Portuguese Style Grilled Chicken...100th post

This post is a milestone for my blog as it is actually my 100th post. It has taken forever to get here as I have come to realize that food blogging is not an easy thing. It is soooooooo time consuming! And as if cooking didn't take long enough; taking top shot photos of the dish and then writing about it and actually publishing it means you really need to manage your time effectively.  Something that I have not been able to do too well considering I do have a life outside food!  Although this sounds like I'm talking about throwing in the towel on blogging - trust me, I ain't!  On the contrary, I take pride in my little piece of the web and after 100 posts and nearly 30,000 views, I can think of nothing better but to go on and fill cyberspace with more and more of the foodie gems of life that I have uncovered and wish to share with the world wide network.  So like or not I am here to stay!
To commemorate the 100th post I have chosen a real favourite dish of mine.  This is my version of Portuguese style chicken - yes the kind you get at that famous place that rhymes with "Dandos".   I have made this a number of times and it is a hit with all chilli lovers.  The secret is in the marinade - get your hands on a bottle of pickled peri peri chillies.  It's what seperates this dish from other regular grilled chicken dishes.  You can make it completely in the oven, but the second grilling is what imparts that sought after charred flavour.

To make the marinade. Blend the following in a Food Processor:

5 x Peri Peri Chillies (If you like it hot then add more and get ready to sweat)

Alternatively you can use 10 x Red Chillies (if you like it mild use the less hotter ones..and less chillies of course)

4 cloves x Garlic

1 Tbsp x Dried Oregano

Juice & Zest of 1 large Lemon

A good splash of Olive Oil (to get the marinade all creamy)

A pinch of Salt to taste   
1.5 kg Chicken pieces, 
Directions
Combine the marinade ingredients with the chicken in a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight for best results - if you're in a hurry then prick the chicken all over and marinate for a couple of hours - not as good but will suffice
Heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius
Remove as much marinade from the chicken and place the chicken pieces on a wire frame over a roasting tray, this will ensure that the chicken cooks evenly and the dripping juices are caught
Cook chicken in the oven for 1 hour turning over and basting with the drippings every 15 minutes
Put the leftover marinade into a saucepan and bring to a boil then reduce to a thick saucy consistency
Now the dish can be completed here if you choose, all you have to do is baste with the marinade reduction and cook in the oven for a further 10 minutes on each side then serve

The second grilling - do this if you want that grilled taste and charred flavour just like the shop's - I love it!
Heat a grill pan, heavy frypan or bbq hotplate
Baste the chicken pieces with the marinade and fry on each side for 3-5 minutes
Serve piping hot with a wedge of lemon and a napkin to wipe the sweat.

Warning: Chillies and high heat equal a lot of smoke - so unless you have an industrial strength rangehood or lungs of steel, I recommend this step be completed in a well ventilated area like the backyard so you can make the neighbours jealous!      

Delicious, marinated, charred and devilishly hot for the taking - definitely not "Blandos"

Here's is a serving suggestion - The two piece feed - Spiced Rice recipe in the Basics page

Review - Crazy Wing, Russell St, CBD

Talk about spontaneity and this lunchtime experience comes to mind.  Picture that it is almost time for lunch and an impromptu discussion over another blogger's recount of visiting Crazy Wing in the CBD is in motion.  Like an advertisement pitched at adventurous foodies the seed is sown and without any further deliberation the decision is made to head out to Russell St and seek out this establishment.  On this occasion I was accompanied by two very learned foodie colleagues - all three of us have a palette for the hot and the spicy and Crazy Wing seemed a likely opportunity to exercise our "chilli" appreciation.
A dimly lit place with young waiters in red polo shirts and a possible "chef" behind the counter preparing skewers of all sorts.  The order sheet awaits you at the table and you run through the lists of the menu items on offer.  Everything (besides the rice & noodles) comes on a skewer and is grilled on heat beads for that smoky taste.  Service was not exactly spectacular but this is passable as the expectation is not there on entry.

In honour of the namesake, we had to try the Crazy Wing.  This is a serve of two marinated wingettes on a stick, hot off the grill and ready to blow your head right off.  Seriously, it was like a firecracker had just exploded in your mouth.  One bite in and - Pow!!  We discovered the main ingredient in the dish - Habenero chilli puts the "Crazy" in the wing.  Now you know why there is a large jug of water on the table.

To add to the lunacy, the initial thought of Red Chilli Beef Fried Rice was definitely doable.  This was before we realised just how hot the wings were going to be.  Chilli Rice! and Chilli Wings! Water offering no rescue from the inferno. The best thing to order is Milk Tea - this will provide some healing and it comes served to you in a juice box with a straw. 


Almost reduced to tears (of foodie joy no doubt) and sweat starting to bead on my brow, I tried the Capsicum Skewers, and this had less of a chilli hit.  Many sips of Milk Tea later the mouth is resilient enough to try some more.  Bring on the Lamb Skewers - tender juicy lamb backstraps that melted in your mouth - this got voted the best dish by all.  It had just the right amount of spice and cooked perfectly.  Pork Skin on a stick was less of a hit as it was not crispy as expected but rather rubbery and lacking taste or texture.  And as hard as it may seem they even managed to skewer Enoki Mushrooms, slather them with more of the habenero spice mix and then grill - turned out to be a good combo.  Sweet Potato slivers came off the grill nicely caramelised and the sugary sweetness was welcomed by all.  Lastly but certainly not least was the Grilled Prawn, although we should have had these earlier as they had been resting for too long and had hardened slightly - still very tasty though.  

Definitely an event to undergo again and plans are already in place for our next visit with more heat seeking foodies.  The menu is quite extensive and does contain a variety of offal dishes.  While this is not my cup of "milk tea" I will be definitely trying the Honey Soy and BBQ dishes next time.  The rice servings are generous and plenty to share and the skewers vary in price starting from $1.40 each. Parting advice if you are visiting Crazy Wing - which I shall now refer to as "Torture by Skewer" - make sure you order the Milk Tea. Anyone wishing to earn their Hot and Spicy stripes should at least dine here once to see if you stack up.  If you are the type that cannot handle the heat - definitely stay out of this kitchen.

"Habenero Chillies are ranked as one of the hottest chilli in the world.  Chilli heat is measured in the Scoville scale.  Capsicums and Bell Peppers are rated 0 while Habeneros get a score of 100,000 - 350,000.  This indicates that the hot chemical stimulant that you taste would have to be diluted up to 350,000 times before the heat is untraceable.  Imagine the wonders that little box of Milk Tea does for you"