Baked Bajan Chicken Recipes

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.

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.

BAJA CHICKEN

Steps:

• mix all ingredients except chicken in a bowl.
• add chicken and let marinate 24 - 48 hours.
• take chicken out of marinade and place in a 9x13 baking dish.
• bake uncovered in a 425 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
• cover and bake at 325 degrees F for 30 more minutes.
• while still warm place in a mixer and slowly beat with paddle to shred or shred by hand when cool enough to do so.
• serve over rice or wrapped in a tortilla.
• Alternate cooking method using a grill.
• reserve 1/3 of marinade.
• mix chicken into the rest of marinade.
• marinate 24 - 48 hours.
• cook the chicken on a grill until outside is slightly blackened.
• put in a 9x13 pan
• add the reserved marinade.
• cover and bake at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes.
• shred as described above.