bbq chicken recipe Archives | CaribbeanPot.com

I’m always excited when this time of the year comes around, especially after such a harsh and bitter winter. I LOVE cooking on an open flame, so the annual “July’s Month Of Grilling” is when you’ll see another level of energy come out in me (watch my videos). In this recipe we’ll take key Caribbean ingredients, such as mango, coconut milk, ginger, honey, limes, fresh herbs and scotch bonnet pepper to make an exciting marinade for chicken, pork and fish.

You’ll Need…

3 chicken breasts (boneless | about 2.5 – 3 lbs)

1 large mango (diced)
1/2 cup chopped shado beni (or 1 cup cilantro)
2 scallions
2 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 limes (juice)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds)
2 tablespoon honey
1 cup water (divided – half for blending marinade and 1/2 for cooking marinade)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Please ensure the ingredients meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs if doing this recipe fully gluten free.

The key to this Caribbean style grilled chicken recipe is the marinade, so let’s get started. In a food processor or blender, place all the ingredients until you have a smooth consistency. Then wash and pat the chicken pieces dry. I used skinless|boneless chicken breasts, but you can use an chicken pieces you like (adjust to cooking time). This recipe can do between 5-8 lbs of chicken easily.

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl (or large zipper lock bag) and pour in half of the marinade and mix well to coat the entire chicken breasts. Seal and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours (overnight is best). Save the other half of marinade.

Now it’s time to grill. Basically grill the chicken as you’d normally do. In my case I placed the remaining marinade in a metal container and placed it on the flame to heat up. With my grill at about 375 -400 F and with low flame directly under the chicken and higher flame on the side (3 burners on my grill), I grilled the chicken for about 20-25 minutes. Remember to flip so they cook evenly. The last 3-5 minutes, I basted the chicken pieces with the extra (hot) marinade so the chicken breasts did go dry. It also added even more flavor as the sugars in the marinade caramelized with the open flame. (do discard the marinade the chicken pieces were sitting in)

You’ll notice that I was a bit stingy with the salt as I’m trying to cut back on my sodium intake, so do adjust accordingly. I squeezed on some fresh lemon juice while the chicken pieces were still warm (do serve warm) for a citrus finish. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling scotch bonnet peppers and don’t include any seeds as it will take the heat level up.

Meat & Poultry

Caribbean Tamarind Grilled Chicken.

May 27, 2025June 16, 20125 Comments

After sharing that wonderful recipe for making your own homemade tamarind bbq sauce, I though I’d quickly show you how to put it to use on some grilled chicken. BBQ or grilling in the Caribbean usually means making your own sauce or taking the commercial stuff and personalizing it with your own herbs and spices. Unlike grilling in other parts of the world where salt and pepper is king, in the Caribbean we love to ‘season’ our meats and have it marinate (soak) to infuse it with the herbs which are grown locally (usually in our back yard).

This grilled chicken will be unlike anything you’ve ever had and I assure you, you’ll have your guests asking for more (and the recipe). If you don’t own a BBQ or grill, you can certainly do this in your oven under the broiler. Contact me for more info on that.

You’ll Need…

2 chickens (cut in halves)
1 heaping tablespoon Caribbean style green seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Tamarind BBQ Sauce
Juice of 1 lime or lemon

* The chickens were between 3-4lbs each.

Here’s a quick video showing how we make the green seasoning …

Cut your chickens in half (see video below), remove the wing tips and discard, then pour the lime juice over the chicken and wash with cool water. Rinse and drain. Now pour in the salt and green seasoning mix and give it a good massage to ensure every piece of the chicken comes in contact with the seasoning.

Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2hrs to really infuse the chicken with the exciting flavors of the green seasoning. Before you head out to the grill, allow the seasoned chicken to come back to room temperature (about 15 minutes). Have you grill nice and hot at about 375 F and place on the highest rack, off the heat. If you only have one level on your grill, do the indirect heat technique for the first 20 minutes. Which means the main source of heat will be away from the chicken… so it cooks slowly.

In the picture above you’ll notice that I left the marinade on the chicken as I love the little kick you get as you get slight hints of it when eating. After 20 minutes on my upper rack (or indirect heat), it’s time to place it on the main grill where the real heat is. In total I left it there for 30 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes or so, while keeping an eye for flare-ups. I love working with the skin on the chicken, so flare-ups is a real threat! I find that the skin helps keep the chicken very moist and it’s great for holding the bbq sauce when applied.

TIP: I usually keep my BBQ sauce in a small metal cup on top of the grill’s cover to heat up while grilling. This way the bbq sauce is warm and spreads evenly when brushed onto whatever you’re grilling.

Now it’s time to start applying the tamarind bbq sauce on the chicken pieces. Apply liberally and remember to keep flipping as you do so, to create a nice even caramelized color on the grilled chicken. After a couple coats of the bbq sauce you’ll start having a nice glaze… very appetizing! Here’s the video on making the tamarind bbq sauce if you missed it…

It took about 7-10 minutes after I started applying the bbq sauce onto the grilled chicken pieces before I achieved the look I was going for.

As I mentioned above, this tamarind grilled chicken will be the best chicken you’ll have all summer… try it and leave me a comment below!

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Meat & Poultry

Some BBQ tips and techniques for chicken.

May 27, 2025June 26, 200918 Comments

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.

caribbean bbq chicken

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 170 to 175F and dark meat to 180 to 185F 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.

bbq tips

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

caribbean bbq dinner

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

bbq chicken recipe

Mango Coconut Shado Beni (cilantro) Grilled Chicken.

Caribbean Tamarind Grilled Chicken.

Some BBQ tips and techniques for chicken.

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