Homemade Peri Peri Chicken (with Sauce)
Restaurant-style Peri Peri chicken made at home. Bone-in chicken marinated in a smoky, spicy, tangy sauce built from roasted peppers, garlic, and chilies — then oven-cooked to deep, mahogany char.
Ingredients
For the chicken marination
- 2 lbs bone-in skinless chicken (thighs + drumsticks or leg quarters)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- For the Peri Peri sauce
- 1 small-to-medium red bell pepper halved lengthwise and deseeded
- 1 medium green chili deseeded
- 9 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
- 1 small onion separated into layers
- 2 scotch bonnet peppers optional — skip if unavailable
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp cooking oil any kind
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt or any salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper skip for mild
For grilling
- 3 tbsp butter
For serving
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise or yogurt / sour cream
Instructions
- First marination: Wash the chicken. Cut 3–5 deep slits into each piece. Season all over with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Cover and rest at room temperature for a couple of hours, or refrigerate for longer.
- Roast the sauce vegetables: Preheat oven to 450°F/232°C. Line a baking tray with parchment. Arrange the red bell pepper (cut side down), green chili, garlic cloves, onion layers, and scotch bonnets on the tray. Brush lightly with oil. Roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through, until wilted and lightly charred at the edges.
- Blend the sauce: Transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender or food processor. Add the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, oil, tomato paste, oregano, salt, black pepper, chili flakes, lemon zest, and cayenne. Blend until smooth.
- Reserve, then marinate: Set aside ⅓ cup of the sauce for basting and dipping. Rub the remaining sauce all over the chicken pieces, working it into the slits. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2–3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Bring to room temperature: Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Prepare the rack: Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place a wire rack over it. Rub cold butter directly across the metal bars so the chicken won't stick.
- Bake, baste, flip: Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on the rack. Bake for 40 minutes total. Every 10 minutes, pull the chicken out and brush both sides generously with butter and the reserved sauce, then flip. DO NOT skip the basting.
- Rest: Remove from the oven and rest, loosely covered with foil, for 5–10 minutes. Internal temp should read 165°F/74°C at the thickest part of the thigh.
- Make the creamy dip: Mix any leftover reserved sauce with the mayonnaise (or yogurt / sour cream). Taste and adjust — more salt, more mayo to mellow the heat, or a pinch of sugar for sweetness.
- Serve: Serve hot with lemon wedges and your choice of sides — fries, rice, naan, coleslaw, or corn on the cob.
Notes
- No grill? No problem. Elevating the chicken on a buttered wire rack over a baking sheet mimics an outdoor grill. Hot air circulates underneath, creating a charred finish without letting the chicken sit in its own juices.
- Foil-bake option. For extra-juicy, tender meat over a grilled-skin texture, cover the tray tightly with foil for the first 30 minutes, then uncover, baste, and finish under the broiler.
- The sauce keeps for up to 2 weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer.
- Marinated raw chicken can be frozen for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then let it come to room temperature before cooking.
- ALWAYS use a meat thermometer to check doneness. Internal temp should reach 165°F/74°C at the thickest part of the thigh.
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