BBQ Spring 2017 | Page 33

Jerk chicken recipe

1 pc Baby chicken whole
Dry spices
10 g / 2 teaspn Sea salt
10 g / 2 teaspn Black peppercorns
20 g / 1 tablspn Cinnamon powder
10 g / 2 teaspn Clove powder
10 g / 2 teaspn Nutmeg powder
10 g / 2 teaspn All spice
10 g / 2 teaspn Cayenne pepper
Wet spice mix
100 g / 3.5 oz Garlic
100 g / 3.5 oz Ginger
4 pc Chili spicy
Last ingredients
20 pc Spring onions - fine sliced
100 ml / 10 cl Apple cider vinegar
60 ml / 6 cl Lime juice
60 ml / 6 cl Soya sauce light
100 ml / 10 cl Extra virgin olive oil
20 pc Basil leaves - chopped rough

Preparation
Note: There are two ways of doing this

Blender method
Blend the dry ingredients in a spice grinder, place in a bowl, ground in a mincer all the wet spices, add them to the bowl with the dry spices, followed by the vinegar, lime juice, soya sauce and then the oil, mix thoroughly, and then add the spring onions and the basil leaves.

Pestle and Mortar method
Note: This is by far the better method by all accounts because the pestle and mortar pounds all the natural oils from the wet spices, giving a more intense flavor, you can either set these aside and pound the wet ingredients separately, and then add them together when your wet paste is ready, this is actually easier in terms of a sore arm!!

Pound the dry ingredients first until they are completely smooth, add the wet spices, and pound until they form a smooth paste, you can see the natural oils when you press the spoon on the mixture (this you would see if you have not mixed this with the dry spices).

When you have a smooth paste (or if your paste is getting a little dry, if you added it to the dry ingredients), you can add a little vinegar to loosen the paste.

Carrying on, then at this point add the following ingredients, the vinegar, lime juice, soya sauce and then the oil, mix thoroughly, and then add the spring onions and the basil leaves. Keep some of the jerk aside for dipping afterwards.

The chicken is ready for marinating, season the chicken well inside and out with sea salt and black pepper, cover inside and out with the jerk, set aside in a refrigerated place (or ice box) for a minimum of 12 hours.

Have your BBQ cinders ready for a slow and low experience, place the chicken on the grill and brush every 10 minutes, and turn as needed, Pinch the chicken at the legs to make sure it’s cooked, set aside to rest, and serve with the jerk dipping sauce.

A great addition is to cut a lemon or a lime in half and grill it until it caramelizes (it will naturally as surprisingly there is a lot of sugar in the citrus fruit), serve on the side and sprinkle if needed.
Happy eating!!!