I recently had the jerk chicken at a local Davis hangout, the psychedelically inspired Delta of Venus. The place looks a bit scruffy, but my oh my is their jerk chicken good. And hot. My meal there led me to do some research on jerk preparations. Jerk seasoning, if you are unfamiliar with it, is based on two main ingredients – Scotch Bonnet chili peppers (or habaneros) and allspice, and is how they like to cook chicken in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean. The following recipe we cooked up isn’t as scorching as the Delta of Venus’, but it is still plenty spicy, and great the next day in a chicken salad. Serve with rice (to spread out the heat) and a very large glass of cold beer. Do you have a favorite jerk seasoning recipe? Please let us know about it in the comments.
Jerk Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup malt vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 2 Tbsp dark rum
- 2 Scotch bonnet peppers (or habaneros), with seeds, chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 green onion tops, chopped
- 1 Tbsp dried thyme or 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoons ground allspice
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 (5 or 6 pound) roasting chicken, cut in half, lengthwise
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- Salt and pepper
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