Deeply flavorful African Peri Peri Sauce Recipe made with bird’s eye chilies, onions, peppers, garlic & lemons. This sauce is a must-have for spicy food lovers.
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What is peri peri sauce? Peri Peri sauce is a traditional South African sauce made by Portuguese settlers to the area with spicy African Bird’s Eye chili peppers. It is also known as piri piri, or pili pili. It’s perfect for any spicy food lover.
It requires no cooking, just some chopping and processing of the ingredients. It’s an oil-based sauce, at least it is with our version, ideal for dipping, and it goes GREAT with chicken and seafood.
What is peri peri sauce?
Peri-peri sauce is an African chili sauce made with spicy chilies (African bird’s eye chilies brought to Africa by the Portuguese) blended with aromatics like garlic, onion, and herbs.
For me, it’s the perfect mix between Harissa and a classic Hot sauce. You have the flavor depth and character of Harissa with the punchy kick of hot sauce, and then some. Some versions are so hot in fact, that just smelling them will make your eyes water.
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How to make peri-peri sauce?
Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. I like using smoked paprika, oregano, bay leaves, and lemon to add flavor but feel free to play around with other herbs like rosemary or thyme.
Transfer the blended paste to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. You want the sauce to be fiery but well-balanced with salt, sugar, and acid.
Transfer to jars or an airtight container and allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
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Can I make this in advance?
You can store the cooked sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container or jar and it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Transfer the sauce to freezer-safe containers before freezing.
Bottom of Form Peri Peri Sauce Ingredients
- 1 pound red chilies chopped – African Bird’s Eye peppers are traditional, but you can sub with red peppers available to you, including bell peppers
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika you can sub in other chili powders
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- Juice from 1 lemon (lemon juice)
- Salt to taste
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How To Make Peri Peri Sauce – The Recipe Overview
Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process to form a smooth sauce to your preferred consistency. You can strain out some of the excess liquid if you’d like, or just use it as-is.
Enjoy! Refrigerate until ready to use.
BOOM! That’s it. It’s an incredibly easy recipe to make
How to serve Peri Peri Sauce?
The best way to use this delicious sauce is by slathering a chicken with it and grilling it over a wood fire until the skin is dark, crisp, and gnarly from the chilies (and is inspired by a classic Nando’s chicken). It’s also amazing on shrimp/prawns, chicken wings, pork or beef.
But as I said, it’s a pretty versatile sauce and can be used in marinades, dipping sauces, or dressings and I even add a small amount to sauces, stews, and other dishes to add not only a spicy kick but also serious depth of flavor. And once you’ve made this you’ll find it hard not to crave it and put it on/in everything. You’ve been warned.
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What To Serve With Peri Peri Sauce?
Peri Peri sauce goes particularly well with grilled chicken of any kind. Peri peri chicken is the most common use for it, and I love it for peri chicken wings on the grill.
However, it’s also wonderful with seafood, such as shrimp or whitefish
Patty’s Perspective
This is a great sauce to have on hand because it can be used to enhance any number of dishes. Make it on the weekend and use it throughout the week for sandwich spreads, quick sauce or rub for chicken, spooned over tacos, whatever you think!
Storage of Peri Peri Sauce Recipe
Peri peri sauce should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer.
It’s all about the acidity. To be technical, the target level pH for shelf-stable foods is below 4.6 pH, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, to account for errors.
If you’re concerned, add more citrus or vinegar to lower the pH.
You can also process your homemade peri peri sauce with a water bath or pressure cooker for much longer storage. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.
FAQs
Are peri-peri andPeri Peri Sauce the same?
Yes, they are. The spellings derive from different pronunciations of the chili pepper and sauce, from a variety of different African languages. Pili-pili is yet another spelling for this spicy chili.
Why isn’t my peri-peri sauce as bright red as in your pictures?
I used bright red Kashmiri chilis in my piri-piri sauce; these peppers are known for their saturated red hue. Depending on what type of chilis you use, and even if you use fresh instead of dried, the color of your sauce may vary.
How can I make my homemade Peri Peri Sauce last longer?
Treat it like Pesto and add a layer of oil on top of the sauce to help protect it from the air. It should last for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months if needed.
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Recipe!
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Peri Peri Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound red chilies chopped African bird eye pepper traditional
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 1/2 cup Olivia oil
- 1 juice lemon
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process to form a smooth sauce to your preferred consistency
- Enjoy! Refrigerate until ready to use.
- NotesMakes about 1.5 cups.