I’m so proud of myself for grilling TWICE so far this season. It may seems like stupid victory to you, and it is. But for one THB who has used her grill barely over two handfuls of time in the four years that she’s owned one, twice so far at the beginning of the season seems like a win. You know what’s also a win? These piri-piri chicken thighs.
The nice thing about grilling is that it adds so much flavor on its own (kinda like “referred” flavor) that usually salt and pepper alone would do (like for instance, on a good steak). However, sometimes we want a little more oomph than that, and while there are some good grill seasoning out there, I prefer to make my own. For this one, we’re heading back to Portugal (by way of Africa) and turning that delicious piri piri seasoning that I made and letting it swim with some chicken thighs.
Chicken thighs, because remember how much better dark meat is than light? And for this one it’s important me thinks to do bone-in, skin-on to seal in flavor and moisture. It doesn’t take that much longer but whoa…just do it. Also, I say marinate overnight for maximum flavor!
I decided to serve this alongside Mom’s black beans and rice, which…is Cuban, but it is just such a great side dish for summer. I may be biased because that’s just how Mom always served it, but with a light onion salad and a squeeze of lime it just screams “serve with a side of grill.”
I’d like to disclaim that this may not be 100% traditional piri-piri chicken, but is rather my “inspired by” version. That doesn’t make it any less delicious!
So tell me, what’s on your grill?
Written on Thursday of The Longest Week.
Piri-Piri Chicken Thighs
Piri-Piri chicken thighs are a great way to mix up and kick up your grill game - bone-in, skin on chicken thighs are marinated in a spicy piri-piri sauce.
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 TB dried marjoram
- 1 TB dried thyme
- 1 TB coarse sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp hot chili powder
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 orange, juiced
- 2 TB olive oil
- limes, to serve
Directions
- Step 1 Mix all the spice and the orange zest in a mortar and crush with a pestle until you get a relatively homogenous looking mixture.
- Step 2 In a gallon-size zipper bag, add the orange juice and spices. Shake until evenly distributed. Add the chicken thighs, seal the bag and toss everything around until well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Step 3 Preheat the grill to medium-high.
- Step 4 Place each chicken thigh on the grill, skin side down and cook for 12 minutes, grill uncovered. Carefully flip each thigh and cook for an additional 10 minutes, grill covered, until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Let rest 10 minutes and then serve and enjoy!
