This peri-peri chicken will excite everyone around the table. It’s perfect for sharing with all your homemade Nando’s inspired sides.

What is Peri-Peri Chicken

Peri-peri chicken is a popular dish in the UK thanks to the rise of high street restaurant chain Nando’s. The chicken is marinated in its famous Peri-peri sauce and is usually finished on a grill; however, this recipe uses an oven.

The sauce used for peri-peri chicken earned its name from the variety of chilli used to make it. It’s also known as the African bird’s eye chilli and packs incredible heat for such a small pepper. I devised this recipe using my homemade peri-peri style sauce; however, it can be sped up using Nando’s brand of peri-peri sauces and marinades. 

Perinaise

Perinaise is a Nando’s condiment.  In essence, perinaise is a mix of mayonnaise and peri-peri sauce. The name comes from the combination of the terms peri-peri and mayonnaise.

Cooking Peri-Peri Chicken

First, remove the marinated chicken from the fridge half an hour before cooking so the meat can come to room temperature. This will help even out the cooking, resulting in a juicier bird.

Roasting the chicken in the oven will ensure the whole chicken cooks through. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees to allow the skin to brown and blister. The recipe calls for adding a splash of water to the roasting tray. This helps keep the chicken moist while it prevents the marinade from running from the chicken and evaporation.

The chicken will roast for around an hour, depending on the size of the bird. However, it’s important to baste the chicken regularly during cooking. I recommended basting the peri-peri chicken with the sauce at least twice. It’s also important when cooking meat to allow it to rest. This will help relax the muscle fibres and let the internal water within the chicken settle, resulting in juicer flesh.

The recipe can also be adapted to use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken. Remember to reduce the cooking time depending on the chicken pieces used.

Peri-Peri Chicken with Perinaise

This peri-peri chicken will excite everyone around the table. It’s perfect for sharing with all your homemade Nando’s inspired sides.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Resting Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, South African

Servings 6

Calories 330 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 Whole Chicken Spatchcocked
• 400 ml of Peri-Peri Sauce
• 100 ml water
• Salt to taste

For the Perinaise

• 100 g of Mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp of Peri-Peri Sauce
• Salt to Taste

Instructions

 

• For the perinaise, mix everything listed together, then season to taste.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper according to preference, then mix in half of the marinade. Leave in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 220C or 200C Fan 0r 425F or Gas 7
• Remove the chicken from the fridge half an hour before cooking and place it into a roasting tray. Add 100ml of water to the base of the dish.
• Roast the chicken for an hour or until the juice runs clear or the internal temperature reads 75 degrees centigrade on a temperature probe. Baste the chicken regularly while cooking.
• When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve with the Perinaise.

Keyword chicken, Fakeaway, Nandos, Peri-peri, Spatchcock, Spicy, Takeaway

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