Piri Piri Chicken Drumsticks
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 2-4 hours marinating time
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Degree of difficulty: very easy
- 1.5kgs chicken Drumsticks
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 red chillies (not the tiny, gnarled red ones, but the small red ones with the smooth skin)
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh parsley or coriander to serve
Step 1 - Place the garlic and chillies in a food processor. Grate the lemon zest and juice of the lemon and add them into the processor. Add the oil and smoked paprika and blitz until you get a smooth-ish sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the sauce and marinate the chicken in two thirds of the sauce (reserve the last third to serve with the chicken) with the bay leaves. Allow to marinate for 2-4 hours. I left it in the fridge overnight because chicken has to fit into my life and I wasn't going to grill chicken at 9pm when all I wanted to do was have a shower and watch Mindhunter.
Step 2 - Preheat oven to 230C/446F. Place the drumsticks on a tray and bake for 30 minutes. Then grill under a hot grill until caramelised for 5-10 minutes. Serve with extra piri piri sauce, lemons and coriander or parsley.