Bahamian Chicken

Description

Most of us have some familiarity with dishes of Caribbean cuisine, although it may well be limited to Jamaican jerk. Let's face it many of us love spicy, perfectly barbecued chicken or pork and jerk is the default dish in many Caribbean style restaurants found throughout the US. I'm a big fan of spicy Caribbean style cuisine, but I was in search of something flavorful with an island flair that wasn't jerk chicken.

After much searching and testing, I finally settled in on this Bahamian inspired chicken seasoning that is excellent as a dry rub but is especially dazzling when used as a wet rub or marinade. The best way to think about this is that when used as a dry rub it makes for "a crustier outer bark on your chicken" while as a wet rub or marinade produces juicier meat. I also love how the fresh lime marinade imparts an alluring tanginess.

Bahamian Cuisine

Bahamian cuisine refers to the food culture of the Bahamas. When it comes to fresh seafood and tropical produce, the Bahamas have quite an advantage. Bahamian cuisine typically consists of conch, crab, fish, lobster and shellfish. Also deeply embedded in the everyday dishes are tropical fruits, peas, pigeon peas, potatoes and rice. The most popular dishes for daily consumption include Rice and Peas, Fish and Chips, Steamed Grouper with Dumplings and Caribbean Patties. Popular meat dishes are made with chicken, goat (often referred to as mutton) and pork. In the outlying islands Iguana is also considered a favorite protein of choice.

When it comes to perfectly balancing hot and spicy, sweet and tart, tangy and zesty, Bahamian cooks have an intuitive talent for converting a dish from the plain to the remarkable. Spices, herbs and seasonings are some of the most important ingredients in Bahamian cuisine and include allspice, coconut, chilies, cilantro, cinnamon, garlic, lime, onions, rum and tomatoes. 

Peppers play a starring role in Bahamian dishes and come in a astonishing variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and spicy heat. Bahamian cooks use them fresh, frozen, dried, flaked, powdered or whole. Bahamians love to create pepper sauce by the gallon and in Nassau alone there are dozens of different varieties, from the mild and flavorful to the insanely hot. 

Heat Level

For this blend I wanted some of that fiery heat, but stopped short of burn your face off hot (a.k.a. insanely hot). The chile I wanted to feature for this blend was the Scotch Bonnet chile. The Scotch Bonnet is similar to the better known Habanero Chile, but isn’t quite as hot and is a bit sweeter with a flavor profile that's more brings to mind tomatoes with hints of apple and cherry.  The Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) for the habanero comes in at 150,000 - 325,000 and the SHU for the Scotch Bonnet is 100,000 - 300,000.

What's in It?

Hand blended from smoked sweet paprika, garlic, onion, thyme, white pepper and Scotch Bonnet flakes. Best of all this is a salt free blend!

How to Use

To make a marinade combine 3 tablespoons of Bahamian Chicken with 1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (not from concentrate) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Good for marinating 3 lbs of chicken.

Pour the marinade over the chicken (I like to use a zip lock style bag to full submerge the chicken) and then place in the refrigerator for the allotted time. When marinating chicken I like to let the chicken "season" in the marinade for at least 4 hours prior to cooking and have gone as much as 24 hours.

The acid from the lime tenderizes the chicken and the natural sugar from the lime juice also helps create a superb caramelized effect that just locks in the flavor. The sugar from the fruit also helps visually as it makes the signature grill marks very noticeable. 

Helpful Hints

If you’re a fan of Latin American style chicken marinade seasonings then check out our Pollo Asado and if you enjoy the Caribbean seasonings then you may want to check out our Jamaican Jerk, Habanero Mango Chicken Rub and Caribbean Turkey Rub.

Related Blog Posts

Flavorful Latin Food
Brazilian Cuisine 101
Mexican Spices, Seasonings and Chiles
The 66 Best Seasonings & Spices for Chicken

Nutritional Information
Serving Size 1 Teaspoon, Amount Per Serving: Calories 4.9, Fat Cal. 0.9g, Total Fat 0.1g (0% DV), Sat. Fat 0.0g (0% DV), Trans Fat 0g (0% DV), Cholest. 0mg (0% DV), Sodium 0.7mg (0% DV), Total Carb. 1.0g (0% DV), Dietary Fiber 0.4g (2% DV), Sugars 0.3g, Protein 0.2g (0%DV), Vitamin A (8.3% DV), Vitamin C (1.4% DV), Calcium (0.7% DV), Iron (2.1% DV), Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.