Portuguese Style Roast Chicken

  

One place I loved to go to eat when I lived in the UK was a restaurant which specialized in Portuguese style rotisserie chicken. Oh my, but the chicken was so delicious! 

 

I didn't get to eat there very often,  because it was a bit on the pricey side.  But you could also buy bottles of the sauce and marinade to use at home in all of the grocery stores.   It was called Peri Peri Chicken.

 

 

I preferred the milder version because I am not one much for really hot sauces. I don't like my food to bite me back.  

I think my age and the fact that I have digestive problems has a lot to do with that because I know that when I was younger this was not an issue with me. I didn't mind overly spicy food at all then.

Now, at my age, I suffer for it. 

 

I discovered a recipe for a Portuguese Style Roast Chicken online the other day and I was keen to try it out.  I printed out the recipe and put it on my to do list.  

Their recipe cooks two chickens however and so I adapted it to cook only one chicken. I did not need two. I will have enough of a challenge  eating one! 

 

Mine came out quite a bit darker than theirs.  I am thinking maybe my hot sauce was a bit different. Mine said thick sauce on the outside of the jar. Perhaps theirs was thinner.

In any case it ended up a beautiful mahogany color which was quite appealing I thought! 

 

I also chose to roast mine on a bed of root vegetables, which sort of acted as a trivet.  Parsnips, carrots, celeriac, swede/rutabaga. 

I peeled and cut them into 1 inch cubes and placed them into the bottom of the roasting dish.  Poured a bit of chicken stock over them so they would not dry out, and then placed the chicken on top. 

 

These became lovely, juicy, caramelized  . . .  having absorbed some of the juices from the chicken. They also served to flavor the chicken a bit as well. 

In all I think it was a most delicious idea.  I highly recommend it. You can use whatever vegetables you enjoy. 

 

   WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PORTUGUESE STYLE ROAST CHICKEN

Except for the hot sauce, everything else is pretty simple. 

• 1 whole roasting chicken (3 1/2 pounds/1.2 kg)
• 3 fat cloves of garlic, grated/minced
• 1 TBS paprika
• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (60ml) Frank's Red Hot sauce
• 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 TBS room temperature butter
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• a variety of peeled and cubed root vegetables (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock 

 

You want to buy the best roasting chicken that you can afford to buy.  If you can afford to spend a bit more and get a free range, or an organic one, it really does make a difference.

I used celeriac (because I had some left from the other day), Swede (rutabaga), parsnips and carrots for my root vegetables. You could also throw an onion in there if you wanted to.

I just used salted butter because basically all I have in my house is salted butter. If a recipe calls for unsalted butter, I just leave the salt out that it calls for.  I can't be bothered to, or afford to keep both.

 

HOW TO MAKE PORTUGUESE STYLE ROAST CHICKEN

In an ideal world we would all have rotisseries to cook our chickens on. We don't and so the oven had to do! 

Preheat the oven to 425*F/ 220*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold your chicken and vegetables. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour over the chicken stock. 

Whisk together the garlic, paprika, olive oil, red hot sauce and lemon juice. Set aside.

Sprinkle 3/4 tsp of salt into the cavity of the chicken. Pour bout 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture inside the chicken, and then rub it all into the insides of the chicken. (Now you need to wash your hands to get rid of all that toxic chicken bacteria.) 

 

Sprinkle the remaining salt on the outside of the chicken. Rub it in and then rub the surface of the chicken with the soft butter, taking care to cover every inch. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.

Tie the chicken legs together and then rub/brush the remainder of the sauce all over the chicken to coat.

Roast for one hour. Loosely cover the top of the chicken with a sheet of foil. Return to the oven and roast for a further 20 minutes. 

 

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Carve and serve with some of the roasted vegetables and some of the pan juices spooned over top. 

I served it with some boiled baby potatoes and steamed brussels sprouts. You can't really make a gravy with this but the pan juices are really tasty.  If you really need to have gravy I highly recommend my gravy recipe that you can find here.  You don't need pan drippings for this version of gravy.

All in all this was really delicious. I can't wait to use the leftover chicken for some sandwiches, etc. It has a lovely flavor, not too spicy and very reminiscent of the chicken from that place in the UK.  In short, I think you'll really enjoy it! 

Portugese Style Roast Chicken

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 1 H & 20 MTotal time: 1 H & 40 M

A delicious homemade roast chicken similar to the style of Portuguese style roast chicken. Easy to make, tender, juicy and flavorful. This isn't too spicy. If you like more of a heat and spice kick you can add more hot sauce if you like.

Ingredients

• 1 whole roasting chicken (3 1/2 pounds/1.2 kg)
• 3 fat cloves of garlic, grated/minced
• 1 TBS paprika
• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (60ml) Frank's Red Hot sauce
• 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 TBS room temperature butter
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• a variety of peeled and cubed root vegetables (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425*F/ 220*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold your chicken and vegetables. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour over the chicken stock.
2. Whisk together the garlic, paprika, olive oil, red hot sauce and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle 3/4 tsp of salt into the cavity of the chicken. Pour bout 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture inside the chicken, and then rub it all into the insides of the chicken. (Now you need to wash your hands.)
4. Sprinkle the remaining salt on the outside of the chicken. Rub it in and then rub the surface of the chicken with the soft butter, taking care to cover every inch. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
5. Tie the chicken legs together and then rub/brush the remainder of the sauce all over the chicken to coat.
6. Roast for one hour. Loosely cover the top of the chicken with a sheet of foil. Return to the oven and roast for a further 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
8. Carve and serve with some of the roasted vegetables and some of the pan juices spooned over top.

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