Grilled chicken breasts stacked on a white plate, sitting on a white and blue striped tablecloth with a standup propane grill in the background.

Haitian Creole Grilled Chicken

Courtesy of Bull Outdoor Products

Makes: 6 - 8 servings
Prep Time: 4 - 12 hours
Cook Time: 30 - 60 minutes

Ingredients:

5 lbs Cut-up chicken, trimmed of excess fat and skin
Salt and pepper, for seasoning
2 tbsp Rendered pork fat, lard, or bacon grease
3 tbsp Double-concentrated tomato paste (in the tube, not canned)
1/4 tsp Ground allspice

For Marinade:
1/4 cup Lime juice
3 Scallions, chopped
6 Cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 to 2 Habanero or Scotch Bonnet chile
1/2 cup Chopped white onion
1/2 Red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
6 Sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 Chicken bouillon cube
1-1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Ground black pepper
3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Place all of the marinade ingredients in a blender along with 1 cup of water and puree.
Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag or in a shallow dish just large enough to hold the chicken.
Pour in marinade making sure all the pieces are coated.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours or as long as overnight.
Remove chicken from marinade scraping off the excess with your fingers back into the bowl; reserve the marinade.
Place chicken on a sheet pan and blot dry with paper towels.
Loosely cover and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the sauce.

For Creole Sauce:

Melt pork fat or bacon grease in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.
Carefully whisk in the reserved marinade (it will splatter), tomato paste, and ground allspice.
Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside until needed.

Grilling:

Set up grill for indirect grilling over medium heat (This means no direct heat source under the chicken).
Brush and oil grate when ready to start cooking.
Place the chicken skin-side up on the indirect side of the grill, close the cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
Raise the lid and rearrange the chicken for even cooking.
Baste with Creole Sauce, close the cover and cook for another 15 minutes.
Flip the chicken, baste and cook for another 10 minutes.
During the last couple minutes of cooking, move the chicken over to the direct heat side of the grill and baste with Creole Sauce and flip a couple times to crisp up and get a little char on the skin.
Be very careful of flare-ups and prepare to move the chicken around or back to the indirect side.
The chicken will be done when the internal temperature reaches 165°F and is no longer pink at the bone.