Boucané – Caribbean BBQ in Martinique

With a respirator mask on his forehead, Fabrice lifts the lid of the smoker. As the elongated grill opens, a large cloud of smoke rises. The smell of chicken hits the nose. He turns the pieces and closes the lid. Then, torrential rain pours down, and the droplets hiss as they evaporate on the hot metal. In the countless shacks and food trucks along the roadsides of the evergreen Caribbean islands in the Lesser Antilles, this Creole specialty is offered daily. There is no escaping it on Sundays, when the scent of smoked, marinated chicken hangs over Martinique. The Poulet Boucané is ready. – Text and photos by Sebastian Heuser

Everyone has their own secret for making the chicken meat particularly tender and aromatic: besides the marinade and the time, smoke plays an important role, and there are many ways to make it something special.

In the north of the island, at the foot of the Montagne Pelée in the small town of Le Morne-Rouge, the traditional chicken dish is prepared to perfection in the Bouca Pelée. To obtain a dense, powerful smoke, Fabrice smokes with Campeche, better known as logwood. The reddish wood can be found everywhere on the island and is usually used for dyeing. He stores the wood outside; the rainfall in the north of the island is so high that it does not dry out, and for him, the smoke is naturally perfect.
In the past, green wood, leaves, fragrant bark, and berries were used for smoking. Whether the red wood gives the legs, from which Boucané is usually prepared, their typical reddish color is not clearly established. It could just as easily come from the marinade.

For traditional preparation, you need garlic, onions, thyme, chili peppers, spring onions, salt, pepper, paprika, and tomato water as a liquid. For this, the clear tomato juice from the inside, which everyone else throws away, should be roughly separated from the seeds. These become bitter when grilled and cannot be sown later.

In many simple local cuisines, the following approach is common: nothing that adds flavor is thrown away. The pulp of the tomatoes is needed later for the sauce. All ingredients are chopped very finely and mixed together before the bay leaf is added. The pieces are rubbed with this and left covered for at least half a day. They do not necessarily need to be kept cool, although most people do.

When the dish originated, there were no refrigerators. Chili, salt, smoke, and the long cooking time kill all bacteria. This keeps the meat preserved so it can be eaten cold later. The result is tender, juicy, and well-seasoned chicken meat with a balanced smoky flavor.

"I don't cook according to a recipe. I see the chicken and know how much I need. That's BBQ; everyone likes it differently, everyone makes it differently. People come to me because they like my taste. Do you think my father stood in the kitchen with a digital scale and weighed out salt and pepper?" He laughs and opens a small valve to increase the temperature a little. Those who like it spicier use more chili peppers and chop fresh ginger. Others like it sweeter and add fresh cinnamon, honey, or sugar, and those who like it fruity pour freshly squeezed orange juice into the marinade and grate some of the zest into it. There is no single recipe for Boucané; everyone has their own and thus their own story.

Deep in the south, in Le Diamant, Sammy stands at the grill and enchants the guests of Pam‘s Snack with his Boucané. "I marinate the chicken for at least 24 hours and then smoke it over freshly cut sugar cane." His smoker has no vent; two small indentations on the side are enough for air circulation. The fact that it looks like an old oil drum is no coincidence; that’s just how smokers used to be built. The selection has grown in recent years, but most still prepare the traditional dish on simple devices. "I don't need high heat, that's not so important. The main thing is that the smoke is dense." A popular method for dense smoke is soaked bread. Here, old, hard bread is soaked in water and distributed over the glowing coals.
Rice and lentils are the classic side dishes, and the popular Sauce Créole goes with everything. Made from coarsely diced ripe tomatoes, red onions, garlic, parsley, spring onions, cilantro, lime juice, salt, sugar, pepper, chili, and piment végétarien, it creates a sauce that gives not only chicken the final touch. Apple or sugar cane vinegar round it off and give it a slight sweetness. It is often served with fish or shellfish, and this Caribbean "all-purpose sauce" also combines well with grilled corn on the cob and bread.

Piment Végétarien is a small, sweet variety of pepper that is very popular in the Caribbean. It is pale green and turns red as it ripens; it has a strong aroma and is not spicy.

So there is no uniform recipe, and everyone who smokes their marinated chicken pieces over sugar cane or coconut shells has their own secret to making the dish unique. Boucané: A delicate temptation of tradition and smoke.