man, I must've watched you for 12 years since I was in highschool. You taught me how to make roux, how to sear meat, how to bake a chicken. You made me a designated chef in my friend group every single time we camped. Thank you Chef John (and a lot of Food Network/Asian Food Channel on the TV) for you taught me how to live. When I lived alone, I had all the tools I need to not eat out. I can make any pasta, cook whatever meat I want. And you continue to be such a cheerful and bright personality on RU-vid and teach other young people how to take care of themselves. Thank you Chef John.
Good for you for being grateful!!! I too learned a lot from various cooking shows growing up. I'm older so I watched a lot on PBS. Yan Can Cook was a fav of mine, before cooking shows became competitive death matches. So grateful to be able to make good food whatever the available ingredients; canned chic pea falafel, scratch pancakes... beans lol. This chef brings back some of that nostalgia. Also he seems nice 🙂
"Don't use the stuff from the marinade. That would not be safe. But don't let me tell you what to do. After all, you are the Magnum P.I. of determining whether or not you get E. Coli."
I'm always so happy when I see Portuguese recipes on Food Wishes, and this is quite a good version of piri-piri, quite similar to the one I usually make with my father. My only remarks would be to loose the sugar, you don't need it at all, and to use dried oregano as well as thyme.
I read about peri peri chicken in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith where one of the husbands just absolutely adored the stuff but have never tried it! Thanks!
Hey Mr. Chef John. I thought this was cool so I would share it with you. For Memorial Day our unit had a bbq we shared with the Brits on our base, and one of our people made your honey Sriracha wings. The Brits loved it so much that they asked for your recipe for it, so you at least got 1 new subscriber from that.
Then go watch Scott Rea the butcher, when he inflates pig lungs! :P Actually you should go watch his videos, his butchery techniques go really well with Food Wishes recipes.
For one of my favorite recipes of yours, the hot chicken thighs, you said to work the marinade into all the thigh crannies so thoroughly you'd be embarrassed if someone came into the kitchen and saw you. I never forgot that.
It's probably impertinent of me to offer a suggestion but I can't help it. When I make marinated chicken thighs, instead of slashing through the skin, I separate the skin from the meat with my fingers and turn it inside-out, allowing a fringe or two to keep the skin attached to the thigh but opening up all the meat and both sides of the skin to the marinade. When I put them in the pan, I return the skin to its original configuration while keeping as much marinade as possible between the skin and the meat. I believe I prefer the results but now feel a side-by-side comparison may be in order and we've got some thighs in the freezer.
Peri Peri sauce is very expensive in USA, like $5 for a tiny bottle that isn't enough to cook this much chicken with. Nice to see I can just make it at home.
I was introduced to peri peri spice when Mom brought home a jar from South Africa after her first trip there (while dating my stepdad). Her not-yet sister-in-law had them over and made grilled chicken seasoned with peri peri spice. Now Mom didn’t help her prep said chicken, so she hadn’t seen how much Pam used or how, but she loved it. Fast forward to Mom and I preparing to roast some cut up chicken using her new find. We sprinkled. It looks like Lawry’s seasoned salt. I asked if it was enough. Now this was almost 40 years ago, so no internet to consult. “I don’t know. Maybe a bit more. What could it hurt?” I know for a fact that she went in for a third sprinkle before we put it in the oven because I caught her. We dove into our chicken while watching TV, finding out that “liberally” was *not* the way to use this spice blend. It took several beverages, adult and non, to cool the fire in our mouths, but it was good. Then we heard my younger sister come home from wherever she’d been. (We were both in college.). We heard the pan rattle on the stove. We heard her walk to her room. I asked Mom if we should tell her. “She’s an adult. She can ask.” Then came the holler, her door opening fast and the stomps to where we were. “What did you do to this chicken?!” “Baked it?” And she said it with a straight face. “We tried my spice from R’s sister that I brought back.” P was so mad. But it did serve her right. She had a bad habit of eating entire meals worth of leftovers planned for easy dinners as “snacks”, despite her petite size. She never just grabbed food without asking what it was after that. While Mom and I loved spicy, P was more “white bread”. Her tastes have evolved as we’ve gotten older, but not to the spicy experimentation of Mom and I. I miss Mom.
