Amazon.de / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.it / Amazon.fr
Ingredientes para o molho piri-piri
- 4 cabeças de alho
- 4 colheres de sopa de vinagre de vinho branco
- 2 malaguetas grandes sem sementes
- 2 pimentos vermelhos doces sem sementes
- 6 colheres de sopa de azeite
- 1 colher de chá de sal
- 1 colher de chá de sumo de limão
- 2 colheres de sopa de whisky ou de vinho do porto ou de brandy
Ingredientes para o frango
- 4 pernas de frango (ou um frango inteiro)
- 4 colheres de sopa de molho Piri-Piri
- 2 colheres de sopa de azeite
- Um pouco de sal
Preparação do molho Piri-Piri
- Separe os dentes de alho, esborrache-os e tire-lhes a pele.
- Lave as malaguetas, corte-as em pedaços depois de retirar o pé.
- Ponha todos os ingredientes do molho num liquidificador e liquidifique até que tudo esteja bem misturado. A intensidade do molho irá diminuir ao cozinhar portanto prove agora o molho e adicione mais malaguetas se desejar que o molho saia mais picante.
- Continue a liquidificar o molho até ficar fino. A seguir transfira para um jarro limpo e esterilizado. Pode guardá-lo frigorífico até 1 mês.
Preparação do Frango
- Coloque todos os ingredientes numa bandeja ou tigela grande e misture até que o frango esteja bem coberto.
- Pode cozinhar o frango imediatamente, ou deixá-lo marinar dum dia para o outro no frigorífico.
- Cozinhe até que a pele esteja estaladiça e pegajosa, a carne se retire facilmente do osso, e os sucos saiam claros.
Bom apetite!
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