Jerk Chicken

[telbert]

The story so far.I tried the place at covent garden last week and although it was nice i thought the chiken was a bit dry and the sauce wasnt very spicy. Next one was from a place called Calabash in Ilford ,the chicken was nice &juicey and the sauce was very good.I've aslo tried it from a post office opposite Kings Cross station(yes a post office) very good and was slightly smokey.
The next step was to try my hand at it myself so i bouhgt a bottle of "Walkerswood Jerk Marinade".put the chicken in marinade on Friday mornig&cooked it in the oven on Friday evening. The result? shit. Unperturbed by this setback i got another bottle of sauce and added some scotch bonnets,thyme, garlic &ketchup.Its been marinating since Friday night&i,ve just put it in the oven.Hopefully it should be better than the last one.

 

[Crispy]

If you're cooking it in the oven, it ain't jerk chicken. It has to be barbecued on charcoal and that's that.

 

[lemontop]

This thread is making me hungry. I bloody love jerk chicken.

 

[telbert]

The chicken went in the oven directly on the bars for about an hour.When it was ready i tried a bit &was a little disapointed with the result.It seemed that although it had been in the marinade since friday the falvour wasnt that strong. It did have some taste but not what i was expecting.Then i poured over some of the marinade that i'd reduced down a bit and filled my mouth up .FUCK ME I NEARLY TOOK OFF!!Extremely hot &spicy yet sweet &very aromatic.So i think i'm happy with the end result.
Now i've got some feeling back in my lips i'm gonna have the rest&several cold beers.

 

[Hoss]

Go to Judy's Divine on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton.. that's proper jerk chicken.

I was about to post exactly the same thing.

If you do want to make it yourself you could do worse than using clownshoe-chef bod Ainsley Harriots recipe for jerk seasoning (really). It is very very good and as long as you jerk it overnight so that the seasoning really penetrates and soaks in and then cook it long and slow over some hot hot coals (maybe 2 hrs min) you will really enjoy.

We did this last month when camping and of the 7 people eating, all agreed it was the best jerk they had eaten in a long time.

 

[Detroit City]

after handing over £5.50 for a chicken leg that tasted of nothing(and i mean nothing, not even the mildest of seasonings)that was burnt on the outside and undercooked on the inside i was proper pissed off.

you didn't get proper jerk chicken....its usually very favourful and spicy. very akin to tandoori chicken except its not red but more blackish or brownish

 

[pootle]

Mmmm roti. I haven't been to that shop for ages - the roti's damn fine.

Was going to have the stew chicken and chickpea roti last night but they had run out

Instead though Mr Double made me a special roti of jerk chicken, chick peas and mango chutney

Bamboula's a bit of a jip really. It tastes alright, but the whole operation is sponsored by Walkers Wood and uses the same bought-in sauce that you'd use at home, albeit with a few extras. It actually tastes pretty good, but you can't help feeling that you could have just gone home and thrown the marinade over yourself.

O rly? Wierdly my boy said exactly the same thing last night about re-creating Bamboula at home.

 

[mack]

It's foodie month here in sunny Croydon, today we have half a dozen stalls selling Jerk chicken, rice 'n' peas, curried goat etc.

So that's my lunch sorted I thought, until I saw the fucking prices.. £6.50 for two bits of chicken with rice and peas. All the stalls were doing it at the same price as well. Rip off merchants.

So I had a tuna sandwich instead

 

[Xanadu]

I had Jerk chicken and rice for Lunch from the Caribean food place above Jubilee Market in Covent Garden, was lovely

Hmmm, will have to try this soon. Much easier than heading down to South London

 

[tarannau]

While we're revisiting this thread, Levi Root's recipe for Jerk in his Reggae Reggae cookbook (permanently available from The Book People for a fiver, and it must be online somewhere) is a pretty darn good starting point. Gives directions for both a spice rub and a wet marinade to use to jerk and even manages to avoid mentioning Reggae Reggae sauce. Well, until the end of the recipe anyway, when he recommends it as a dipping sauce.

