Bajan Style Fried Chicken - Ethnic Foods R Us

Bajan Style Fried Chicken is beloved by the natives of Barbados. “Bajans” (which they call themselves) favor this kind of super spicy hot way of preparing fried chicken. Bajans refer to this kind of preparation as “seasoning up” a dish. For the best results, after seasoning the chicken, refrigerate it for a couple hours before the deep frying. This will allow the flavors to meld and blend deeply into the meat.

(Photo Attributed to Author: Mike DelGaudio from USA)

Bajan Style Fried Chicken Recipe-

Ingredients:

3 – 4 lb. whole organic chickens, cut up into serving size pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
salt. and freshly ground black peppercorns, to taste
2 large organic chicken eggs, whisked until slightly frothy
3 ¹⁄₂ cups unseasoned breadcrumbs
special Bajan seasoning, mix (ingredients and directions below)
vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the Bajan Seasoning-

2 medium-sized white or yellow onions, peeled and diced fine
2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh marjoram
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives
¹⁄₂ tsp. ground cloves
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
2-3 Scotch bonnet chili peppers, chopped fine (leave seeds in for extra spicy hot, remove seeds for less hot)
1 tsp. smoked paprika
juice of 1 lime
salt, to taste

Directions:

Fill a large cooking pot with salted water, and bring it to a boil.
Add in the chicken, cover the pot, and reduce heat to just a lively simmer. Cook until the meat is beginning to tenderize – about 30 to 35 minutes should do it.
While the chicken is boiling, prepare your Bajan seasoning mix. Simply add all the ingredients into an electric blender or food processor, and pulse and blend until you have a completely homogenized, smooth mixture. Note: this recipe will make more than enough for this one dish, so you can keep the rest for weeks at a time. Just place in a tightly closed container and store it in the refrigerator.
When the chicken pieces are boiled tender, remove them from the pot and pat dry.
Cut a deep, long pocket into the meaty part of each piece, and fill each pocket with your special Bajan Seasoning Mix. Note: if you are prepping the chicken early in the day, for an evening meal, you can now store the chicken until near serving time. Place the pieces in a large bowl, cover it, and store in the refrigerator. This will enhance further the richness of the seasoning flavors in the meat.
When you are ready to fry, heat the oil in a large, high-walled skillet, or a deep-fryer, over high flame. When a drop of water tossed into the oil sizzles and pops, the oil is heated just right.
Combine flour, salt and pepper on a large platter. Dredge the chicken pieces through the mixture, turning and coating them evenly all over. Shake off any excess flour.
Now dredge the pieces through the whisked eggs, again coating evenly. Then, roll them in the bread crumbs to coat all sides completely.
Fry the chicken pieces until they are a rich, golden brown – about 2 to 3 minutes on each side should do it. You will probably have to work in batches, as you do not want the pieces touching during the deep frying.
Remove the pieces from the pan, and place on a paper towel-lined tray to drain.
Serve your Bajan Style Fried Chicken right away, while still nice and hot.