today we get acquainted with a famous recipe of caribbean cuisine, a gastronomic pearl of jamaican origin: "jerk chicken".
the jamaican chicken recipe is full of flavors, and their grill technique (also called "jerk") is interesting because it creates a delicious spicy crust, which keeps the meat juicy.
the basic ingredient that keeps the original jamaican emblem is the renowned and feared pepper in bonnet shape.
this nice chili, very small in fact, is very hot. seriously, it should be marked with "danger".
don't put 2-3 peppers like these, like they use to say in the original recipes, because it is super hot. only one is enough to create a "fire”, that's for sure :)) (even without seeds).
the jerk marinade is a festival of flavors, it's spicy and bursting, with exotic perfumes and fits with any meat. the pork and chicken meat marinate during several hours, but for fish and seafood are necessary just a few minutes.
today i made chicken and shrimp in jerk version (one kg each) and a hot pepper was more than enough. let's start with the chicken :)
ingredients:
-1 kg chicken pieces (breast, legs, wings) or how much you like
for jerk marinade:
-half a teaspoon allspice powder
-half a teaspoon of garlic powder
-a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon
-a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg
-a teaspoon of brown sugar
-ginger - as a walnut
-2 tablespoons of thyme
-2-3 cloves of garlic
-a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper
-half a teaspoon of ground black pepper
-a teaspoon of salt
-a pitted pepper (scotch bonnet pepper)
-a chopped tomato or 2-3 smaller tomatoes
-a chopped onion
-a quarter cup of olive oil
-2 tablespoons soy sauce
-3 tablespoons of white vinegar
-juice from 2 large and juicy oranges
-juice from 1 lime
i doubled the amount of spices powder (for a stronger flavor).
wash the pepper, cut the cap and then remove the seeds. put in blender and wash hands thoroughly.
add all ingredients in blender and mix for 20 seconds, to obtain a homogeneous paste.
wash the chicken pieces, wipe them and place in a large bowl.
pour marinade over chicken, and stir so that each piece is covered.
cover the bowl with plastic foil and leave to marinate in the refrigerator (usually for one night, but i left it for 5 hour and was enough).
take the meat out of the fridge, allow another hour at room temperature and then fry it. it's ideal to grill them on the barbecue jar, but the grill in the oven is good as well.
do not forget to put a tray under the grill, because the fat will drain.
very important: grilling is done at low temperature (in the oven at 160 degrees fahrenheit )!!!! leave the meat on the grill a long time, smear it often with the marinade and thus it will be very tender and will have a thick crust, very spicy. rol the meat on all sides, to get beautifully brown. each time, put a thick layer of marinade over it.
remove to a platter and serve hot.
to keep the exotic atmosphere, i served with fragrant basmati rice (steamed), kiwi and spicy salsa salad.
it is delicious, very spicy and aromatic.
the meat remains juicy and very pleasantly complemented by the sweet kiwi salsa drinks.
this caribbean new-entry managed to "break" all the juicy steaks charts so far and i highly recommend it for all those who want to "color" their diet.
enjoy your meal!