Jamaica: Jerk Chicken

Christine White

Jerk Chicken (Spicy Comfort Food): Jamaica

When I was small, I would always envy my parents for eating all kinds of food that seemed so delicious, but yet so spicy. I am of mixed origins, and both my mom’s Vietnamese food and my dad’s Jamaican food are made hot to the taste. The difference between the two is that my mom could moderate the pepper on the Vietnamese food, in which we can add pepper afterwards, but not on the Jamaican food, where the pepper is usually included in the spices. Through the years, I slowly tried to embrace the pepper in the foods of my culture. Finally, I started enjoying the greatness of jerk chicken when I was 13 or 14 years old. Jerk chicken is extremely spicy! Eager to continue eating, for every bite I used to have to gulp down some water. I’ve come to realize that when you get used to the heat, you end up needing it. It’s a part of the taste, and the food just won’t do without: it becomes comforting.  As a matter of fact, sometimes my mom doesn’t make it spicy enough! You may also wonder why we use the term “Jerk” Chicken.  Jerk is a method of cooking that is a combination of influences both from Caribbean and African cooking styles, where you use many different spices.  For example, we use Scotch Bonnet pepper in the chicken marinade. Scotch Bonnet pepper is found all over the Caribbean island is qualified as one of the hottest peppers in the world. Just to give you an idea, jalapeño peppers have a rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale, and Scotch Bonnet peppers have a rating of 100,000 to 350,000 on that same scale. To put it differently, the pepper is 40 to 44 times hotter! So now that you know more about Jerk chicken, as we say in Jamaica: “no worries”, there are many other spices other than pepper, so please don’t shy away from the heat, and try it anyway!

THE RECIPE

·         Ingredients

§ 3 1/2 lb of chicken legs (3lb of chicken breasts may be used if preferred)

§ 6 sliced scotch peppers

§ 2 Tbsp. thyme

§ 2 Tbsp. ground allspice

§ 8 Cloves garlic, finely chopped

§ 3 Medium onions, finely chopped

§ 2 Tbsp. sugar

§ 2 Tbsp. salt

§ 2 Tsp. ground black pepper

§ 1 to 2 Tsp of the following (to taste)

§ ground cinnamon

§ nutmeg

§ ginger

§ 1/2 cup olive oil

§ 1/2 cup soy sauce

§ Juice of one lime

§ 1 cup orange juice

§ 1 cup white vinegar

· Procedure

1. Chop the onions, garlic and peppers. These do not need to be chopped too fine as they will be liquidised by the blender.

2. Blend all of the ingredients (excluding the chicken) in a blender to make the jerk sauce.

3. Cut the chicken up in to 4 pieces.

4. Rub the sauce in to the meat, saving some for basting and dipping later.

5. Leave the chicken in the fridge to marinade overnight.

6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes; turn the meat then bake for a further 30 minutes.

7.  You can also grill the meat slowly until cooked, turning regularly. Baste with some of the remaining marinade whilst cooking. For best results, cook over a charcoal barbeque.

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