I've got a bottle of Peri Peri from Trader Joe's in my fridge. It never even occurred to me to use it as a marinade. It's great as a standalone condiment.
One thing you can do with chicken is make slits as Chef John did and in addition, use a fork to poke holes in the chicken meat. This way the marinade penetrates deep in the chicken meat
I feel like this would be good with some yogurt added to the marinade. Like a spicy tandoor. I think if I try it, like I know I'm going to, I'll do half with yogurt to find out. Thanks chef John.
First time I had this was in Langham Scotland and I loved it. The innkeeper 's wife was an amazing chef. I haven't found another recipe that was as good until now. Thank you. Now if you would do clootie dumplings with custard sauce and Sussex pond pudding I could die content....after eating those of course.
i feel ya on the cheap grill. i bought an "old smokey" grill for 50 bucks and well hot damn, the thing just works well and still looking pretty good almost 2 years later. only thing i did was add a temp reader to the top and added 2 bricks to the bottom to raise the coals a little higher for a better sear. things really good tho. i want to get a new smoker but the little thing just aint dying
During my stay in Lisbon, I made it my mission to try as many different piri-piri places as possible. In case anybody is interested, PAK Grelha in Campo de Ourique was my favorite. Super affordable as well.
I’ve got that same piece of crap grill! Last tenant left it when they moved. It’s great for half cooking or burning meat to a cinder. Oh the charred rawness! I did smoke an amazing pork loin once. Not the grills fault. Took me awhile to learn to use it.
Chef John, I’m sure you know this trick. Take a whole chicken and cut it into pieces and then grill that after marinating, it will be much more tender the chickens that we raise here in the US to be used as whole chickens tend to be much more tender than the ones that are raised to be used for the breasts and the legs separately. Also usually if you get a smaller chicken that can help as well then you will have less of a struggle to make sure that it’s fully cooked and tender.
If there are no peri peri peppers in it, it is not a peri peri sauce and it is not peri peri chicken. It is something else, isn't it? Both Nando's and Trader Joe have a decent Peri peri sauce. Nando's HOT peri peri is my current favourite hot sauce followed closely by Dirty Dick's Hot Sauce.
Yeah this is real info - been cooking chicken thighs (bone and skin on) and realizing that whilst it's "safe", it actually is not as good as letting it go longer. Dark meat can take it and it gets a better texture 100%.
I was pleased to hear this as well. The same is true with wings; they're cooked through, but not enough. I have, SO MANY TIMES, ordered wings and explained to the server, "you cannot overcook them - if they come out slimy, I won't eat them." Breakdown is a must! 😄
Get some cheeky Nando's with the lads at home. Nice. I'll have to try this and compare it to Nando's. I've bought their sauces, but they don't work well as marinades. They sell dry rubs, but they aren't the same either
This looks like a delicious chicken recipe, but its my national duty as a southern african to correct you that this isnt Peri Peri. imitation peri peri maybe, and im sure its delicious, but Peri Peri is defined by the African Birdseye chilli.
Chef John, Since We Are Using The Bowl to Prevent Leaks from The Bag, How About We Eliminate The Bag ( Save The Planet) and Just Marinate in The Bowl Itsself 😊 Just a Thought
I think the idea is that you can get away with less sauce if it's held tight around the chicken in a sealed bag. Also, if marinating in a bowl, it would usually be covered by plastic wrap.
I have to admit being skeptical about the lack of bird's eye chiles but this sauce is next level great. I made it just to check it out, will get chicken tomorrow. Couple things I did different: ACV because I couldn't find malt vinegar; first blended the garlic and lemon by themselves to inhibit allicin reactions; pulsed the other ingredients to get a redder chunkier finish instead of smooth blending. Also left the seeds in the habanero. Can't wait to marinate some thighs, figure I'll grill indirect around 375 until done. Thanks for another winner Chef John!
