Jimmy Buffett's Barbados Style Chicken

[DessertGuy]

Jimmy Buffett's Barbados Style Chicken
Recipe courtesy Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Spicy Barbados Pepper Sauce:
1 whole red onion
1 cup diced red pepper
2 seeded Scotch Bonnet peppers
2 whole papayas, peeled and seeded
1 bulb fresh garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup malt vinegar
3 cups white wine
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 cups yellow mustard
2 chickens, halved
Olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
4 pieces Cuban bread
Black beans and yellow rice, as accompaniment

For the Sauce:
In a food processor, combine onion, red pepper, Scotch bonnets, papaya, and garlic and pulse to chop.
Transfer the finely chopped ingredients to a saucepan. Add lemon juice, malt vinegar, white wine, dry mustard, water, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook slowly until the mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the yellow mustard.

For the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Season the chicken well with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with thyme. Bake until the chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven.

Cuban Bread:
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Cuban bread. Preheat a sandwich press or 2 cast iron skillets, 1 a little larger than the other. Slice the bread in 1/2 horizontally. Spread both cut sides with butter. Press the cut side together and place in the sandwich press. Close and toast until golden brown and the butter is melted. If using skillets, place the bread in the larger skillet. Top with the smaller, heated skillet and cook until both sides are golden brown and the butter is melted.

Preheat the broiler:
Brush the sauce on the chicken, coating well. Place in the broiler and broil until the sauce bubbles and starts to brown. Remove from the heat and serve with cuban bread, black beans, and yellow rice. Garnish with thyme sprigs.