Caribbean Series: Jerk Chicken Rub

I love Caribbean food...the taste, smell and look of the dishes conjures up pure happiness for me. There is just so much flavour in all their dishes and it takes me to a very happy place!

I've been on a quest to find a good jerk recipe and my boyfriend bought a recipe book for me which I love. There are 3 different jerk recipes and this post is using the "rub technique".

I'm going to write up individual posts for each of the dishes so it enables you to reference with ease.

My first attempt at cooking, I made jerk chicken (using the rub), rice and peas, fried plantain and macaroni pie. I was nervous as my boyfriend is Jamaican and his mum was an exceptional cook, so I had a lot of pressure to get this right!! I was more than happy with the end result and so was Darren. We decided to use some guava jam as a glaze when there was about 10 minutes left of cooking time. You don't have to do this, but it does add a nice fruity element to the dish.

Look out for my dry jerk rub recipe which I will be attempting soon and will add to the blog. I want to try the different jerk varieties so I can work out which I prefer and turn out the most authentic to what you would get from a Caribbean shop/carnival food stall.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 finely chopped scallions, including the green parts
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground Jamaican allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 to 6 scotch bonnet, finely minced
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pack of chicken thighs

Using a food processor, combine all of the ingredients and grind to a paste.
Smooth over your chicken thighs ensuring all the meat is covered. Cover and leave to marinate overnight.


Once ready to cook, heat some olive oil in a Dutch pot or a heavy casserole dish and sear the chicken until nicely browned. Cook in the oven until the chicken has cooked through.


Serve with rice & peas, plantain, macaroni pie and coleslaw......all of which will be coming to my blog soon!


Any leftover paste can be stored in the fridge in a tightly closed jar for up to 1 month.


Chicken marinating in the jerk rub

All the food I had cooked, ready to serve!