Spicy Belizean!

So I had success... we hit a 7/10 on Ian's food "hotness" scale. WOOT! That's what two habanero peppers will do for you :) The food was pretty durn good! The chicken had a citrus kick, but it was awesomely spicy. (BTW, it was my first time ever cooking a whole chicken... yeah, preparing it, not my favorite thing ever... for real). It all turned out quite excellently though!

Here's a picture to document my first attempt at cooking a whole chicken:

Looks good, no? It was spicy deliciousness!

Here's the meal in its entirety. We had the chicken, Belizean rice and beans, and oranges. Yum!

Try out the recipes! You won't be disappointed!

Belizean Spicy Chicken
serves 2-4

1 whole fryer chicken (could use chicken breasts or whatever you wanted to)
3/4 c. chili sauce
2/3 c. chicken stock
1 lemon (juice)
1 lime (juice)
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 T. soy sauce
1 garlic clove
2 habanero chilies, minced
2 T. ground mustard
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 chipotle chilies, minced
Zest of 2 oranges
salt and pepper

Place all ingredients except chicken, salt, and pepper into a pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool.

If using a whole chicken, butterfly the chicken-not for the faint of heart. (If you don't know how, I included the instructions, since I had no idea really what to do the first time either...)

• Place the whole chicken breast side down with the drumsticks pointing toward you. The backbone is now on top. (You can feel it running down the center of the chicken)
• Hold the tail (or flap of skin) that is pointing toward you and cut along each side of the backbone with a pair of kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Remove the backbone. (You'll cut through the ribs, which is the crunching sound.)
• Turn the chicken 180 degrees so the drumsticks are pointing away from you.
• Using a small knife, cut through the piece of white cartilage (or gristle) covering the breastbone. It's located in the cavity of the chicken on the end facing you.
• Grasp each side of the chicken and bend the carcass backwards at the line of the cut you just made. Bend until you hear a crack, this exposes the breastbone.
• Run a finger along each side of the breastbone to separate the bone from the meat. Once separated, remove the entire breastbone.
• Push flat to butterfly the chicken, and remove any excess fat.

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Generously apply sauce to both sides of the chicken (or chicken pieces if you decided not to fight with it). Continue to baste every 15 minutes or so of cooking.

Cook slowly at 275 degrees for 1.5 hours. Increase heat to 400 degrees for the last 15-20 minutes. Tent with tinfoil for ten minutes. Serve immediately.

(If using chicken pieces, cook accordingly. If using a whole chicken, use a meat thermometer to check the thigh temperature has reached 160-165.)


Belizean Rice and Beans
serves 4

1 can red kidney beans
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. salt
1 can coconut milk
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. thyme
1 1/2 c. rice
1/2 onion, minced

Brown garlic and onion in a small amount of oil or butter in a saucepan with a lid. Add beans. Use the can of coconut milk and add water to make it two cups. Add to saucepan. Add spices to taste. Mix in rice. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the rice is done and the liquid has been absorbed.

Enjoy!