Couple weeks back when we were on vacation in  Trinidad we took the drive “down south”  (San Fernando, the second largest city in Trinidad and Tobago) to enjoy some BBQ. Last February when we went down for Carnival I had mentioned to my sister that I felt like eating some good island BBQ so she took us down to Cipero in San Fernando to eat at a BBQ joint run by some Muslims. I’ve now been there 2 times and I’m still to remember the name… the food is so good you tend to blank everything else out!

This BBQ recipe for chicken is not like the one we enjoyed while we were there, however it’s very tasty as it’s infused with many of the typical seasonings we use when cooking meat on the islands. BTW, if you know the BBQ joint I’m speaking about, do leave me a comment below so I can tell others the name.

* You have 2 options when making this BBQ chicken. You can precook it as I’ve done, or you can let it marinate for a couple hours (be sure to make some cuts in the thickest part of the chicken) and grill directly on a medium heat grill. I would even recommend that you grill it a bit on indirect heat to avoid flare-ups. Remember if you don’t precook the chicken it will take much longer to cook on the grill.

Note: If you’re feeding the average Trinbagonian BBQ chicken (any BBQ meat) it’s important to note that we don’t want to see any “red” or “pink”. It’s an immediate turn-off and we probably won’t eat it. However over the years I’ve learned to appreciate a medium done steak.. still trying to convince my dad that it’s good tasting like that.

You’ll Need…

7 chicken legs with back attached. (or about 3-5 lbs chicken pieces)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon thyme
1 scallion chopped
2-3 tablespoon shado beni (or chopped cilantro)
1-2 leaves of Spanish thyme minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes (or fresh sliced scotch bonnet/habanero pepper)
dash of black pepper
1 table spoon ketchup
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 pimento pepper
1 medium onion rough chopped
1 tomato diced
2 cloves galic.
1 lime

* You’ll need about 1 cup of your favourite BBQ sauce.

Note: I didn’t have the items in “bold” above, so I used a tablespoon of the prepared green seasoning paste I have handy in my fridge. it’s made up of basically the same thing.

Start by trimming off any excess fat or skin from the chicken and wash with the juice of the lime (or lemon) and water (drain). Then place in a fairly large pot and toss in all the ingredients mentioned above. On medium to low heat, cover and allow to simmer (gentle) for about 30 minutes. Please ensure it’s a very low simmer as we don’t want to over-boil the chicken pieces. Stir every 10 minutes or so.

You will notice that there will be a lot of liquid formed during simmering. Remove the chicken pieces (dump out the remainign liquid from the pot) and get the grill ready for the final step (the chicken will not look all at that appealing at this point). Try to get the BBQ at about 300 degrees and start grilling the chicken. Since the chicken is already cooked, this point is just to get the meat firm, add some colour and flavour from the BBQ sauce.

In the pic above you’ll notice that I have the pan with my BBQ sauce and brush sitting on the BBQ. This allows the sauce to heat up so I don’t brush cold sauce onto the chicken pieces. Within 10-15 minutes your chicken will be ready. Just remember to flip a few times and brush with BBQ sauce to give it all that wonderful sticky BBQ goodness.

Back to that BBQ joint on Cipero Street in San Fernando… I would recommend that you stick with the chicken (comes with fries and salad) as I’ve found that the beef and lamb is very tough. And do be careful with the hot sauce that’s provided. If you can’t tolerate much heat, don’t try to follow the locals and pour in a ton of hot sauce. You’re just asking for pain then And do try the sort of garlic mayo they have as well.

Happy Cooking

Chris…

With major holidays in Canada (July 1) and the US (July 4) coming up soon, I thought I’d share a few tips on working with chicken on the grill. These are from my experiences and though I don’t claim to be an expert… I do have guests licking their fingers when they’ve had the opportunity to experience my artistry on an open flame. My absolute favourite meat besides a good NY Strip steak to cook on the grill is chicken. But not just any old piece of chicken, it must be leg quarters. I love the flavour of dark meat, plus it stands up best to the high-direct heat of grilling.

Some tips…

To make breast quarters grill more quickly and evenly, cut through the wing joint to break it and bring the wing closer to the grill. If you’re cooking dark meat like leg quarters, pierce the thick parts a few times with a pairing knife. I usually go in near the joints. Here’s a pic of some leg quarters brushed with sticky honey-garlic sauce.

If you’re dieting and want to remove the chicken’s skin, do so after cooking, not before.  Without some kind of covering, the chicken will dry out and toughen before it finishes cooking.

Turn chicken frequently, about every 5 minutes to insure even doneness and to prevent blistering.

If flare-ups occur, remove the food for a few moments and sprinkle water lightly over the flames, or smother them by covering the grill.

Cook white-meat poultry until juices run clear and the meat reaches an internal temperature of 170o to 175oF and dark meat to 180o to 185oF on a meat thermometer.

Grill whole birds and larger parts using the indirect method in a covered grill.  Place a drip pan beneath the bird; the pan should be slightly larger than the bird. Fill the pan halfway with water or you’ll find that the drippings or grease will flare up as well. Keep adding water as needed so the pan is never dry.

Chicken should be well-done.  If you don’t want to take the usual time it takes, cook your chicken partially by steaming it on low heat on a stove top or (I can’t believe I’m saying this) microwave.

Purchase one of those metal BBQ sauce cups so you can place the BBQ sauce you’ll be using to heat while the chicken is cooking. Never take bottled BBQ sauces from the fridge and brush directly onto your grilled meats and vegetables. I place my sauce cup on top of the BBQ while I cook. the heat is very low, so the sauces gets to slow heat and be ready for basting when the time arrives.

The final product… had to add some chicken flavoured rice and a wonderful Greek salad.

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or would like to contribute further to this post.