Piri-Piri Chicken

Chicken

• whole chicken1½ kg
• salt2 tsp
• lemons1

Piri-piri baste

• piri-piri chillies6–10
• garlic4 clove
• smoked paprika1 tbsp
• red wine vinegar3 tbsp
• lemons1
• extra virgin olive oil100 ml
• bay leaves1
• salt1 tsp
• whisky (optional)1 tbsp

Piri-piri baste

1. 01

   Put the chillies, garlic, smoked paprika, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, salt and the whisky, if using, in a small blender and blitz to a coarse paste.

2. 02

   With the motor running, pour in the olive oil until you have a loose, pourable red sauce. Tear the bay leaf in two and stir it in.

3. 03

   Pour a third of the baste into a jar with one half of the bay leaf and put it in the fridge. That is the one that goes on the table, and it must never touch the raw chicken.

Chicken

4. 04

   If the bird is not already spatchcocked, put it breast down, cut along both sides of the backbone with kitchen shears and remove it. Turn it over and press hard on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until it cracks and the bird lies flat.

5. 05

   Slash the thighs and drumsticks to the bone twice each, salt the bird all over including the underside, and rub the remaining two thirds of the baste into every surface and into the cuts.

6. 06

   Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Take it out 30 minutes before cooking so it is not fridge cold.

7. 07

   Heat the oven to 200°C. Lay the chicken skin side up on a rack over a roasting tin and roast for 25 minutes.

8. 08

   Spoon the pan juices over the bird and roast for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is dark red and blistered and the juices from the thickest part of the thigh run clear. A probe in the thigh should read 75°C.

9. 09

   Rest on a board for 10 minutes, then cut into pieces through the joints. Cut the lemon into wedges and serve with the chicken and the reserved baste, bay leaf removed.