# Harry's healthy piri piri chicken



## Harry Cobean (Aug 8, 2012)

this is probably the most fat free,tastiest,downright feel good,packed with good stuff & blow your socks off dish i cook,i implore you to try it & as they say in the house of commons "mr speaker,honourable ladies & gentlemen,i commend this recipe to the house".four things before i start:
1)it works just as well with skinless joints as whole chicken...forget breast meat,use thighs & drummers,that's where the flavour is 
2)mr speaker i make no apologies to the right honourable members of the opposition for using bottled peppers,i have done the charring,polythene bag,scraping of peppers malarkey,these are better imo
3)the marinade used as a condiment HAS NOT been anywhere near the chook.i reserved it after making it from the main batch BEFORE marinading with the rest.
4)NO additional oil or fat is used
mr speaker,may i continue please? thank you
a)skinless super trimmed spatchcock poussin or joints scored to the bone
b)roasted red peppers in brine from a jar
c)indian finger chillies or other hot chillies to taste
d)peeled garlic cloves to taste
e)peeled shallots or red onions
f)juice of one small lemon & lime
g)tablespoon red wine vinegar
h)heaped teaspoon ground cumin
i)one chipotle chilli
j)sea salt & ground black pepper
k)large pinch of caster sugar
chop b,c,d,e,i & chuck in a food processor with f,g,h,j,k & whizz til blended & smooth.
reserve as much or as little as you like as condiment
cover the chicken with the rest,film up & put in fridge for minimum two hours,preferably all day.
preheat oven to 230c/420f
scrape off as much marinade as possible & bake in top of oven til cooked & you have some nice charred bits here & there.
while the chook is cooking bring the reserved marinade to the boil in a pan & add a couple of glugs of tomato ketchup to sweeten/add depth.simmer til you are happy with consistency/taste
ENJOY...this stuff does you good,i know,i've just eaten it


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## buckytom (Aug 8, 2012)

another keeper. 

thanks again, buddy.


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 8, 2012)

buckytom said:


> another keeper.
> 
> thanks again, buddy.


thanks mate,this one is a gem & man does it pack a punch flavour wise.wish i had a grill here to cook it on...even better!


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## Gravy Queen (Aug 8, 2012)

What's the house of commons got to do with the price of fish . Harry did they mess up your meds again ? 

So apart from the voices in your head it looks good . I might be fagged but my iPad wants me to be gagged.


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## TATTRAT (Aug 8, 2012)

One of my all time faves from South Africa! We have a Nandos Peri Peri downtown that is quite good, but I am sure this homemade version is better! Thanks for sharing, Harry!


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## jennyema (Aug 8, 2012)

I'll be making this soon!!  Seriously up my ally.

Thanks!!

2 questions:

Have you ever grilled the chix?

Why boil the marinade/ketchup?


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## TATTRAT (Aug 8, 2012)

jennyema said:


> I'll be making this soon!!  Seriously up my ally.
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> ...



I am pretty sure it's just to cook down/reduce the sauce a bit, and intensify the flavors. 

Also, over charcoal is the ultimate way to have at it, IMO. 

Still a great base line recipe, easily tweaked to suit your own preference.


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## jennyema (Aug 8, 2012)

Thanks

Makes perfect sense.


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## Andy M. (Aug 9, 2012)

Going to give this a try.  Thanks Harry.


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## Cheryl J (Aug 9, 2012)

Sounds great, Harry.  I love your detailed descriptions, and the pics to go along with it, and your writing style, lol.... 

Holy cow, y'all sure have some big shallots over there on your side of the pond!  I've seen them in other pics you've posted, too.  Ours are not that big over here, at least that I've seen.  Anyhow, great pics and wonderful looking dish!


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## Souvlaki (Aug 9, 2012)

Nice, simple and healthy 
thanks for the post and the photos. 
I am going to grill this soon....weekend is coming


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 9, 2012)

Gravy Queen said:


> What's the house of commons got to do with the price of fish . Harry did they mess up your meds again ?
> 
> So apart from the voices in your head it looks good . I might be fagged but my iPad wants me to be gagged.


gonna stand in the local elections(no,i spelt that right)for the spit roast party.just practicing for pm's question time!probably got more to do with finishing off the left over sherry in the sun yesterday.did you shout at the gulls hun?


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 9, 2012)

jennyema said:


> I'll be making this soon!!  Seriously up my ally.
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> ...





