jerk chicken

Is it the best chicken in the world? I understand if you say “no” – but I might disagree.

• 4 lbs. Chicken
• 10-12 Tablespoons Jerk Seasoning/Marinade
• Lemon/Lime juice or Vinegar
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Salt (optional)
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Dry Jerk Seasoning

recipe by Xavier Murphy at jamaicans.com

mix everything together. marinate in the refrigerator for at least one day.
then grill it, traditionally over allspice branches for extra flavor, according to Xavier Murphy
(or you can bake it; I won’t tell anyone)

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jerk marinade recipe by Winsome Murphy at jamaicans.com

• ½ cup allspice berries
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 6-8 garlic cloves
• 4-6 Scotch bonnet peppers (note: obviously, this will be quite hot. 1 is not enough. I’d go with at least two, even if you are sensitive to spice.)
• 1 tablespoon ground thyme or 2 tablespoons thyme leaves
• 1-2 bunches scallions (green onions)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce to moisten

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dry jerk seasoning recipe by Imma at African Bites

1½ tablespoon (15 g) onion powder
1½ tablespoon (15 g) garlic powder
1 tablespoon ( 5 g) ground ginger
1 tablespoon ( 5 g) dried thyme
1 teaspoon (2 g) white pepper, freshly ground (I used black pepper)
½ tablespoon (3.5 g) cinnamon
1 tablespoon (7 g) ground allspice
1 tablespoon (7 g) smoked paprika
½ tablespoon (3.5 g) ground nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons (28-42 g) coconut sugar, or replace with brown sugar
½-1 tablespoon (5-10 g) vegetable bouillon. chicken, or Maggi powder (to taste)
1 tablespoon ( 5 g) hot pepper, or more (Scotch bonnet, cayenne pepper, or pepper flakes (to taste)
2 tablespoons (10 g) dried chives or scallions

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A note to our vegan and vegetarian friends: this marinade is unbelievable on tofu, or served as a dipping sauce for grilled veggies, and the dry jerk seasoning is fantastic on everything from corn-on-the-cob to grilled cauliflower. It’s quite adaptable! Blend the marinade with a mango for a surprisingly good hot sauce. Coat fish before roasting. Sprinkle the dry seasoning on frozen fries or veggies before you bake them. The possibilities are endless! What is your favorite thing to jerk?

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I understand that someone out there might prefer something sweeter and less spicy, like an apricot-honey chicken tagine. Someone might prefer a five-ingredient chipotle-lime chicken to save time. They might even prefer their chicken fried and not grilled, like Korean-style fried chicken. However, I am not these people. I am a simple jerk, and I know of no better chicken on the planet than an authentic plate of jerk chicken, grilled up by a Caribbean family, served with a bit of ginger drink and a shot of rum. However, if you’re not invited to the Jamaican barbecue, you can make this. It might be a bit lonelier, and it will not taste the same. But it’s damn good.

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vegan spinach or collard callaloo

Callaloo is a soup. Or is it a sauce? Thin, or thick? It’s as thick as you want it to be! Play with the amount of water you add for your favorite consistency. Okra has a bad reputation because of its texture, but here it holds together the greens.

Callaloo is made in Jamaica, Trinidad, and all over the Caribbean! It is traditionally made with dasheen (taro) leaves. Go with any leafy green that’s fresh!

Easiest method ever. Boil everything for a while. Then eat it. That’s it!

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about 2 lbs of chopped collard, torn spinach, lamb’s quarter, kale, or whatever dark leafy greens you have (remove the toughest ribs if you’re using thick greens like collard)
1/4 cup pumpkin or other winter squash, peeled and chopped
8 okra, trimmed (fresh if you can)
1 – 2 cans of coconut milk, then fill the cans with water and add those
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, chopped
1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional – just a deseeded piece if you like it mild, or whole if you like it extra hot)
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
2 sprigs thyme
1 tsp. parsley, finely chopped
stock, broth, or water and bouillon (as needed)
Salt to taste

Add everything to a soup pot and simmer for 30-40 minutes (with baby spinach or other young greens) or an hour (for collards or tough older greens), or until the greens are tender. Leave the heat fairly low and stir often – coconut milk will burn. You will have to add extra liquid if it gets thick, so keep an eye on it. You can add stock or broth if you have it, or even just water.

When it’s done, add a teaspoon or two of butter or margarine.

Simply Trini shows it over rice with avocado slices and chunks of meat. It’s just as good with rice and beans!

