Poulet Boucané des Antilles (Smoked Chicken from the Antilles)
Poulet Boucané des Antilles (Smoked Chicken from the Antilles) is a traditional Saint-Martin recipe for a classic dish of spatchcocked chicken with an onion, garlic and herb marinade that's smoked over green sugarcane on a barbecue. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Saint-Martin version of: Smoked Chicken from the Antilles (Poulet Boucané des Antilles).
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The name of the recipe can be translated as both smoked chicken and buccaneer chicken. In fact, the term 'buccaneer' (boucaniers in French), derives from a method of smoking meat.
The word 'boucan' (smoking) originally referred to the grill used by the Carib Indians to smoke meat. Buccaneers, pirates who operated in the Caribbean Sea in the 17th century, adopted this method to preserve meat. The recipe for smoked chicken, as we know it today, is an evolution of this traditional smoking technique.
Sauce Chien, also called "creole sauce," is a cold sauce typical of the French Antilles, particularly Guadeloupe and Martinique. Its intriguing name comes from the brand of a knife widely used in the Caribbean, the 'chien' knife, which is often used to chop the sauce's ingredients. This sauce traditionally accompanies grilled meats, especially smoked chicken, but it is also served with fish and shellfish.
This recipe uses split green sugarcane to generate the smoke that flavours the chicken. If you don't have sugarcane, you can use stale bread that has been moistened and wrung out. Spread it over the surface of the coals.
This dish is found on Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Saint Martin (both the French and Dutch sides) and Saint Barthelemy). As a note, I've already added a separate recipe for Buccaneer/Smoked Chicken from Martinique.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, spatchcocked open
For the marinade:
2 white onions, very finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
4 tbsp chives, very finely chopped
2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and chopped
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly-ground black pepper
For the marinade: In a large bowl, mix together the garlic, onion, chives and thyme leaves with the lime juice, salt and black pepper.
Spatchcock the chicken and flatten then place in a dish and coat on both sides with the marinade. Massage the marinade into the meat then cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (but best over night).
Before you cook, pre-heat your barbecue. When the coals are nicely burning, spread a layer of green sugarcane (or moistened bread) all over the coals. When smoking, add the chicken on top of the barbecue, close the lid and smoke the chicken for about 180 minutes. During this time baste the chicken regularly with any leftover marinade.
Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through and the skin is crispy.
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