9.30.2009

Jerk Chicken


Once a year I convince Neil to make something for dinner. Last year it was the beer can chicken, which was a hit. This year he made me jerk chicken, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Actually, he made it for his VT tailgate in Blacksburg first. It was a success there, so he offered to make it for me. He made it all by himself too! Although, I did have to educate him a bit on the spices. He spent a good deal of time looking through my spice cabinet for nutmeg :) Then finding allspice was another ordeal. Oh, and he started grating the ginger without peeling the skin. He's learning :)...and he's so going to kill me when he reads this.

Anyways, this chicken is very flavorful, and very spicy. I think the use of real habaneros versus all dry spices sets this apart from other jerk recipes I've tried. I experimented long ago, after having become obsessed with it in Jamaica, but nothing came close. Neil came across this recipe when he was planning his tailgate. I admit that he has a really good "eye" when it comes to finding recipes. This recipe is a keeper and will be our "go to" for jerk chicken. It packs intense flavor and heat in every bite. Make a lot, b/c leftover chicken salad with this is awesome.
I served it with chipotle pumpking polenta. But, if you need something to offset the spice, a savory/sweet fruit salad would be good.

See Recipe!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never peel ginger before grating it. Does it make a big difference in flavor/texture?

Sonal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sonal said...

Hi Culinspiration...luv your blog! I think if you get pieces of ginger peel in your food, it completely ruins the taste. I really don't like the taste of the peel. That said, if you grate your ginger straight from frozen ensuring that it's grated very finely, you won't have the problem of stray peels. I'm guessing that's what you do? I've just eaten some dishes where you get a chunks of a peel or two, and it's just ruined for me.