Invite the sun to your table with this Caribbean baked chicken from the French West Indies! Marinating the chicken overnight in a mixture of spices, lime juice, chilies, herbs and onions, will give you the most succulent and flavorful meat ever.
You wouldn’t think so seeing my pasty white skin, but I grew up in the Caribbean and lived there until I turned 18. I’m from a tiny island in the French West Indies called Martinique and not a week goes by without me reminiscing about it. There is a lot I miss about living in the Caribbean; the absence of winter, a certain laissez-faire attitude to life, my ride-or-die friends and the food I grew up with. This Caribbean baked chicken recipe is a homage to the poulet boucané (smoked chicken) my parents would always buy on Saturdays on our way to the beach.
Poulet boucané
Traditionally, poulet boucané is first marinated overnight, then smoked completely enclosed in a metal container (shaped like a tall trashcan) on a rack placed over charcoal, soaked bread and pieces of sugar cane. There are ways to reproduce this traditional method of cooking on a barbecue but I didn’t feel like trying them. To be fair it’s the middle of winter. So I turned the poulet boucané of my childhood into a very tasty Caribbean baked chicken and I regret nothing! Not having to build any smoking contraption sure makes it up for the lack of smoky flavor.
The flavors of the meat are similar enough to the real deal thanks to the overnight marinade. And my oh my it is a flavorful chicken! The spices, limes, chilies, herbs and onions in the marinade are a fantastic tasty combo that will please your taste buds for sure. The marinade is not too hot and doesn’t overpower the meat but it makes this Caribbean baked chicken finger-licking good. Add crispy skin and tender juicy meat to the mix, and everyone’s mouth is watering, am I right?
Sauce chien (Dog sauce)
This condiment sounds just as weird in English as in French. But not to worry, you won’t be eating your pet for dinner! This sauce takes its name from the type of knives that are typically used to prepare this sauce. Couteaux chien (dog knives) are quality stainless steel knives engraved with a small drawing of a guard dog on the base of the blade. Every family in the French West Indies has a couteau chien and it’s a customary wedding gift. Couteaux chien are super handy to finely dice garlic, herbs and onions. Seeing as those are the main ingredients of this sauce, it’s easy to see how the knife gave its name to the sauce.
Every family also has its own sauce chien recipe and the components of the sauce always stir debates. Should tomatoes and chilies be included even if they’re not native to the island and weren’t originally used? It’s all a matter of taste to me! I prefer an all-green sauce chien, so no tomatoes for me, but I do love the heat brought by the chili. If you go to a barbecue in Martinique, you’re bound to see a big bowl of sauce chien being passed around. It’s drizzled on every grilled food (chicken, lobsters, crabs,…) and it is delicious! I think it really elevates the Caribbean baked chicken so give it a try!
Step by step
→ MARINATE THE CHICKEN
The most time-consuming part of this recipe is to make the marinade (and frankly the food processor does the job for you! Place all the ingredients into a food processor (or blender), and blitz until it turns into a paste. Cover the chicken thoroughly with this mixture and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
→ STUFF THE CHICKEN AND ROAST IT
Brush off the marinade, and scrape it into a sieve placed over a bowl. Stuff the chicken with the paste left in the sieve. Place the chicken into a roasting pan. Smear softened butter all over it and season generously. Pour the marinade liquid left in the bowl into the tray. Roast the bird according to the instructions from the recipe. It’s optional but I would really encourage you to make the traditional sauce while the chicken is in the oven. It’s really good drizzled over the Caribbean baked chicken.
Tender meat
There’s nothing more disappointing than biting into what looks like a very promising chicken leg and ending up chewing a tough rubbery piece of meat. I hate dry meat so I don’t take any chances with my Caribbean baked chicken! That’s why;
- the meat marinates overnight (the salt in the marinade breaks down muscle proteins)
- butter is smeared directly on the breast (to baste the white meat while cooking)
- the chicken is left to rest before carving (the juices will reabsorb into the meat and be redistributed throughout the bird).
