Kitchen Encounters

~Spice-is-Nice Oven-Roasted Jamaican-Jerk Chicken~

Leave it to the Jamaicans.  I can't think of another exotic-to-me cuisine that does a better job of making my life easier.  I mean, seriously, they've cornered the market on marketing high-quality, bold-flavored dry-spice blends and rubs, wet pastes and marinades, barbecue, steak and hot pepper sauces, etc. -- when it comes to cooking Jamaican fare at home, some of their store-bought time-savers make me ponder why anyone would want to concoct "it" from scratch.

That said, time spent in my kitchen is therapy -- it's my "don't worry, be happy" space.  It's the game-on place where movies and music play, all problems appear smaller and magic happens. Any reason to spend more time in the kitchen is a good reason.  Since cooking-from-scratch extends my stay in my playroom, the mouth-watering end result more than justifies the occasionally difficult means.  Jamaican-style jerk cooking does not fall into the category of difficult.

Charred & crispy skin w/moist, pull-apart pinky meat, jerk is... 

... nicely-spiced w/a warm heat that coats your throat...

... & a succulent sauce that'll make you smack your lips. 

In a (coco)nutshell, jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica.  It was developed by African slaves who escaped into the mountains of Jamaica after the British captured this island paradise from Spain in 1655.  Forced to adapt to their new surroundings, the Maroons (the name given to the escaped slaves) made use of the foods nature provided, by pulverizing the edibles they gathered into a fiery pasty rub.  By adding fruit and/or citrus juice, the fiery pasty rub became a spicy basting and dipping sauce.  When thinned down with a bit of drinking water or the milk from a coconut, the spicy sauce became a highly-flavored wet marinade -- over time, items from trades, like vinegar and/or rum were transitioned into the mixture.  Once rubbed and/or marinated, the meat or game they hunted was then slowly cooked over a smoking pimento-wood fire.

Originally used for pork, it's now common to "jerk" chicken, beef, fish & seafood too.

The "jerk" in jerk comes from the Spanish word via the Peruvian word "charqui", the noun for dried strips of meat now called "jerky".  Jerk seasoning was/is the dry spice blend used to season jerky, and Jamaican jerk seasoning, known for the flavors of allspice, thyme and pepper, is perhaps the most famous.  Throughout the Caribbean, islanders preserved/cured their spice-rubbed meats by drying them in the intense sun or over a slow fire -- this allowed the meat to be taken on long journeys and eaten as is or reconstituted in boiling water.  The word most likely transitioned to the verb, "jerking", in reference to the way the meat gets "jerked" around on the grill as it cooks.

Making my marinade & roasting the chickens:

As mentioned above, the Jamaicans have cornered the market on marketing high-quality, bold-flavored dry spice blends and rubs, wet pastes and marinades, barbecue, steak and hot pepper sauces.  In a pinch there's no shame and little compromise in using them.  When it comes to making my oven-roasted jerk chicken, I like to use a wet marinade (as opposed to a paste), and, when time is short, it's the Walkerswood brand that I reach for.

Note:  My recipe is my copycat of their recipe.  It makes  4 1/4 cups (36 ounces), which is about the equivalent of 2, 17-ounce bottles of their store-bought (34 ounces).  One cup of marinade is enough for 1 whole chicken that has been split in half to form two pieces.  I'm using half today, to marinate and roast 4 half chickens, and, I'm freezing the rest for a round of jerk on another day. 

Making marinade, roasting chickens & simmering sauce:

For the chickens, marinade and dipping/barbecue sauce:

4  4-5 pound frying chickens, as even in size as possible, split in half, backbones removed, to form 8 pieces total (Note:  I ask my local butcher to do this for me.)

8  ounces large-diced red onion (about 2 cups)

4  ounces diced green onion (about 1 cup)

2  ounces large-diced ginger root (about 1/3-1/2 cup)

1  ounce whole garlic cloves (about 6 large cloves)

4  Scotch bonnet peppers, with seeds, stems removed

1  cup lime juice, preferably fresh or high-quality organic, not from concentrate

1  cup malt vinegar

1/4  cup mild-flavored molasses

1/4  cup dark rum

2  tablespoons dried thyme leaves

6  teaspoons ground allspice

6  teaspoons ground cinnamon

2  teaspoons ground nutmeg

1  teaspoon ground cloves

4  teaspoons sea salt

4  teaspoons coarse-grind black pepper

1/4  cup vegetable oil

~Step 1.  Prep and place red onion, green onion, ginger, garlic and Scotch bonnets in the work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade.  Using a series of 50-60 rapid on-off pulses, very-finely mince the ingredients.  Open the processor lid and use a spatula to scrape down sides of work bowl.  Add the lime juice, vinegar, molasses, rum and all dry spices.  Process again, using a series of 10-20 rapid on-off pulses.  With motor running, through feedtube, drizzle in the oil, then process with motor running 30-45 more seconds.  There will be a generous 4 cups marinade.

