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Chicken

Baked Piri Piri Chicken Thighs

With Portuguese and southern African roots, piri piri is a spicy chile sauce that has become popular globally. Here we blend hot peppers (bird's eye chiles) with sweet bell peppers, vinegar, lemon, garlic and bay leaves to season baked chicken thighs. This easy, healthy chicken recipe is designed to make more than you need for one dinner. See Tips for ideas for using the leftovers to make healthy chicken tacos, grain bowls and salads.

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

20 mins

Servings:

4

Ingredients

  • 2 large red bell peppers, halved
  • 1 medium red onion, halved
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 dried bird's eye chiles or serrano chiles, stemmed and seeded, if desired
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • ¼ cup red-wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed
  • charred lemon for garnish

Directions

  1. Position racks in middle and upper thirds of oven. Preheat broiler to high. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Place bell peppers, onion and garlic on the prepared pan. Broil on the top rack, turning often, until charred on all sides, about 8 minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
  3. Meanwhile, heat oil and chiles in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chiles start to darken in color, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Coarsely chop the bell peppers and onion and peel the garlic; transfer to a blender. Add the chiles and oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano, paprika and ground pepper; puree until smooth.
  5. Return the sauce to the pan and add bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
  6. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place on the baking sheet, skin-side up; sprinkle both sides with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and generously brush with 1/2 cup of the sauce.
  7. Bake on the upper rack until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees F, about 30 minutes. Turn the broiler to high and continue cooking until starting to brown, about 2 minutes.
  8. Brush each thigh with another 1 tablespoon of the sauce. Serve with additional sauce and charred lemons, if desired.