Portuguese Flattened Chicken Recipes

HOMEMADE PORTUGUESE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, paprika, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, chili powder, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and black pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth.
• Score chicken legs a few times using a knife and place in a resealable bag or a bowl. Pour about 1/3 cup of sauce over chicken and toss well. Season with additional sea salt. Cover or seal and marinate chicken in a refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight. Reserve remaining sauce for basting.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place chicken in a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn chicken over and baste with extra marinade. Cover baking dish with foil once again and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, 15 to 20 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted near a bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

PORTUGUESE PERI PERI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F
• Rehydrate dried chilies in a small pot of simmering water on the stove for 20 minutes. Remove stem and seeds.
• Butterfly the chicken: Rinse inside and out, removing innards. Pat dry. Place on a cutting board, breast down. Using sharp kitchen scissors, cut along both sides of the spine, remove and discard. Turn the chicken over, and placing your hand on the breast bone, press down hard with the palm of your hand, to flatten.
• Make the marinade by blending the marinade ingredients into a paste with a blender or food processor. Brush a layer of the marinade on the bottom of your large sheet pan.
• Place the thinly sliced potatoes on top of the marinade and sprinkle with a generous pinch of kosher salt, overlapping slightly but not too much.
• Brush all sides and crevasses of the chicken with the marinade, coating fairly heavily. (You will add more marinade during cooking, so be sure to save the remaining.) Place chicken, skin side down on the potatoes and place in the hot oven.
• Turn chicken over after 15 minutes, and place back in the oven. After 15 minutes, brush more marinade all over the chicken on the skin side, really lathering it up. Return to the oven and bake until cooked through another 15-30 minutes, or until leg/ thigh reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. The bigger the chicken, the longer this will take. ( A large, 5-6 pound chicken may take an additional 20 minutes!) To crisp the skin and get it deeply brown, broil for a few minutes. A little char is good here!!! Remove chicken when done and let rest 5-10 minutes before serving. You can continue to cook the potatoes or crisp them up ( with broiler) while resting the chicken and cutting it into pieces.
• While chicken is roasting, combine Cilantro Sauce ingredients together, either in a bowl- mixing by hand, or in a food processor. Serve cilantro sauce on the side.

PORTUGESE FLAT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Use a blender to liquify bottom 7 ingredients and pour over the chicken in a roasting pan.
• Cover with foil and roast for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Remove from oven, strain liquid and thicken by reduction in pot on top of stove.
• Meanwhile crisp the chicken up on slow open fire or under grill of stove if open fire or under grill of stove if open fire is not available. (Fire is first prize) Baste liberally with thickened sauce before serving.
• Serve with good savory rice, vinaigrette dressed salad, French fries and light, chilled frosty!

FLAT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove; discard or reserve for broth, if desired. Open the chicken's legs and spread the bird down flat, skin side up. Press down firmly on the breastbone to flatten. Pat dry with paper towels; season generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large ovenproof skillet, preferably cast-iron, over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add chicken, skin-side down, to skillet. Let brown without moving, about 3 minutes. Turn chicken, taking care not to break the skin; transfer skillet to oven.
• Roast chicken until golden brown and cooked through or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reaches 165 degrees. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and remaining tablespoon butter to pan, swirling to combine; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, red-pepper flakes, garlic, and pinch of salt. Cut chicken into pieces and serve immediately drizzled with olive oil mixture and pan sauce.

SPICE RUBBED FLATTENED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Blend Spreadables butter with ginger, lemon zest, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper until well combined; set aside.
• Place chicken, back-side-up, with neck facing away on a cutting board. Use a chef's knife or poultry shears to cut along each side of the backbone. Remove and discard backbone. Turn chicken over; turn legs drumsticks-inward and press on breastbone to flatten. Place chicken, cut-side-down in a roasting pan.
• Melt 3 tablespoons (45 mL) butter mixture; toss with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and green onions. Scatter around chicken.
• Carefully loosen skin over breast meat, legs, and thighs using fingertips. Spread remaining butter mixture evenly under and over skin of chicken.
• Roast, basting occasionally, for 60 to 75 minutes (or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F/74 degrees C in thigh and breast meat).
• Cover and rest for 10 minutes. Carve chicken into portions and serve with vegetables.