~Step 2.  Place each split chicken in a heavy-duty 2-gallon-sized food storage bag, positioning the two halves so the sharp bones face the inside once the bag is sealed.  Pour 1 cup of the marinade into each bag.  Gather the bag tightly up around the chicken and twist or zip closed. Using your hands, massage each bag, until each chicken is thoroughly coated in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator 6-8 hours (minimum), overnight, or up to 48 hours (maximum) -- remove from refrigerator, to return to room temperature, 1 hour prior to roasting as follows:

~Step 3.  To roast, insert a wire rack in the bottom of a large 20" x 12" x 4" disposable aluminum roasting pan, then place a sheet of parchment paper on the rack.  Open each bag of chicken. One-at-a-time lift each half chicken up and out, allowing the excess marinade to drizzle back into the bag*, then arrange the halves, side-by-side on the rack in prepared pan.  Roast, uncovered on center rack of 350º oven, 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a tip of a knife.  Remove from oven and allow to rest 10-15 minute, prior to serving.

*Note:  Do not discard the marinade in bags.  It will be used to make the sauce (recipe below).

~Step 4.  Transfer all of the flavorful pan-drippings from the roasting pan to a fat/lean separator. Pour the lean portion into a small 1-1 1/2-quart saucepan and discard the fat portion.  Add the marinade remaining in the bag(s), about 1/2-3/4 cup per bag.  Place on the stovetop and bring to a simmer over medium- medium-high heat and continue to simmer for 3-4 minutes.  After roasting 2 chickens (4 pieces), there will be about 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce for dipping or drizzling.

Eat it w/your fingertips or fancy it up a bit served atop...

... my Island-Style Bejeweled Coconut & Black Bean Rice:

How about a Jerk-Chicken & Slaw on Coco Bread Sandwich?

Spice-is-Nice Oven-Roasted Jamaican-Jerk Chicken:  Recipe yields a generous 4 cups marinade/4-6 half chickens/4-6 servings/1 1/2-3 cups barbecue sauce for dipping or drizzling.

Special Equipment List:  cutting board; chef's knife; 1-cup measuring container; food processor; large rubber spatula; 1-4 2-gallon food storage bags; 1-2, 20" x 12" x 4" disposable aluminum roasting pan(s); 1-2 parchment sheets; fat/lean separator; 1-1 1/2-quart saucepan

Cook's Note:  I don't cook Caribbean food often, but when I do, it's island-style good.  Thanks to a couple of chef friends, I know just enough about this cuisine to be dangerous without straying from the core flavors. ~ Don't Worry, Be Happy: Jamaican-Style Beef Patties ~. 

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2018)

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2024)

~ Sweet & Hot Chili-Sauced Thai-Style Fried Chicken ~

Oh-My-Thai-style snacky-type appetizers.  Truth told, I could easily make a meal out of these, and, frankly so could every person I've ever served them to -- every sweet-heat-seeking man, woman and child (every last one of them).  Every now and then I get a hankering for fried-chicken -- the good old-fashioned batter-dipped and deep-fried kind -- crunchy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.  When the hankering hits, I've just gotta have it.  What could be better?  

Fried chicken with all the bold, bright flavors of Thailand.

Winner, winner Thai-style sweet & hot red chili sauce.

Simply irresistible indeed.  This is perhaps my favorite of all the Thai-style condiments I use for dipping and drizzling.  Next to spicy and slightly-salty peanut sauce, I could and do put it on and add it to almost anything Thai.  I got my first taste of sweet and hot Thai chili sauce (Mae Ploy) back in the 1990's and it rocked my food world.  That's why there's always sweet chili sauce in my refrigerator, and, I won't lie, it's often store-bought.  That said, sweet chili sauce is not hard to make.  If you're a purist, or simply curious, you should try making it at home at least at least once.

3/4  cup sugar

1/2  cup rice vinegar

1/4  cup water

1  tablespoon pressed garlic, about 4 large cloves run through a press, or 1 tablespoon store-bought garlic paste

1  tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1  tablespoon cornstarch, stirred together with:

1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

1  tablespoon cold water

~Step 1.  In a 1-quart saucepan, stir together the sugar, vinegar and water.  Just stir long enough to combine, not to dissolve the sugar completely (that will come later).  Set aside.  Run the garlic through a press and set aside.  Stir together the cornstarch, fish sauce and cold water.  Set aside.

~Step 2.  Bring sugar mixture to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until  sugar is dissolved.  Add and stir in the pressed garlic and crushed red pepper.  Adjust heat (lower it a bit), to a steady simmer and cook, stirring constantly for 1 full minute.  Re-stir the cornstarch mixture.  Adjust heat to a gentle simmer (lower it more) and drizzle in the cornstarch slurry. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until nicely thickened, about 30-60 seconds.  Remove from heat, cover the saucepan, and set aside 15-30 minutes.