TATTRAT said:


> I am pretty sure it's just to cook down/reduce the sauce a bit, and intensify the flavors.
> 
> Also, over charcoal is the ultimate way to have at it, IMO.
> 
> Still a great base line recipe, easily tweaked to suit your own preference.


tatts spot on jenny.two other reasons as well
a)there is quite a bit of citrus/vinegar in it for the total quantity of ingredients & it is quite a "liquid" marinade so the boiling drives off the acidity,the ketchup sweetens & deepens & as tatt said it reduces it so you end up with something that doesn't flood your plate with liquid.
b)personally i don't like using marinade as a dressing/condiment that has been in contact with raw meat.i know you can & i do occasionally so i thought it important to point out that it should be boiled incase someone used the meat marinade.you & i & most other people on here know that but,better safe than sorry jenny
i have grilled this & once again tatt is right,grilling is the ultimate.the important thing is fast cooking at high heat.the chook is skinless so will lose moisture unless it is hot & fast.just like tandoori chicken which is also skinless
ENJOY!


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 9, 2012)

Souvlaki said:


> Nice, simple and healthy
> thanks for the post and the photos.
> I am going to grill this soon....weekend is coming


you actually do feel good after eating this souv.lots of chilli,peppers,garlic etc & no fat or oil,not even chicken skin.....just like tandoori chicken unless you brush it with ghee as some indian restaurants do i believe which,hey,ain't so bad now & again either


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 9, 2012)

Cheryl J said:


> Sounds great, Harry.  I love your detailed descriptions, and the pics to go along with it, and your writing style, lol....
> 
> Holy cow, y'all sure have some big shallots over there on your side of the pond!  I've seen them in other pics you've posted, too.  Ours are not that big over here, at least that I've seen.  Anyhow, great pics and wonderful looking dish!


thanks C,glad you approve
they are echalion shallots.you can grow them from seed unlike other shallots that you can grow from seed & sets,these tend to go straight to flower if you plant them as sets.they are my fav "onion".beautiful looking & sweet enough to use raw in salads etc.because of all the rain we've had the onion/potato crops here have been delayed so these are turkish imports.absolutely delish but the british crop tends to be milder in flavour


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 9, 2012)

TATTRAT said:


> One of my all time faves from South Africa! We have a Nandos Peri Peri downtown that is quite good, but I am sure this homemade version is better! Thanks for sharing, Harry!


cheers tatt i like it.as well a being an almost fat free dish you don't get the flare ups if you grill it 'cos it's skinless,so no fat to drip on the coals & being scored/skinless the marinade works right into the meat!


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 9, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Going to give this a try.  Thanks Harry.


glad you approve!!


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## Gravy Queen (Aug 9, 2012)

TATTRAT said:


> One of my all time faves from South Africa! We have a Nandos Peri Peri downtown that is quite good, but I am sure this homemade version is better! Thanks for sharing, Harry!



I thought piri piri was Portuguese ?


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## TATTRAT (Aug 9, 2012)

Gravy Queen said:


> I thought piri piri was Portuguese ?



Peri Peri African Chicken Recipe - Food.com - 232763

With the sauce based on the African Peri Peri Pepper

And the restaurant we go

Nando's - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Though, I see it does say it has portuguese influence.

Either way, it's fantastic eats.


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## Kylie1969 (Aug 14, 2012)

Sounds great and looks lovely


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## Kylie1969 (Aug 14, 2012)

Gravy Queen said:


> I thought piri piri was Portuguese ?



I thought it was too GQ


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## Kylie1969 (Aug 14, 2012)

TATTRAT said:


> One of my all time faves from South Africa! We have a Nandos Peri Peri downtown that is quite good, but I am sure this homemade version is better! Thanks for sharing, Harry!



We have Nandos here too and I love their Piri Piri chicken...and their burgers


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 14, 2012)

Kylie1969 said:


> Sounds great and looks lovely


heavyweight punches of flavour & heat plus no fat or oil....winner winner piri piri chicken dinner!!


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## Kylie1969 (Aug 14, 2012)

I am sure Steve will love this too...I will copy and paste this one for sure


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## Harry Cobean (Aug 14, 2012)

Kylie1969 said:


> I am sure Steve will love this too...I will copy and paste this one for sure


sure he will k,perfect hot weather grub!


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## Kylie1969 (Aug 15, 2012)

Thats what we need for our summers


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