Portuguese Chicken
Juicy, golden, and infused with layers of garlic, paprika, lemon, and just the right amount of heat - Portuguese chicken is comfort food with a fiery soul. Whether it’s the slow char from the grill or the zesty marinade that keeps you coming back, Portuguese chicken is all about bold flavor and unfussy technique. This recipe transforms everyday ingredients into something unforgettable.
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 Citrus Juicer
- 1 Instant Read Thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 Fresno Chili Peppers, seeded and washed cut into chunks
- 1 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and washed cut into chunks
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and washed cut into chunks
- 5 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Salt + more for seasoning chicken
- 1 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper + more for seasoning chicken
- 1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¾ teaspoon Dried Thyme Leaves
- ¾ teaspoon Dried Oregano Leaves
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ cup Fresh Lemon Juice
- 5 Chicken Quarters (leg and thigh attached) bone in with skin
Instructions
- To a food processor add chopped and seeded Fresno chili peppers, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, salt, cracked black pepper, brown sugar, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried thyme leaves, and dried oregano leaves. Process until everything is quite chopped up (about 30 seconds).
- Add the vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice and process until fairly smooth.
- Remove about ¼ cup of marinade to be used later as a dipping sauce and place in the fridge until needed. The rest of the marinade can be put into a large zipper top bag.
- Using a sharp knife make a few cuts into the flesh of the thigh and drumstick (about 1/4" deep) . This will help the marinade flavors to penetrate the meat better. Season the chicken with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken quarters into the marinade-filled zipper top bag. Seal up the bag removing as much air as possible. Massage the chicken in the marinade to evenly coat all the chicken pieces. Place the chicken/marinade bag into the fridge and allow to marinate for 2-24 hours. The longer you can marinate the chicken, the more flavorful the outcome will be.
- Once the chicken has finished marinating. Prepare an outdoor grill by adjusting to medium-high heat and lightly oiling the grates. Place marinated chicken skin-side down on the preheated grill. Grill for about 6 minutes then flip over and continue grilling. Lower the heat to medium. Grill and flip as necessary to avoid flare-ups until the chicken reaches 165℉ when a meat thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the chicken, and the skin has begun to crisp up nicely. About 20 minutes.
- Remove from the grill, serve and enjoy with the dipping sauce.
- An oven baking method is outlined in the body of the blog post if you prefer.
Notes
- If you don’t have Fresno peppers you can sub with 1/2 a jalapeno and another 1/2 red bell pepper. If you want to make this recipe spicier (it's not super spicy as written), you can replace the jalapeno with a couple bird’s eye peppers or an habanero.
- If you don’t have red wine vinegar you can substitute with apple cider vinegar
- If you don’t have an outdoor grill these can be baked in the oven at 400F for about 40 minutes. Best to measure with a meat thermometer (165F) to determine when it is done cooking.