[image: chicken]
Peri Peri Masala is a spice blend that is both smoky and fiery. It’s a zesty addition to chicken, particularly when you’re in the mood for something a little bit spicy. In this recipe for Peri Peri Chicken, we’re talking about 5 tips for perfectly flavorful chicken every time.
1. Bring Your Chicken to Room Temperature
This is a tip that’s true of most meats and steak, but it’s especially important with chicken breasts, which can dry out quickly if they aren’t cooked properly.
2. Season Well
This one seems like a no-brainer, but it’s an important step toward bringing flavor to your chicken breasts. A good rule of thumb is this: if you can taste the salt when you eat the piece of raw chicken on its own, it’s seasoned enough! You’ll be surprised how well this works as long as you follow through with step 3…
3. Sear in a Hot Pan
Searing isn’t just about browning your food; it’s about locking in juices and adding flavor to your meat. Think about it like this: those browned bits at the bottom are where all the flavor lives. If you skip the searing step, there goes all
Roasting a chicken is a simple enough affair if you’re just looking for something to eat, but it can be a little more challenging if you want something that tastes amazing. That’s why we love peri peri masala. The aromatic spice blend from Africa and the Middle East gives the chicken a bright, citrusy flavor that makes it taste totally fresh and exciting, even if you’ve been eating it for years.
If you’re already hooked on peri peri masala — or just want to try cooking with it for the first time — these five tips will help you get the most out of this vibrant spice blend.
1) Use whole spices whenever possible.
“Whole spices are super-fresh,” says Anjan Banker, chef de cuisine at Junoon in New York City. “The flavors are much brighter.”
2) Toast your spices to bring out their flavor.
“Toasting your spices is like toasting your garlic,” says Banker. “It brings out all those nice nutty flavors.” To toast whole spices (or peppercorns), place them in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook until they’re fragrant and beginning to pop, about 3 minutes. “Then grind them up as soon as possible,”
Today we’re going to talk about how to make chicken that is not only perfectly cooked, but perfectly flavorful. It’s easy, I promise.
The first step is to start with a good chicken. We’ve talked about buying a whole chicken before, and that’s always a great choice because it’s more affordable, you can get two meals out of one chicken (roast it now, make chicken salad later), and you can save the bones to make stock. But if you’d rather use pieces instead of a whole bird, I recommend bone-in breasts with the skin on. The skin will keep the meat really moist and flavorful, and the bone will add even more flavor.
For this recipe we’re going to season the chicken with peri peri masala, which is a tangy south african spice mixture. You can find it at specialty stores or online. If you can’t find it for any reason, you can just use salt and pepper or another dried seasoning blend instead.
Chicken is a blank canvas. It can take on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Marinating chicken in spices, herbs and sauces can result in a truly delicious meal.
We asked Nandita Godbole, author of The Peri Peri Trail: 50 Recipes for Chicken Dishes With African Roots, for her tips for making flavorful chicken every time.
1.Preparation: Prep your chicken right by removing any unwanted fat, tendons or cartilage. You can also cut the chicken into pieces to reduce cooking time and save effort while marinating.
2.Marination: Marinate the chicken in a combination of salt and spices to infuse flavor into the meat. If you do not have time to marinate, sprinkle some salt and pepper on the meat before cooking it.
3.Temperature and Time: Cooking at high temperatures will result in tough and stringy meat while slow cooking at low temperatures makes the chicken moist and tender. For a quick stir fry or curry, grill or pan fry your chicken at medium heat for about 6-10 minutes per side until done to prevent burning the exterior before the interior is cooked through. If you want to bake the chicken, set your oven temperature between 350 F and 400 F (175 C to
1. Marinate chicken thoroughly
Make sure that the chicken is completely coated with the marinade and the pieces are not stuck to each other.
2. Grill the chicken until it’s cooked through
Grilling the chicken is an important step that gives it a nice smoky flavor. If you don’t have a grill, you can use a pan or tandoor.
3. Baste the chicken with butter
Basting the chicken with butter gives it a nice glossy texture and keeps it moist and tender.
4. Let the chicken rest before serving
Letting the chicken rest allows all of its juices to redistribute evenly throughout the meat, making it more flavorful and tender.
5. Serve hot with lemon wedges and chutney on the side!
1. Start with the right cut of chicken
The first step to a flavorful chicken breast is using the right cut. The chicken breast is separated into two sections, each of which has its own texture and cooking time:
Skin-on, bone-in breasts are the fattiest and juiciest, but also take longer to cook. Remove the skin before cooking for a leaner cut with less fat and calories.
Boneless, skinless breasts are leaner than breast meat with skin or bones attached, but they can dry out quickly if overcooked. Look for compact, plump breasts that are uniform in color and shape. If your chicken breasts have different sizes or shapes, pound them lightly with a meat mallet so they cook evenly.
Skin-on, boneless breasts are flavorful and easy to cook, but can dry out quickly if overcooked—look for ones that are thick and even in size. Remove the skin before cooking for a leaner cut with less fat and calories.
2. Make sure your chicken is properly defrosted
If you plan on making this recipe with frozen chicken breasts, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to fully defrost them before you begin cooking! There are three safe ways to defrost
1.Marinate your chicken in a flavorful liquid and leave it in the fridge for at least two hours.
2.Brush your grill with oil before you put the chicken on—this will prevent sticking.
3.Use an instant-read thermometer to determine when the chicken is done (165 degrees F).
4.Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes after you pull it off the grill—this will allow the juices to settle and make it more tender and juicy.
5.Make a pan sauce while the bird rests by adding a dash of wine to the juices in the pan and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon as it simmers.
