I love jerk!
Wait…
What did he just say?
He loves jerks?
No silly… jerk, as in Jamaican jerk seasonings!
Jerk is basically a rub or sauce that has warmth from allspice, cinnamon & nutmeg and heat from habanero or scotch bonnet peppers
My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Jamaica (this was a long, long time ago) and we were blown away with the flavors of all the food we ate
We wanted to recreate the delicious flavors that we experienced in our own kitchen
Let’s start with a jerk sauce
I’m going to break this out into steps so let’s start with the dry ingredients
We will need 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of allspice berries (or ground allspice), 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
If using ground allspice you can move to the next step but since I have these beautiful allspice berries I’m going to grind them up
The difference is your going to get a lot more flavor from the whole spice
I have placed them in a spice grinder and gave them a whirl but you can crush them in a mortar and pestle as well
Place all the spices into a blender and then grate around 1/2 teaspoon of fresh nutmeg in there as well
Next up are the vegetables
We will need 1 scallion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, 1 habanero pepper (or 2 depending on your heat tolerance) and fresh thyme
Let’s discuss the habanero peppers
THEY ARE HOT!
So I recommend handling them with rubber gloves
Once you cut them up, wash everything (knives, cutting boards, etc) and throw away the gloves
This will surely save your eyes as well as other areas
We are using only 1 here which will provide heat but not be overboard
We are going to remove the seeds and ribs which hold most of the heat (we want some heat but more flavor)
Chop the pepper, cut the garlic, peel and cut the ginger, cut the scallions and remove the thyme leaves from the stems
Add these to the blender
Next, let’s get together the wet ingredients
We will need 1/2 cup of canola oil, the juice and zest of 1 lime, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Add these to the blender
Blend until smooth and set aside
Time to talk chicken
We have 8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
Trim any excess fat and skin off the chicken
Place them back in the dish skin side down so we can flavor the bottom
Put a tablespoon of jerk sauce on each thigh
And brush it on
Flip and repeat (you can add a bit more than a tablespoon if needed)
Brush away!
Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight (recommended)
Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature
The burners on my grill run left to right
I decided to cook these low and slow so I turned the left burner on at medium and the middle and right burner off
I’m placing the chicken on the right side for slow and indirect cooking
Let this first pass go for 30 minutes
Starting to look good
Baste the chicken with some more jerk sauce
Cook for another 20 minutes
We’re seeing some good color here now
Time to flip
We want the bottom to get some air time and the top to get some crisp
Cook for 15 minutes
Flip again and apply another baste of jerk sauce
Cook another 15 to 20 minutes
Remove from the grill, sprinkle with kosher salt and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes
Serve with some lime wedges and dig in!!!!
Enjoy!!!
Simply Sundays! ~ Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
For the jerk sauce
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of allspice berries (or ground allspice)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
1 scallion
4 garlic cloves
1 – 2 habanero peppers
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 lime zested and juiced
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
For the chicken
8 skin on bone in chicken thighs
kosher salt
Directions
For the sauce
In a blender combine 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of ground allspice berries, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
Add in 1 chopped scallion, 4 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of peeled and chopped fresh ginger, 1 chopped habanero (seeds and ribs removed) and a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
Add in 1/2 cup of canola oil, the juice and zest of 1 lime, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Blend until smooth and set aside
For the chicken
Trim any excess fat and skin off the chicken thighs. Place them in the dish skin side down so we can flavor the bottom. Put a tablespoon of jerk sauce on each thigh and brush it in. Flip and repeat (you can add a bit more than a tablespoon if needed). Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight (recommended)
Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature. Turn on 1 burner of your grill and heat to 300 F. Place the chicken down over the burners that are not on for true indirect cooking. Cook low and slow. Let this first pass go for 30 minutes. Baste the chicken with some more jerk sauce. Cook for another 20 minutes
Flip and cook for 15 minutes. Flip again and apply another baste of jerk sauce. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the grill, sprinkle with kosher salt and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve with some lime wedges
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