Bahamian Grilled Chicken

Here's another recipe from The Barbecue! Bible and I'm sure you'll love it. This recipe is delicious and is sure to full fill your need for some good Caribbean food. The recipe calls for chicken on the bone with skin, but I substituted with four boneless chicken breast with great results.

Advance preparation

30 minutes to 2 hours for marinating the chicken

Ingredients
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), quartered, or 4 bone-in chicken breast halves with skin

1 cup fresh lime juice

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 to 2 scotch bonnet or other hot chiles, thinly sliced

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper

1. Rinse the chicken pieces under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Place the pieces in a nonreactive bowl or baking dish and pour the lime juice over them; turn the pieces to coat. Let the chicken marinate, at room temperature, for 15 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice.

2. Pour off and discard the lime juice, then add the onion, garlic, Scotch bonnet(s), thyme, oil, paprika, salt, and pepper and turn the chicken pieces to coat thoroughly. Let the chicken marinate in this mixture for at least 15 minutes or as long as 1 to 2 hours (the longer the better), covering and refrigerating it if marinating for the longer time.

3. Set up the grill for two-zone direct grilling (if using charcoal), preheating two thirds of the grill to medium and leaving one third heat free as a safety zone. (I used my gas grill and just preheated to high)

4. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. using a rubber spatula, scrape and bits of onion or garlic off the chicken pieces. Arrange the chicken, skin side down, on the grate over the hot zone of the grill and cook until the skin is golden brown and the meat is cooked through without any trace of red at the bone, 8 to 12 minutes per side. If you get flare-ups, move the chicken to the safety zone until the flames dies down.

5. Transfer the chicken pieces to the serving plates or a platter and serve.