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adapted from simply trini cooking and caribbean pot

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edit 1/14/2016

It’s delicious! I made it with a pound of baby spinach, green chard, red chard, and kale, and a small golden nugget squash. I left out the parsley and okra and it was still great. If you like your greens sweet, you’ll love this!

jamaican oxtail stew

this is the other recipe i’m excited about from lobel’s meat bible by stanley, evan, david, and mark lobel.

1/2 medium red onion, chopped
8 scallions, 6 chopped and two thinly sliced for garnish
8 large cloves garlic, sliced
3 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, halved, stemmed, and seeded (haha, i used 1)
one 1 1/2 in knob fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
5 medium celery ribs
2 T ground allspice
2 t black pepper
2 T fresh thyme leaves
1/4 c soy sauce
starch, like corn or potato (for dredging – optional)
salt
oil
5 lb oxtail, cut crosswise into 1 in thick pieces
4 oz thick country-style bacon
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 lb dried or 2 15-oz cans prepared butter beans, lima beans, fava beans, or pigeon peas
2 T unsalted butter

in a food processor, combine red onion, scallions, garlic, peppers, ginger, 1 rib celery, allspice, pepper, thyme, soy sauce, 1 T of salt, and 2 T oil. process 20 – 30 seconds.

dredge oxtail in corn starch. shake off excess. heat 1/4 c oil over medium-high and brown oxtail 12-15 minutes per batch. watch for burning.

pour paste over oxtail and leave to marinate overnight.

let oxtail come to room temp > 1 h. cook bacon in a little oil on low heat. raise heat to medium and add onion. cook 8 – 10 mins. add oxtail and all of the marinade, stir in 6 1/2 c water, and bring to a simmer over high heat, skimming fat but not spice paste. reduce heat to low, cover, and cook at the barest possible simmer until meat is tender, about 3 1/2 h.

turn off heat and rest stew for 5 m, uncovered. skim fat. add carrots and celery. simmer on medium-low for 1 h.

stir in beans and continue simmering 15 – 30 m or until slightly thickened.

turn off heat, add butter and salt.

serve with white rice, scallions to garnish, and lime wedges

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from lobel’s meat bible by stanley, evan, david, and mark lobel.

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update january 2015:
couldn’t find oxtail, so i’m using beef stew meat. the marinade smells incredible. it’s marinating now, so i’ll let you know what happens.

update february 2016
oops. i never updated that. and i have no memory of making this last year. awesome. well, my oxtails were disgusting and rotten, so i used 2 lbs of pork, instead, and marinated it for almost 24 hours because it was weird old sale pork. the weird old sale pork turned out to be really tender (possibly because of the 24 hour marination.) however, this recipe really didn’t stand out like i thought it would. maybe it’s because of the shortcuts i used, and the quality of the ingredients – dried thyme for fresh, old allspice berries, no celery, etc. either way, it was pretty bland and uninspiring. the broth is good – nice and gingery – but the meat itself just tastes like regular old meat. i am sure that using 3 habaneros would completely change the equation, as well as some great, fresh ingredients. not a bad recipe by any means, but not my new go-to recipe.

“hell a top, hell a bottom, and hallelujah in the middle”

this Jamaican sweet potato pudding, popular on Sundays, is also called “hell a top, hell a bottom, and hallelujah in the middle” or “hell on top, hell on bottom, and heaven in the middle”

i was instructed to make a sweet potato dish for today, the day my mom celebrated Christmas with me when i was a child. (froeliche weinachten!)

however, my mom’s pre-diabetic and watching what she eats, and every recipe i found called for sugar, sugar, sugar. i read a bunch of recipes, tweaked myfavorite recipes, and came up with this compromise. it looks like it’ll still be super-sweet, even without the added brown sugar.

4 yams
1 1/2 cans coconut milk
1 1/2 c flour
1 T butter (or not; this would be easy to make vegan)
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 t pure almond extract
1 tsp. salt
~2 1/2 t spices (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and clove blended)
2 cups brown sugar (none!)

1 c raisins
a few T cointreau

soak raisins in cointreau for a few hours.

preheat oven to 350.

combine everything and throw into baking container until done.

it smells wonderful. i’ll let you know how it turns out!

EDIT:
12/27/11

definitely good, although a bit too sweet for a dinner dish, even without the sugar. still a great recipe for dessert. i’ve never soaked dried fruit in liquor before, but the cointreau was an awesome addition. my mom raved about it, and even her friend’s son ate it.