D is for Dinner: piri piri chicken recipe

This week on D is for Dinner, local hot pepper grower and enthusiast Keith Galley shares his recipe for spicy piri piri chicken.

D is for Dinner is a weekly food segment on CBC Radio's afternoon show All in a Day with host Alan Neal.

Galley grows some of the world's spiciest varieties out of his home in Kanata. Last week he was scheduled to share his pepper knowledge at the annual MelonFest and Pepper Powwow in Carp, but poor summer weather meant the melons weren't ready and the festival was cancelled.

Galley is Neal's guest on All in a Day this afternoon to share the following recipe:

Keith Galley's piri piri chicken (or shrimp) 

What you'll need for the sauce/marinade:

• 6 to 12 de-stemmed fresh or dried hot chillies (amount depends on your desired heat level). For authenticity, use African Bird’s Eye peppers if you can find them. Thai, Tabasco or Cayenne peppers are fine substitutes.
• 6 to 10 cloves of garlic.
• Zest of 1 small lemon.
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
• Ginger root, (2 inches long, peeled).
• 1 small onion.
• 1 cup olive oil.
• 1 tablespoon honey.
• 1 tablespoon mild paprika.
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt.
• Chicken (cut into serving pieces), or shrimp.

Instructions for the sauce/marinade:

1. Pulse the chilies in a small food processor until finely chopped or flaked, and chop the garlic, ginger and onion.
2. Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and cool completely.
3. When cooled, puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. At this point taste it to see if it has the heat level you want. If not, you can blend in more peppers.
4. Transfer the sauce to a container, seal tightly and place in the refrigerator. Allow the ingredients to meld for two to five days before using.

Instructions to prepare chicken:

1. Score the flesh a few times with a sharp knife and place chicken pieces or shrimp in a large, re-sealable bag.
2. Pour in up to half of the piri piri sauce, seal the bag and marinade anywhere from four hours to overnight. Reserve any remaining sauce.
3. When you’re ready to grill, plate your marinated chicken or shrimp and discard any remaining marinade in the bag. Pour enough of the remaining sauce into a bowl to brush on chicken or shrimp while it cooks.
4. Grill as you normally would and brush at least once per side with sauce. Serve hot with the remaining sauce, and enjoy!