best jerk chicken recipe

[Love Labradors]

your help much appreciated

to be honest to date despite me trying various recipes the Waitrose Jerk Chicken thighs beat anything i can make

and yes, i can cook

the recipes i have tried shall we say lack 'balance 'some too heavy on the Scotch Bonnet chillies and others too heavy on thyme

i find lime juice better than lemon

tried Levi Roots marinade and it a bit bland

got some Dunns River to try tonight (made in Jamaica)

[Type R Tom]

Have a look at this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOMOVA9UMic

He does 2 methods, one is the more usual jerk that I know and a second which I hadn't seen before, which is the one he prefers.

[Cotty]

While you are searching for the perfect jerk chicken perhaps you could try the pastes from Sainsburys. I put chicken legs or thighs in a plastic bag with the contents of a jar of Jerk or harissa paste. Give it a good massage then leave it overnight in the bag, then roast them the following day, I haven't tried it on a BBQ.

Jerk Paste https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/Product/sainsb...
Harissa Paste https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/Product/sainsb...

[Harpoon]

We're big fans of the Jerk Chicken recipe from "The Roasting Tin - Around the World". Really nicely balanced with some heat but also the sweet pineapple

This is the book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roasting-Tin-Around-World...

I think this is the recipe:

http://catherineskitchen.com/2020/10/05/jerk-chick...

We use Easi Spice Jerk seasoning, though got our packet from an deli:

https://www.sunlandcaribbean.co.uk/product/easi-sp...

[Mobile Chicane]

Love Labradors said:

your help much appreciated

to be honest to date despite me trying various recipes the Waitrose Jerk Chicken thighs beat anything i can make

and yes, i can cook

the recipes i have tried shall we say lack 'balance 'some too heavy on the Scotch Bonnet chillies and others too heavy on thyme

i find lime juice better than lemon

tried Levi Roots marinade and it a bit bland

got some Dunns River to try tonight (made in Jamaica)

Dunn's River jerk marinade is the best shop bought marinade. I am presuming you mean the dark green gunk in the 312g jar, as there are a few variants.

It's the closest to a recipe I was given by a Jamaican cook.

Let the marinade down with a bit of olive oil as it is quite salty, massage it well in to the meat (gloves!), and marinate overnight.

Then BBQ. Indirect cook, obviously. Pimiento wood is unobtainable in the UK however I approximate the flavour with allspice berries and soaked apple wood chips in a smoke box over the coals.

Boned out chicken thighs for the win, but pork belly slices also work well.

ETA: The Recipe.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=14...

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Thursday 12th August 03:35

[Love Labradors]

many thanks for all your advice - food for thought as they say

[Love Labradors]

well i marinated some chicken thighs for about twelve hours in the Dunns River Hot jerk marinade

think i used too much to say the least as despite loving hot food it was mind blowing and i could not finish it all

less is more, lol - next time will use far, far less and maybe a shorter marinate time

[thebraketester]

Yes that stuff is very fiery.

[Love Labradors]

thebraketester said:

Yes that stuff is very fiery.

your not joking, lol

i'm kicking myself for being so stupid - i know that when trying a new 'spice mix' you start at low levels and gradually increase to your taste

as they say you can always add but never take away

lesson learnt -again

[seefarr]

I can't vouch for the authenticity of this one but it's super tasty. Jamaican friends have confirmed the ingredients look correct but everyone has their own recipe and they said they are always secret! I tone down the sugar quantity.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/jerk-chicken-r...

[Cotty]

seefarr said:

I can't vouch for the authenticity of this one but it's super tasty. Jamaican friends have confirmed the ingredients look correct but everyone has their own recipe and they said they are always secret! I tone down the sugar quantity.

Do you mean individuals, outside of a business setting? That sounds like a dick move to me.

[Mobile Chicane]

Love Labradors said:

thebraketester said:

Yes that stuff is very fiery.

your not joking, lol

i'm kicking myself for being so stupid - i know that when trying a new 'spice mix' you start at low levels and gradually increase to your taste

as they say you can always add but never take away

lesson learnt -again

Please don't tell me you used the whole jar.

I would generally use 1/3 jar for 1.5Kgs of bone-in meat, let down with a bit of olive oil plus 1/2 or so of a grated onion for extra flavour.

However the cooking method makes a big difference. I quite happily put 10 Scotch Bonnets in a home-made jerk marinade, and I don't bother de-seeding them either. Over a low slow BBQ - as intended - the most intense part of the heat dissipates into a delicious fruitiness.

However, if it's still too much, the traditional Caribbean rice an' pea will help to defuse it with its coconut milk content.

[seefarr]

Cotty said:

seefarr said:

I can't vouch for the authenticity of this one but it's super tasty. Jamaican friends have confirmed the ingredients look correct but everyone has their own recipe and they said they are always secret! I tone down the sugar quantity.

Do you mean individuals, outside of a business setting? That sounds like a dick move to me.

This is based on a sample size of two Englishmen of Jamaican ancestry so is almost certainly wildly innacurate. The way it was explained to me is that every family has a family member who does jerk chicken at events. Recipes are a closely guarded secret, even within the family. My understanding is that it's a bit of a competition for who's is best.

[Love Labradors]

Mobile Chicane said:

Please don't tell me you used the whole jar.

I would generally use 1/3 jar for 1.5Kgs of bone-in meat, let down with a bit of olive oil plus 1/2 or so of a grated onion for extra flavour.

However the cooking method makes a big difference. I quite happily put 10 Scotch Bonnets in a home-made jerk marinade, and I don't bother de-seeding them either. Over a low slow BBQ - as intended - the most intense part of the heat dissipates into a delicious fruitiness.

However, if it's still too much, the traditional Caribbean rice an' pea will help to defuse it with its coconut milk content.

bloody hell even i am not that daft, lol

i used two large tablespoons for 500g of deboned chicken thighs left for twelve hours to marinate

[Cotty]

This is Sainsbuy's Jerk paste that has been marinating with chicken legs for 24 hours. Just about to go in the oven with some new potatoes. I added a sliced onion to see what happens.

Edited by Cotty on Sunday 15th August 18:49

Edited by Cotty on Sunday 15th August 18:50

[Mobile Chicane]

Cotty said:

This is Sainsbuy's Jerk paste that has been marinating with chicken legs for 24 hours. Just about to go in the oven with some new potatoes. I added a sliced onion to see what happens.

Get. Out.

[Cotty]

Whats wrong with that or is it cheating.

[seefarr]

I grabbed some pork shoulder steaks from the butcher today and jerked them up good (BBC recipe I posted above). I set the smoker up as a Weber, added an apple wood chunk and did them for about 30 mins. So freaking good!

[Bloxxcreative]

My very good, jerk chicken recipe is:

Marinate thighs in dunns River or tropical sun overnight.
Pan fry until nicely darkened.
Separately boil 1 chicken stock cube, then cover the chicken to simmer for 10 mins or so.

Cook some red kidney beans.

Take out chicken and then stir into the juices 2 packs of microwave long grain rice and the cooked beans for 2 or 3 mins.

As most takeaways, even if not traditional way of cooking it.