 

[mack]

I had a go with Levi's recipe a couple of weeks ago and it tasted pretty good.

I used thighs and didn't bother with the sugared oranges.

For the jerk marinade
4 spring onions, green part only, chopped
1 Scotch bonnet chilli, chopped
3cm/1¼in piece root ginger, chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
100ml/3½fl oz cider vinegar
3 tbsp clear honey
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken wings
12 chicken wings
4 long, mild red chillies, left whole
For the sugared oranges
2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
2 seedless oranges, cut into quarters
Method

1. For the jerk marinade, blend all of the jerk marinade ingredients in a food processor until they form a smooth paste.
2. For the chicken wings, place the chicken wings into an ovenproof dish and pour over the jerk marinade, turning the wings to coat them in the marinade. Cover the dish and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, or ideally overnight, turning the wings over every 2-3 hours.
3. Half an hour before you want to eat, light the barbecue. (Alternatively, preheat the grill to 190C/375F/Gas 5.) When the flames have died down and the coals have turned ash-white, place the wings onto the grill and cook for 12-15 minutes, turning them over every so often and basting with the remaining jerk marinade, until the wings are golden-brown all over and are completely cooked through (the chicken wings are cooked through when the juices run clear when pierced in the thickest part using a skewer).
4. Meanwhile, place the whole chillies onto the grill. Barbecue for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally, or until golden-brown grill marks appear on all sides. Remove from the grill and keep warm.
5. Meanwhile, for the sugared oranges, sprinkle the sugar onto a plate. Dredge the cut sides of each orange quarter in the sugar, then place the orange quarters, cut-sides down, onto the grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes, or until the sugar melts and turns golden-brown.
6. To serve, place three jerk chicken wings onto each of four serving plates. Place two sugared orange quarters and one grilled chilli alongside each serving of chicken wings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/stickyjerkwingswiths_91690.shtml

 

[STFC]

Hmmm, will have to try this soon. Much easier than heading down to South London

I had no idea there was a Caribbean place in Covent Garden, I'll have to give it a try. I usually go to Mr Jerk when I'm in town.

 

[ericjarvis]

You rub the jerk powder or paste into the meat, leave it for at least a couple of hours, then barbecue, grill, or bake it (pref on a rack) fairly slowly. You can buy "jerk powder" or "jerk paste" from shops selling Carribean food. If you can't find it nearer home, a trip to the shops along Brixton market would be a good starting point.

By a couple of hours I take it you actually mean at least twelve hours. You should also baste the chicken with more of the marinade whilst it's cooking.

Jerk powder or paste are all right, but to really make it work you'll need to add extra bonnet peppers in my opinion. I also generally add extra allspice since I prefer the taste to edge that direction and away from the lemongrass.

 

[CyberRose]

I use the following blend to make a dry rub...

1.5 tbs white sugar
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs dried thyme
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp ground cayenne
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
0.5 tsp ground cloves

 

[monkeypig]

It's foodie month here in sunny Croydon, today we have half a dozen stalls selling Jerk chicken, rice 'n' peas, curried goat etc.

So that's my lunch sorted I thought, until I saw the fucking prices.. £6.50 for two bits of chicken with rice and peas. All the stalls were doing it at the same price as well. Rip off merchants.

So I had a tuna sandwich instead

don't waste your time. Get yourself down to the tasty jerk on whitehorse road instead.

 

[monkeypig]

I use the following blend to make a dry rub...

1.5 tbs white sugar
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs dried thyme
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp ground cayenne
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
0.5 tsp ground cloves

wheres the peppers?

 

[CyberRose]

wheres the peppers?

That would be the cayenne...

 

[Badgers]

Might give this a go this week

 

[rutabowa]

The place in Covent garden market shut around 10 years ago. I mean it would be shut now anyway even if it wasnt shut before but it was.

 

[campanula]

In a pinch, Seasoned Pioneers does a decent jerk rub...but not that difficult to make yourself. I fry mine in shitloads of butter, with additional lemon juice to decaramelise the pan. We eat jerk chicken pretty much every week.