We are making Jerk Chicken for the adventurous contingent at our annual Thanksgiving Dinner for the family homeless shelter in White Plains, along with all the normal stuff. Salil has made it at my house and it’s good, but it’s more like spicy marinaded chicken than the Jerk Chicken I had in Jamaica. Does anyone have a good traditional recipe?
PS - we are going to do a reprise of $avino’s sister-in-law’s sweet potato recipe, which was a HUGE hit last year, along with Mac and Cheese, double stuffed baked potatoes, home made cole slaw, broccoli crunch salad for those who want some healthy stuff, turkey, herb marinated chicken for those who do not like spice and hors d’oeuvres of pigs in blankets, mini meatballs and deviled eggs. Dessert is cakes and more cakes and more cakes.
I want to do roast beef, but everyone, including the staff at the shelter, says no, it’s not a roast beef crowd. They said turkey and chicken is what people like the best, so I want to go with herb marinated and jerk as two separate choices.
You can get legit Jerk seasoning with Walkers Wood. You may be able to find it at CostPlus. I’ve been to Walkers wood and it is the real deal(made there and shipped). Skip Busha Brown’s which I think is too sweet. My old business partner’s mom was Super Chicken in Kingston(retired).
If you must make by hand:
Heat 2 oz Pimento in a small fry pan stirring for 5 min. Put in mortar and pestle and pound to a powder. add 6 stocks escallion, 2-3 scotch bonnets 4 fresh cinnamon leaves chopped(or bay if cinnamon leaves are not available)salt and pepper to taste. pound to a thick paste, rub on chicken and refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight(better). Gently grill on pimento wood(which you won’t find so use charcoal and throw some green pimento leaves or corns on the coal from time to time). Cook slow.
This world for pork too, just make sure to cook slower.
Enjoy! Don’t forget to get some Ting.
I wonder if you can still get lobster on the beach at Frenchman’s Cove?
I made this recipe from Serious Eats and thought it was amazing. I don’t know what traditional is supposed to taste like, but it seems that he went through considerable effort to recreate traditional flavors using ingredients available to us.
I have made Jerked Chicken breast (bone-in) and spatchcocked whole fowl on the grill many times.
I finely dice veggies (onion, garlic, Banana peppers, and celery) and mix them, with the spices (traditional Jerk spices and fresh herbs) and a little oil, in a covered bowl. I include a couple of Scotch Bonnet peppers, either pierced several times with a knife and tossed in the marinade whole, or de-seeded and quartered. The heat is tempered a little bit by these approaches.
I make sure to jam every crevice under the skin of the chicken with the veggies and spices for an overnight marinade. I end up tossing all of the vegetables after the mandatory 16-18 hours soak.
Personally, nothing compares to the flavors of charcoal grilled chicken. I make sure to allow the coals to finish burning, and add the meat when the coals are white. I try to get a good balance of direct and indirect heat in the cooking process.
I have tried cooking-down the onions, peppers, etc, prior to the marinating step, but I don’t think any appreciable difference is found in the end-product’s flavors. I prefer to just use raw vegetables in my marinade, making sure that I pluck every bit out of the skin after allowing the chicken to rest overnight in the fridge.
Walkers Wood was a rather surreal experience. I visited back in the early 90s. The main restaurant was across from a combo jeep/SUV car wash/blaring DJ booth in the middle of the woods. It was in the evening. The restaurant had low cinderblock walls and zinc roofing. The pimento wood BBQ pit had many men(Chefs?) walking around it saying exactly what was to be done with at least 3 dogs running around kicking up dust. The jerk pork was a holy shit culinary moment. Another was amazing smoked marlin at Chris Blackwell’s Strawberry Hill Hotel brunch in the Blue Mountains(you know about the coffee) while hearing stories of bands that stayed there during mixing for Island Records.
here’s one I use.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp ground allspice
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 tsp fresh sage
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
juice of one lime
1 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and finely chopped (can substitute habanero)
1 cup chopped white onion
4- 6 to 8-ounce chicken breasts and thigh/legs, trimmed of fat, skin pulled off
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. With a wire whip, stir in
liquid ingredients and mix well. Stir in the vegetables and pour all over
the chicken breasts. Cover and marinate at least one hour, but preferably
overnight.
Preheat outdoor grill. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill about six minutes on each side. While grilling, brush with marinade. Heat the leftover marinade (to boiling) and serve on the side for dipping. Serves 4.
How do these recipes not have bay leaf in them? I’d love to try with cinnamon leaf but not available, but I have always used a lot of bay and most recipes I’ve seen call for both inclusion of bay leaf in marinade and bay leaf on coals as well.
I have used this blend for 25 years used to be Tone’s now McCormick. Was available at Sam’s. It was used by a local Jamaican restaurant and that’s where I first had it. Same blend.
Thanks all. I just didn’t want anything with oil, and make sure it has the proper spices , herbs, peppers, etc. I have a large supermarket near me with a huge international section. Will check it out .
Wish the McCormick would list all the ingredients, also wonder how authentic it (still) is.
There has been no drift to the recipe in all the years i have been using it.
I debone a chicken leaving only the wings and drumsticks, squeeze lime on the flesh side, salt, generous coating of the jerk seasoning. Flip over same thing on the other side, 30 minutes in a hot oven and you’re done. Salad, black beans yellow rice and you have a sub 45 minute dinner. The chicken is obviously better if you can salt and air dry for 24 hours after boning.
For a wing party toss with the seasoning, hit the grill or oven easy and quick.
It is 95% as good as a local Jamaican restaurant. (which would be a 50 minute round trip, so actually faster to do it at home)
Since there are no bones on the underside i season that side and then on top of the skin. That way the spices caramelize. Since I do in the oven, they don’t burn as they would on the grill. Every bite has jerk seasoning on it. As do the pan drippings…
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