SP1200
07-19-2011, 12:06 PM
Years ago I worked as a recording engineer in the North end of Toronto in the Jane and Finch Corridor. This area is home to a large concentration of Jamaican immigrants. This end of town has its problems but it did give me an appreciation for Caribbean people, food and music. There are many jerk shops and Caribbean markets here and all across the city. Over years I have come up with my own recipe that I feel is a very good representation of the dish. Unfortunately I don't measure as I have been making this recipe for a long time but hopefully from the photos you'll get a good idea of the amounts.
Jerk Chicken
8-10 Chicken legs
10-12 Scotch bonnet pepper or Habanero
You can't back off on this ingredient or switch to a milder pepper. This gives it heat but it also is the main flavor of the paste.
2 bunches of green onion
2-3 thyme springs
you'll need to run your fingers down the sprig to remove the small leaves
ginger
about a heaping teaspoon when graded
garlic
3-5 cloves depending on your liking
Citrus and Vinegar
Its more of a good squeeze of each half then ringing out all the juices.
1/2 lemon
1/2 lime
1/2 orange
1/2 cup vinegar
Allspice. About 45 berries ground in the spice mill.
Cinnamon. About an 1/8 of a teaspoon.
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
it just rounds out the flavors a bit
pepper
A few good grinds from your pepper mill
about 1 tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons salt
It needs to be fairly salty. This is hard to gauge as you need to taste the mixture and it is blazing hot. If you have ever tasted a commercial jerk sauce straight up you'll notice that it's very salty.
Mix all the ingredient in a blender or with a hand blender to make a paste. Make slashes both sides of the chicken and pour 3/4 of the mixture over the meat and marinade over night. I like to cook the chicken indirectly and then finish it off over direct coals. Use the remaining jerk paste and mix it with half a beer and baste the chicken pieces as they cook. The chicken in these photos were cooked on my UDS which is my cooker of choice these days.
PEPPERS, THYME AND ONION
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/OnionandPeppers.jpg
GINGER, CITRUS AND GARLIC
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Citris.jpg
ALLSPICE
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Allspice.jpg
PASTE
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Picture015.jpg
CHICKEN WITH SLASHES
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Picture016.jpg
ON THE UDS
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/JerkonUDS.jpg
PLATTER
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/JerkPlater650.jpg
Peas and Rice
Add to a medium pot over medium heat
1 can of coconut milk. Keep the can handy as you'll use it as a measuring cup.
If the store has several brands I pick the one with the most calories.
Water. Fill up 1 coconut milk can of water and add to the pot
1 Scotch bonnet pepper uncut
this will be removed when finish
2 green onion cut in half
they will be removed when finish
1-2 sprigs of thyme. Leaves stem and all
this will be removed when finish
half a can of kidney beans with some blood
1 clove garlic finely chopped
brown sugar. I make it semi sweet. About 1 tablespoon
Pepper. A few turns from your pepper grinder
Salt to taste. I go as salty as chicken stock
Bring to a simmer and add
1 coconut can of long grain rice. Use a fork to get all the grains out as they stick to the inside of the wet can.
Cover and place in 325 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. You can do this on the stove top but If your not careful the rice will burn to the bottom of the pot. Remove the thyme sprigs, green onion and scotch bonnet. Gently fork the rice to a platter to serve. Cook as much of the liquid away as you can so that the rice is not mushy.
This food pairs well with Red Stripe and King Tubby's Crucial Dub.
RICE BROTH
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/RiceBroth.jpg
RICE PLATTER
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Rice.jpg
Jerk Chicken
8-10 Chicken legs
10-12 Scotch bonnet pepper or Habanero
You can't back off on this ingredient or switch to a milder pepper. This gives it heat but it also is the main flavor of the paste.
2 bunches of green onion
2-3 thyme springs
you'll need to run your fingers down the sprig to remove the small leaves
ginger
about a heaping teaspoon when graded
garlic
3-5 cloves depending on your liking
Citrus and Vinegar
Its more of a good squeeze of each half then ringing out all the juices.
1/2 lemon
1/2 lime
1/2 orange
1/2 cup vinegar
Allspice. About 45 berries ground in the spice mill.
Cinnamon. About an 1/8 of a teaspoon.
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
it just rounds out the flavors a bit
pepper
A few good grinds from your pepper mill
about 1 tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons salt
It needs to be fairly salty. This is hard to gauge as you need to taste the mixture and it is blazing hot. If you have ever tasted a commercial jerk sauce straight up you'll notice that it's very salty.
Mix all the ingredient in a blender or with a hand blender to make a paste. Make slashes both sides of the chicken and pour 3/4 of the mixture over the meat and marinade over night. I like to cook the chicken indirectly and then finish it off over direct coals. Use the remaining jerk paste and mix it with half a beer and baste the chicken pieces as they cook. The chicken in these photos were cooked on my UDS which is my cooker of choice these days.
PEPPERS, THYME AND ONION
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/OnionandPeppers.jpg
GINGER, CITRUS AND GARLIC
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Citris.jpg
ALLSPICE
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Allspice.jpg
PASTE
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Picture015.jpg
CHICKEN WITH SLASHES
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Picture016.jpg
ON THE UDS
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/JerkonUDS.jpg
PLATTER
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/JerkPlater650.jpg
Peas and Rice
Add to a medium pot over medium heat
1 can of coconut milk. Keep the can handy as you'll use it as a measuring cup.
If the store has several brands I pick the one with the most calories.
Water. Fill up 1 coconut milk can of water and add to the pot
1 Scotch bonnet pepper uncut
this will be removed when finish
2 green onion cut in half
they will be removed when finish
1-2 sprigs of thyme. Leaves stem and all
this will be removed when finish
half a can of kidney beans with some blood
1 clove garlic finely chopped
brown sugar. I make it semi sweet. About 1 tablespoon
Pepper. A few turns from your pepper grinder
Salt to taste. I go as salty as chicken stock
Bring to a simmer and add
1 coconut can of long grain rice. Use a fork to get all the grains out as they stick to the inside of the wet can.
Cover and place in 325 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. You can do this on the stove top but If your not careful the rice will burn to the bottom of the pot. Remove the thyme sprigs, green onion and scotch bonnet. Gently fork the rice to a platter to serve. Cook as much of the liquid away as you can so that the rice is not mushy.
This food pairs well with Red Stripe and King Tubby's Crucial Dub.
RICE BROTH
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/RiceBroth.jpg
RICE PLATTER
http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/ecotrip/Rice.jpg