Well, what if you could make a Jamaican food plate just like the Jamaican restaurants? I bet Jerk Chicken would be on that plate. Now, personally, that’s my favorite thing to make. In this post, you will see the perfect Jamaican plate, and the three recipes to make it work. In this dish, we will be putting together some Jerk Chicken, rice and peas, and steamed cabbage. Everything will be from scratch in this recipe, so be prepared to test your cooking skills.
So let’s start by talking about what JERK is. Jerk is a method of seasoning and a method of cooking. Don’t let anyone dissuade you from making jerk chicken in your oven or grill. To pull off jerk chicken, one needs to get the marinade right. This is where I come in. You will start by getting all the fresh ingredients for your marinade. Many of these are probably in many of your local grocery stores. The others are in your local ethnic food store.
● 1 yellow onion
● 1 bunch of green onions
● 1 bulb of garlic
● 1 thumb of ginger
● 1 bunch of fresh thyme
● ½ tsp Nutmeg
● 1 tsp ground allspice
● ½ tsp cinnamon
● 3-4 tbsp Kosher Salt
● 1 cup white vinegar
● 1 cup vegetable oil
● 1 tbsp whole allspice(pimento) berries
● 2 fresh oranges squeezed or ½ cup OJ
● 1-2 tsp of browning or molasses for color
● 5 Scotch Bonnet peppers. 2 green, 3 ripe
Leave green ones whole and remove seeds from ripened peppers for a mild marinade. Leave all seeds and membranes in for more spice. Add more salt if you want it more salty.
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender. If you want it less liquid then reduce the oil and vinegar amounts. Use it to marinate your meat overnight. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. This exact recipe is a mild jerk marinade and not spicy. Even if you taste it fresh, and you get a good spicy bite, have no fear. Once cooked, the spice will mellow out into a great refreshing, and flavorful jerk bite.
Now, the jerk chicken might be the star of the plate, but it definitely will do well with some accompaniments. Below, we have a rice and peas dish. Now this is rice and beans, cooked differently from the traditional south, but in Jamaica, that’s what it’s called. The recipe and the name of the dish unfortunately are not up for debate, so please follow it as written.
Rice and Peas
● 2 cans of coconut milk
● 1 can of red kidney beans
● 1 tbsp dry jerk seasoning
● 1 tbsp kosher salt
● 3 cups Jasmine rice
● 2 cloves garlic
● 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
Pour Two cans of coconut milk into a measuring cup, and add water to make it 4 cups of liquid total. Add to the pot over high heat. Add undrained beans. Add all seasonings and bring to a rolling boil. Then add rice and bring to a rolling boil again. Stir well and reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for 15-17 mins.
If you usually make your rice with a lot of butter, just know that the coconut milk should replicate that creamy texture and thus negate the need for butter in your rice. It is an absolute must to pair with the jerk chicken if you are looking for that Jamaican flavor.
To round out this perfect Jamaican plate, let us add a vegetable component. There are a few sides that we could think of like fried sweet plantain or a cabbage salad, but we are going to opt for a savory and spicy steamed cabbage. This side dish is a staple in Jamaican restaurants at home and abroad. The steamed cabbage recipe is good with al dente or fully cooked cabbage, today we are going for the prior.
Jamaican Style Steamed Cabbage
● ½ large green cabbage
● 1 carrot
● ½ yellow onion
● 2 green onions
● 1 sprig of fresh thyme
● 1 tomato(seeds removed and sliced)
● 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
Heat a Dutch oven with butter or beef fat over high heat. Any good fat for sautéing will do. Sauté onions until wilted. Add garlic and saute until they become fragrant. Add green onions as well as a pinch of sea salt. This pulls more flavor from these veggies. When fully fragrant, add Cabbage and shredded carrot. Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Uncover, stir, and season to your taste. Add the cover, remove it from the heat, and let it sit covered for another 5 minutes for another 5 minutes. This will yield a dentè Cabbage. Cook longer if you need them more tender.
So, I guess I need to tell you how I make Jerk chicken. Absolutely no secret here, so let’s go:
Place chicken in marinade overnight or about 12-24 hrs. Four to six tablespoons per pound. Be sure to rub some of the marinade under the skin of the chicken as well. When it comes time to cook, prepare meat in an oven, grill, or a smoker. Cook between 300 and 35o degrees, until the breast temperature reaches 165 degrees internally. If you decide to use a smoker, smoking wood like oak, cherry, pecan, hickory or apple is all suitable. If you use a bold smoke flavor like mesquite, you could get close to the robust smoke flavor of pimento wood. Since, however, jerk is also a method of seasoning, using allspice in the marinade recipe will suffice. Pimento wood is not essential to making Jerk chicken.
Here is a traditional Jamaican dish that you can make right at home with little to no effort. Jamaican jerk chicken, rice and peas, and some steamed cabbage. Each element of this dish offers a savory, fresh but can be optionally spicy if you so desire. Adding a half or whole scotch bonnet without the seeds will give you a slight kick of spice, with seeds that will set it ablaze.
I want to assure you that making Jerk chicken does not need a smoker, does not need pimento wood nor do you need to be Jamaican. Get these ingredients together and try your hand at the recipe. Whether you have an oven or a smoker, the food will be great either way. Jerk is a method of cooking as well as a method of seasoning, and traditionally, jerk was not done on a grill.
