Peri Peri Chicken Lollipops
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Braai
Description
The only problem with good peri-peri chicken, is that you’ll find it hard to break the fiery addiction.
Ingredients
Chicken Lollipops
12 free-range chicken drumsticks
12 toothpicks
NoMU Peri-Peri Rub
salt and pepper
To Serve
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Peri-peri Marinade
2 red peppers, charred, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
18 plum tomatoes
8–10 bird’s eye chillies, chopped with seeds in
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 Tbsp (60 ml) NoMU Peri-Peri rub
4 Tbsp (60 ml) sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) paprika
1 C (250 ml) white vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Chicken Lollipops
Prepare the chicken lollipops by cutting off the small end of the drumstick (use the heel of a large knife); push the meat and skin forward to expose the bone. Nip off any exposed tendons with a pair of kitchen scissors. Using a toothpick, secure the skin at the top end of the drumstick, to prevent it shrinking and coming off while cooking. Once the lollipops are ready, put them in a roasting pan and season liberally with the peri-peri rub, cracked salt and black pepper.
Peri-peri Marinade
Start by charring the skin of the red peppers – this can be done on the braai or over the open flame of a gas stove. Once the skin is charred, put the peppers in a plastic bag, or a bowl covered with cling wrap. This will allow the peppers to sweat and make the charred skin easier to peel off. Once peeled, roughly chop the peppers.
Put all the ingredients into a blender, (or use a hand blender) and whizz everything to create the marinade. Put the peri-peri marinade into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. While the sauce is simmering preheat the oven to 180 °C. When the sauce is finished, baste the lollipops and place in the oven to roast for 30 minutes.
Finish the lollipops on the braai over a medium heat. Baste with the marinade every time you turn and build up that lekker caramelised peri-peri crust.
Finish the chicken lollipops with a squeeze of fresh lemon, serve with your favourite Portuguese rolls and dig in.
Notes
Cape Brewing Company Mandarina Bavaria IPA is a great beer pairing for these chicken lollipops. IPAs and spicy food love each other. Hops will boost the spiciness at first, and then cool the flames with a bitter punch. The bitterness will amp up the umami flavours, while the fruity notes of Mandarina work well with the sweetness in the peri-peri sauce. The bubbles will scrub the palate and get your tongue ready for the next fiery mouthful of peri-peri awesomeness.
Braaing meat produces umami. In order to reach the u-bomb, or even a simple umami taste, meat must go through the Maillard Reaction, which is a process that happens when it is cooked. The Maillard Reaction stands as one of the most important flavour-producing reactions within the process of cooking. That’s why braai tastes so good – that awesome caramelisation comes from the Maillard Reaction.