Roast Chicken with Sambal Chimichurri

This recipe comes from Food and Wine. It is simply fantastic! Spicy yet not overpowering, so flavorful and just delectable in every way. My wife couldn't say enough good things about it. It also keeps really well. I made 2 instead of 3 chickens and we still had leftovers for several days, and it was as good on the last day as the first.

I found the sambal chili paste at a Sprouts Market, which is like a smaller and less expensive Whole Foods. The chili paste is made by the same company that makes rooster sriracha sauce. There's regular and garlic flavored.

Chicken

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup distilled white vinegar

9 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup oregano leaves, finely chopped

3 tablespoons sweet paprika

3 tablespoons chile powder

1 tablespoon curry powder

Kosher salt

Three 3 1/2-pound chickens

Chimichurri

2 cups parsley leaves

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon sambal oelek (Indonesian chile paste)

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

Kosher salt

PREPARE THE CHICKEN 

In a bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, paprika, chile powder, curry and 3 tablespoons of salt. Arrange the chickens in a dish and pour the marinade over the chickens, rubbing it all over the birds. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Set a rack on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Remove the chickens from the marinade, scraping off any excess. Twist the wings of the chickens behind the backs and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Lightly season the chickens with salt and arrange them on the rack.

Roast the chickens for about 1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh reaches 160, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Transfer the chickens to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes.

MAKE THE CHIMICHURRI 

In a food processor, combine the parsley, cilantro and garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oil, vinegar, sambal, mirin, lemon juice and oregano and pulse to combine. Season with salt and transfer the chimichurri to a bowl.

Cut each chicken into 8 pieces and serve with the chimichurri sauce.