If you don’t want to roast a whole bird, marinate your favorite chicken parts (thighs, wings, breasts,…) overnight. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Discard the marinade and place the chicken pieces, skin side-up, in a large roasting tin. Bake for:
- 45 min for chicken thighs and chicken wings
- 25 min for chicken breasts
If you’re feeling unsure you can check the internal temperature with a thermometer. When it reaches 74°C (165°F), your Caribbean baked chicken is ready!
Leftovers
My husband and I have often found ourselves finishing the whole chicken in one sitting but I’m always happy when there are leftovers. This Caribbean baked chicken tastes amazing cold so it’s a great addition to any of your favorite salads. That’s what my protein-driven gym-going sport-lover husband would want you to do.
However, if you’re like me you’ll want to blitz the leftover chicken meat with 150g (5oz) of cream cheese, 1 tbsp of mayonnaise, 1 crushed garlic clove and ½ green chili. Then grill some bread and join me in chicken spread heaven!
Caribbean baked chicken
- Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (excluding overnight marinating)
- resting: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 17 minutes
- Yield: 1 roast chicken 1x
- Category: Main course
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Description
Invite the sun to your table with this Caribbean baked chicken from the French West Indies! Marinating the chicken overnight in a mixture of spices, lime juice, chilies, herbs and onions, will give you the most succulent and flavorful meat ever.
Ingredients
For the Caribbean baked chicken:
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 green chilies, deseeded
- 5 spring onions, root ends trimmed then quartered
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 8 parsley sprigs, leaves only
- 3 limes, zested and juiced
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 chicken (mine was 1.7kg / 3.7lb but any weight is fine)
- 30g butter (2 tbsp), diced and softened to room temperature
For the sauce: (optional: to accompany the chicken)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 green chili, deseeded
- 5 spring onions, root ends trimmed
- 12 sprigs of parsley, leaves only
- 2 limes, juiced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp ground allspice
Instructions
For the Caribbean baked chicken:
- Marinate. Place all the ingredients for the Caribbean baked chicken (except for the chicken and butter) into a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth. Put the chicken into a tray or a deep plate. Thoroughly cover the chicken with this mixture (I wear gloves because of the chilies). Loosely cover the chicken with aluminum foil. Place the tray or plate in the fridge and leave the chicken to marinate overnight.
- Prepare the chicken before roasting. Remove the chicken from the fridge an hour before cooking if possible to bring it to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F), or 165°C (330°F) if you’re using a convection oven, 15 min before baking. Brush off as much of the green mixture as possible but don’t discard it. Pour it into a sieve placed over a bowl. Stuff the chicken with the paste left in the sieve but keep the liquid in the bowl for later on. Put the chicken into a roasting pan breast-side up. Spread the butter over the outside of the chicken. Season the chicken generously with additional salt and black pepper. Pour the marinade liquid from the bowl into the tray.
- Into the oven, it goes! To calculate the cooking time, allow 1h per kilo (1h per 2.2 lb). For example, my 1.7kg / 3.7lb chicken would take 1 hour and 42 minutes in total. To test whether the chicken is cooked, insert a knife where the thigh joins the breast. If the juice is pink instead of clear, put the chicken back in the oven and check for the color again every 10 min or so. When it’s cooked remove the chicken from the oven, and place it onto a cutting board. Let the Caribbean baked chicken rest for 10 to 15 min before carving. Serve with white rice and the sauce chien if desired.
For the sauce chien:
- Make the sauce while the chicken is cooking. Finely dice the garlic cloves, chili, spring onions, and parsley. If you can’t be bothered, blitz everything for just a few seconds in a food processor (it should not turn into a paste, but you should still spot pieces). Put into a serving bowl and stir in the lime juice, vegetable oil and allspice. Pour just enough just-boiled water to cover everything up and to make the sauce ‘spoonable’ (I used 60ml/ ¼ cup). Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Notes
Caribbean baked chicken will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pieces
- Calories: 671
Keywords: flavorful roast chicken, french west indies recipes, overnight marinated chicken
Are you looking for other recipes from the French West Indies? Here are some of my childhood favorites:
Joseph
this recipe looks amazing will try only have a frozen small game hen will use it and get back to you. just a tip on a turkey roasted Mom always smeared herbed butter on a cheese cloth and laid it on turkey then removed it towards end of roasting time to crisp the skin. ” ” ” Good Appetite ” Joseph !