Note:  Homemade chili sauce made the way I'm making it today, using red pepper flakes, is not as red colored as the mass-produced, pasteurized, store-bought. That's because store-bought sweet chili sauce is made using loads of pulverized, bright-red, pickled, Thai bird chile peppers. Some recipes instruct to add Sriracha sauce to achieve the red color, but I find that product to vinegary for this culinary application.  For me, 4 drops of red food coloring works perfectly.

~ Step 3.  Transfer to a food storage container, cool to room temperature and store in refrigerator.

Winner, winner Thai-style marinated chicken tenderloins:

For the marinade:

2-4  pounds whole, boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, about 10-20 large tenderloins, each tenderloin sliced into 4-5 nugget-sized pieces.

1/4  cup each:  honey, lime juice, &, Thai seasoning soy sauce

2  tablespoons each: Thai fish sauce & sesame oil

1  tablespoon each:  garlic paste & ginger paste

1 teaspoon Sriracha seasoning blend

~Step 1.  Slice each chicken tenderloin into 4-5 nuggets, placing them in a 1-gallon food storage bag as you work.  Even size = even cooking time, so decide, up front, on 5 smaller or 4 larger sized nuggets and cut every tenderloin the same way.  Place ingredients for marinade in a 1-cup measuring container with a tight-fitting lid and a pourer top, then vigorously shake to combine. Pour all  marinade into bag of chicken.  Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for about 4-6 hours, overnight or up to two days. Remove from refrigerator 1-1 1/2 hours prior to deep-frying. Clip a hole in the corner of the bag, then drain and discard all excess marinade out of the bag.

Winner, winner Thai-style batter-dipped, deep-fried chicken:

For the dry dredge, drizzly batter & crunchy coating:

1  cup pancake mix, for dredging

1 1/2 cup pancake mix, for batter

1  14-ounce can coconut milk

1/2  cups beer, your favorite brand (club soda may be substituted)

2-4  tablespoons Thai seasoning soy sauce, to taste

8 ounces panko breadcrumbs or sweetened flaked coconut, or a combination of both

all of the marinated chicken nuggets, from above recipe, drained of all excess marinade

Small bowl containing 1 cup dry pancake mix.

Medium bowl containing 1 1/2 cups pancake mix whisked with 1 can coconut milk, 1/2 cup beer and 2-4 tablespoons soy sauce, to taste.

An 8" x 8" x 2" dish containing 8-ounces panko or coconut or a combination of both.

Deep-fryer w/corn or peanut oil heated to 360º according to manufacturer's specifications.

Misc:  3-minute timer, fork, spoon, wire cooling rack, paper towels, sea salt grinder.

~ Step 1. To make the batter, whisk together the pancake mix, coconut milk, beer and soy sauce. Set aside for about 5 minutes before starting the frying process. This will give the batter time to thicken to a drizzly consistency.  If batter is too thick, or at any point the batter gets too thick, whisk in a little more beer to maintain a drizzly consistency.  If the batter seems too thin, whisk in 1-2-4 tablespoons pancake mix.

~Step 2.  Working in batches of 5-6 nuggets at a time, dredge each in the dry pancake mix to coat on all sides. Note:  I work and fry 5 at a time because that is what fits comfortably in the basket of my fryer without overcrowding it.  With the aid of a fork, move up the assembly line and dip each nugget into the batter. As you lift each one out of the batter, hold it over the bowl for a second or two, to allow the batter to drizzle back into the bowl.  After dipping each nugget, place it into the dish of panko or coconut or a combo of both.  With the aid of a spoon, coat nuggets in the panko/coconut/combo.

~Step 3.  Carefully place nuggets in fryer basket, then lower basket down into the hot, 360° oil. Close lid and fry at 360º for 5-6 minutes (5 minutes for smaller cut nuggets, 6 minutes for larger cut nuggets.  Lift  basket of golden nuggets out of fryer and allow a few seconds for excess oil to drip back into the fryer.  Invert the basket onto a wire rack that has been placed atop a few layers of paper towels -- using tongs is a mistake, as it's an easy way to damage their crust.  Season each batch of nuggets with a light grinding of sea salt the moment they are inverted onto the rack. Repeat the dredging, dipping and coating process until all fingers are deep fried.  Serve hot (almost immediately), warm (within 30 minutes), or at room temperature (within 1 hour).  There's more:  trust me when I tell you, nuggets will remain crunchy well past the six hour mark.

Winner, winner Thai-style golden-nuggets chicken dinner: 

Sweet & Hot Chili-Sauced Thai-Style Fried Chicken:  Recipe yields 1 cup sweet chili sauce.

Special Equipment List: garlic press; 1-quart saucepan w/lid; spoon; 1-cup food storage container w/tight fitting lid; cutting board; chef's knife; 1-gallon food storage bag;

Cook's Note:  Peanut sauce is common to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Africa.  The main ingredients are roasted peanuts or peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce and palm sugar. Pulverized spices (red chiles, coriander, cumin, garlic, galangal and/or lemongrass, are also added. Purchase it, but, it's so easy to make, I don't know why you would. Try my ~ Thai-Style Spicy Peanut Sauce for Poultry or Pork ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2024)