Mehehe. Jerk Chicken. I’ve always childishly laughed, at least mentally, when hearing this. The first time I tried it, was in LA about a thousand years ago. I’d never heard of it, and it certainly wasn’t on any menus back home that I’d seen. It’s a spicy BBQ’d chicken, so yes I’ve had something similar before, but the addition of allspice, which seems lame, actually makes the taste different enough to make it unique. To me at least.
My sister came over for this one, she of the no spice rule, (Now who’s the Jerk?? Haha) so I made her some honey and soy chicken. This recipe was for two.
Jerk Chicken:
2 x thigh pieces and two drumsticks, skin on
2 tblspn honey
1 tblspn chilli flakes
1 tblspn allspice
2 x cloves garlic, smooshed
small amount of grated ginger
finely diced spring onion (I used one)
Olive oil
OK, this is a no brainer, just mix all the ingredients in with the chicken, use your hands, and then marinade for an hour or so in the fridge. I ended up adding some more chilli powder to this as the honey was a little strong for me. The allspice smells amazing in the marinade, but don’t snort it.
You are meant to BBQ or flame grill this, but I don’t have any of that fancy crap, so I seared it on the stove top til the marinade was dark, then transferred to the oven to cook through. Keep skin side up in the oven for a bit of crispiness.
I was going to serve this with black bean salad with rum and pineapple, but I was shouted down. It was, basically:
Can of drained black beans
Small can of pineapple pieces
diced tomato
Diced parsley
Half a shot of rum
Mix and serve with flat bread.