Bajan Chicken Recipes

JIMMY BUFFETT'S BARBADOS STYLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the Sauce:
• In a food processor, combine onion, red pepper, Scotch bonnets, papaya, and garlic and pulse to chop.
• Transfer the finely chopped ingredients to a saucepan. Add lemon juice, malt vinegar, white wine, dry mustard, water, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook slowly until the mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the yellow mustard.
• For the chicken:
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Season the chicken well with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with thyme. Bake until the chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven.
• Cuban Bread:
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Cuban bread. Preheat a sandwich press or 2 cast iron skillets, 1 a little larger than the other. Slice the bread in 1/2 horizontally. Spread both cut sides with butter. Press the cut side together and place in the sandwich press. Close and toast until golden brown and the butter is melted. If using skillets, place the bread in the larger skillet. Top with the smaller, heated skillet and cook until both sides are golden brown and the butter is melted.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Brush the sauce on the chicken, coating well. Place in the broiler and broil until the sauce bubbles and starts to brown. Remove from the heat and serve with cuban bread, black beans, and yellow rice. Garnish with thyme sprigs.

BAKED CHICKEN BAJAN STYLE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. To prepare this dish properly, partly bone chicken, leaving legs and thighs attached. Bone thighs first by place them skin side down on a flat surface. Using small paring or boning knife, scrape meat away from each bone. Sever bone to separate it from leg bone. To bone legs, scrape around the bone almost but not down to the end. Using sharp, heavy knife, cut off major part of bone, leaving about one inch at end. Chop off very bottom of each leg bone.
• Leave breasts and main wing bones attached. Cut off and discard tip of each wing. Cut off and set aside second wing joints. Bone breasts but leave skin intact. Do not remove main wing bone. Use back bone for soup or discard.
• Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and half of oregano.
• Put oil in baking dish large enough to hold chicken in one layer when it is added. Add chicken and rub it in oil.
• Blend flour with remaining oregano, paprika, hot red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
• Dredge each piece of chicken on all sides in flour mixture. Shake off excess.
• Return chicken pieces skin side up to baking dish.
• Place chicken in oven and bake 40 minutes without turning.

BAJAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rinse and dry the chicken pieces and put them into a shallow glass dish.
• Put the allspice, peppercorns, and cinnamon stick into a spice grinder and grind to a powder. To a full sized blender add the onion, peppers, scallions, garlic, scotch bonnet, thyme, lime juice, olive oil, butter, and ground spices. Blend to a puree; add some water if it is too thick. Pour this over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 1/2 hour before you cook it.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Put the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large, oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and season it with salt. Brown the chicken on both sides, then place the pan in the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.