Peri Peri Chicken

Who doesn’t love peri peri chicken???

I use jalapeño chillies for this just to reduce the heat a little for my sons but feel free to add more chilli or consider using the seeds.

I always roast two chooks, one just isn’t enough these days in my house, leftovers are great in quesadillas and nachos or topping a crunchy salad. Consider making stock with the bones, roast the chooks on the removed spines so they act as a rack and then all the bones can be used for stock, I like to make a sweetcorn soup with this stock.

Ingredients

2 x 1.4kg chickens, spines removed and butterflied

2 limes

8 large garlic cloves

4 green jalapeños, 2 chopped with seeds, 2 chopped with seeds removed

50mls honey

salt and pepper

Method

Prepare the chicken by removing the spines with poultry shears and then pressing down on the breasts to flatten.

Combine the lime juice, garlic, chilli, honey and seasoning in a bowl and then use a stick blender to process.

Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover and marinade for 6-24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Lift the chicken out of the marinade and lay in a roasting tin, reserve the marinade. Wrap a little foil around the wing tips if they are on the upper side of the chicken like mine.

Slide the chicken into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, brushing regularly with the reserved marinade and pan juices. Towards the end of cooking, remove the foil from the wings and marinade with the rest of the chook.

Allow to rest for 10-20 minutes before serving.