Portuguese hot sauce recipe for grilled chicken

DALLAS - We're used to Mexican hot sauces here in Texas. But when Chef David Leite visited Good Day, he shared a recipe for a spicy Portuguese hot sauce. 

You can find some of his favorite Portuguese recipes in his cookbook "The New Portuguese Table."

Grilled Chicken Slathered in Hot Sauce

Recipe from The New Portuguese Table by David Leite
Serves 4

Chef’s note: You typically won’t find fresh piri-piri hot peppers stateside. Stepping in for piri-piri peppers are Thai bird, red jalapeño, santaka, arbol, cayenne, or Tabasco, depending on availability as well as personal heat preference and tolerance. You can find dried piri-piri peppers. They pack a wallop, so experiment with the amounts so that you get the sauce you deserve.

3/4 cup piri-piri sauce, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
One 3-1/2- to 4-pound chicken
Coarse sea salt

Mix together the piri-piri sauce, paprika, garlic, and kosher salt in a large sealable freezer bag. Set aside.

Place the chicken breast side down on a cutting board. Using poultry shears, cut down along one side of the backbone, and then the other; discard the bone. Turn the chicken breast side up, open it out, and press down firmly with your palms to flatten it. Place it in the freezer bag, seal, and flip several times to coat. Lay the bag in a shallow dish and marinate in the fridge for at least several hours, or, preferably, overnight, turning a few more times.

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium. Remove the chicken from the bag, reserving the marinade, and let it sit out for 30 minutes.

Baste the bird all over with the marinade, season with sea salt, and place it breast side down on the grill. Grill until the skin is a deep brown and show grill marks, 12 to 15 minutes. Flip, baste, and grill for about 15 minutes more. The chicken is cooked when the juices run clear if the thigh is pierced or when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F. Just before serving, brush the chicken with fresh piri-piri sauce for an extra kick of heat.

Portuguese Piri-Piri Hot Sauce 

This Portuguese piri-piri hot sauce is made with bird’s eye chiles, which can be used on chicken, shrimp, pork, or just about any dish in Portugal.

4 to 8 fresh hot chilis, depending on heat
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 1 lemon (optional  ¼ cup vinegar or apple vinegar)
Pinch of salt
½ to 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil, depending on how thin you want it

Coarsely chop the peppers and discard stems.

Place chilis and their seeds, the garlic, lemon juice, salt and as much of the oil as you wish in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and purée.

Pour the mixture into a small glass jar and let steep for several days in the refrigerator.

You can strain the mixture and return it to jar, but I like mine with a bit of texture.

Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 1 month.

Link: leitesculinaria.com/about-me