Peri-Peri Sauce
This Peri-Peri sauce is only for those that can handle the heat. I have been meaning to make my own sauce for a while now, I tested my own version of the sauce a few times and I think I am finally happy with the results.
Peri-Peri Sauce
African Birds Eye Chilli is what’s typically used for Peri-Peri Sauce. We have it growing in abundance in South Africa.
Although I did add some green chilli just to “balance” the heat a little…don’t know if it did the trick…haha!
My hubby is crazy about all this burny stuff. I can eat chilli but there’s a limit to how much heat I can handle. For him no amount of chilli is enough.
We have a huge portuguese influence here in SA, i guess it’s why we all love Peri-Peri sauce.
I won’t go into the whole history of the South African and the Portuguese, although I could. Because I did study history at school…haha!
If you know Nando’s and you tasted their chicken. Then you should know why we love Peri-Peri Chicken so much.
If you cannot find Bird’s Eye Chilli you can use red thai chillies or any hot red chillies. The heat may not be as intense but it will still be delicious.
This Peri-Peri sauce can also be used as a dipping sauce or to drizzle on your potatoes, chicken, fish or whatever else you prefer. You can use this sauce when making my chicken wings
There’s nothing much that goes into making the sauce. I charred my onion and roasted the garlic. Popped it all in a food processor to make it into a rough paste.
I wanted to see if I would like a chunky sauce but I didn’t. So I blended it further, using a blender, to get a smooth consistency.
If you don’t mind a chunky sauce the food processor will work fine. If you are going for a smooth sauce then you can skip the food processor and pop everything straight into the blender.
Although we loved the heat of this sauce you can reduce the heat by adding less Bird’s Eye Chilli. I did add salt to the sauce so when marinating chicken you may need just a little extra salt.
I always have reduced salt in all my dishes so you can add more according to your preference.
If you are not using the sauce immediately and storing it in the fridge. I suggest you use a sterilied glass bottle and refrigerate for up to a week. I personally wouldn’t store it for longer than a week.
More Recipes to try:
Perfect Garlic Herb Roast Chicken
Spicy Sticky Baked Chicken Wings
Peri-Peri Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion roughly chopped
- 2 red peppers roasted
- 8 cloves garlic
- 10 birds eye chilli
- 10 large green chillies roasted and chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oreganum
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Chop the onion into quarters. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and cook the onion until slightly charred on the edges. In the last minute add the garlic with the skin and allow it to char a little.
- To roast the peppers on a gas stove, turn it to the highest setting. Lay the pepper over the flame and turn the peppers until the skin is charred and blackened. You can also roast it in the oven by placing it on a baking sheet and roasting for 30-40 minutes. Remove the skin and roughly chop them.
- Remove the skin off the garlic and place it in a food processor together with all the other ingredients
- Process all the ingredients until it is quite fine. You will not get it smooth in the food processor
- If you prefer a chunky sauce you can store the sauce in a clean, sterilized glass bottle
- If you prefer a smoother sauce use a blender a puree the sauce until smooth
- Store in a sterilized bottle in the refrigerator for up to a week
Notes
- I sometimes add more vinegar if I am storing the sauce for longer than a day. You can also add more according to the acidity you prefer
- You don't have to char the onion and garlic as I sometimes don't do that step. I use them raw.
- When marinating chicken with this sauce I make a few slits in the chicken so the sauce really gets into the chicken and I drizzle a bit more olive oil and roast. You can keep aside some extra sauce to baste the chicken
- This recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce
- I have also tried making the sauce without charring the onion and garlic and it still tastes fine
- For the peppers I used store bought roast peppers but you can roast your peppers in the oven or stovetop
Love it, Brilliant recipe. Thank you
Thank you so much. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe:-)