Cool cheat to use when cooking chicken on the grill: pre-cook it in the oven with the sauce/marinade for about an hour at 130C wrapped in tinfoil. Then finish cooking/reheat over open flame on the grill. Perfectly cooked chicken with flame grilled charry bits each time. I've done it with Jamaican jerk marinade but the method would work perfectly well with this marinade too. Great fool-proof method if you have a bunch of people coming over and you don't want to be stressing about charred chicken that might still be raw. BBQ purists will take offense but you can do the oven part on an indirect smoker for similar yet smokier results.
The fact that you stressed "cooked enough" as opposed to "cooked through" is the ABSOLUTE best advice I've ever heard from any cooking tutorial. The rote cooks all say, "165 and it's done". Yes, it's cooked through, but not enough.
There good peri peri all across the Algarve coast. Best I had was in Lagos. You just can’t go wrong anywhere. I’m not big on seafood which is what is so popular so I was seeking out all the peri peri places.
@psykofant69 i agree. But the best I've had was in the small bar I've stated, so i can't comment on the other restaurants on the algarve. I do like to watch one foot in the algarve if you know what I'm on about. Check it out you might be amused 😄 😆
As for a grill, i would recommend a weber kettle. I own one myself. It's a bit more expensive than any "Expert Grill": version, but it is worth the price and you cannot beat the versatility and easy of use, especially when you factor in all the accessories that make it even more versatile.
Chef John, I was waiting for a description of how beri beri sauce differs in flavor from other hot sauces. The ingredients seem sort of normal. Could you elaborate on what makes it special? Thank you.
Chef John, we made these the other day and they were super yummy and super easy! I’m looking forward to sharing peri peri chicken with my friends on Fourth of July now :)
I used to get a peri-peri chicken pita from the one diner in the office building across the street from my last employer. I think they liked me there because I could take the heat (to the point where I asked them to make it hotter :D) I think they delighted in trying to make a hot AF peri peri sauce, but it was never too hot for me, just delicious.
Apart from the “wrong” chillies (as you said, Birds Eye chillies are essential for the authentic recipe) this is closest to the traditional (and ORIGINAL) Moçambiquean recipe (it is periodically basted with marinade and butter. It is served crispy and moist (not drenched in sauce like they do in Nando’s (the more South African (NOT traditional) version of Peri-peri chicken.
Chef, as nearly any BBQ pitmaster will tell you. You need a two zone fire on your grill. A hot zone and a not hot zone. Grilling chicken directly over hot coals has never worked for me. I want to low and slow it for the last 1/2 of the cooking time, and don't be afraid to wrap the chicken in butcher paper or foil for 14 or 21 minutes to tenderize it. No one likes pink near the bone.
My take on it, and being an Ashkenazi Gaucho from the praires of Israel I've been in charge of it in my family since I was 13, is to use an outragous amount of garlic, lemon zest as well as lemon juice, and bay leaves. I also like to use several types of fresh and dried hot peppers because I like to add layers and variations of hotness. I don't use a food processor, but rather, I put all the ingredients in a jar and shake it vigorously for some time, to incorporate everything.
I have such bad heartburn right now. I hate my digestive system. I love spices and peppers but I can’t eat anything. I live in a bland world and I am miserable.
1. Just a little bit of sugar or honey to the marinade. 2. Left over marinade transfer to a container and put it on the grill together with the chicken. It will concentrate, and become safe from any bacteria. 3. If you want flavor to the bones just bring the chicken. 4. Use a thermometer and the chicken will be cooled perfectly every time.
When I first saw your grill in previous videos it made me and my hubby feel better about ourselves because our neighbors and family have grills that cost as much as my car. Not us, our grill looks a lot like yours!
It's easiest to first cook/poach the thighs, this way you always get them perfectly cooked and they dont take up space on the bbq for an hour and fifteen minutes.
THANKS so much for this - I love all your vids --- but I prefer to bash this all together on a pestle and mortar so it stays a lot more red and has a deeper flavour!
What ever happened to recipes that I actually had the ingredients for in the pantry? The last several recipes you've posted I would have to run to the international market and spend $$.
