CARIBBEAN JERK CHICKEN

Y’all, I love love love spicy food.  I have always loved my food spicy and hot.  I guess y’all wouldn’t be surprised that my first job was at Taco Bell.  I must have used massive amounts of their hot sauce on all the tacos and burritos.  My family did not always appreciate the heat level of some of my cooking, and to this day they ask me if it is hot hot or spicy hot before they take a bite.

Now this recipe calls for a Scotch Bonnet pepper.  Scotch Bonnets are at the top of the heat scale (Scoville Heat Scale) as you can see by this diagram from wikipedia.com.   One thing you MUST KNOW from this recipe is that you MUST MUST MUST wear gloves when handling the Scotch Bonnet, then remove the gloves and wash your hands.  I am not kidding.  If you don’t, I know y’all will be sending me hate mail.  So if you need, you can choose a pepper down at the bottom (children’s section)…LOL..Just kidding.  It is best to start at a lower heat level pepper and adjust to your taste.

(Just a side note here, if you boil some scotch bonnet’s in water and then after it cools, pour in a spray bottle, it makes a great deterrent for critters in your garden.  Just mist the plants and they will only visit once.  Just make sure you wash your produce when you pick it to eat. )

I love chicken breasts, but for this recipe I chose to use chicken thighs.  Mainly because they were on sale today at the market.  But believe me, thighs have such a moist tender texture and great flavor that you should try using them in more of your chicken dishes.  You will also find that they are always less expensive than the breast meat.

So lets get on to the recipe.  I think for the ones of y’all that like spicy flavors, you will really enjoy this recipe.

 

Ingredients:

• 6 (8-10 oz.) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1/2 tbsp. ground allspice
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. dried leaf thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 3/4 c. white vinegar
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1/4 c. lime juice
• 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper
• 1 c. finely chopped white onion

Directions:

In medium sized bowl, combine the ingredients from the allspice down to and including the sugar. Mixing these ingredients with wire whisk and then slowly add in the olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange and lime juices.

Remember what I said above? Use rubber or plastic gloves to chop the Scotch Bonnet pepper (jalapeno or Serrano may be substituted). Avoid touching face or eyes! Let me say this again y’all….do NOT touch your face or eyes, or any other part of  your body that you don’t want to feel like it is on fire.

Add chopped pepper and chopped onions to the marinade you made and mix well.

Spread 2 cups marinade in glass baking dish. Add chicken to coat  and marinade for at least 1 hour (overnight is always best).

Place chicken, along with marinade in a baking dish so the marinade all but covers the chicken.  In other words, we want the chicken to bake in the marinade to keep absorbing the flavors and keep moist.  Bake at 350 degrees covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour (internal temperature should be 165 degrees), then uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Reserve the marinade to spoon over the chicken when you serve.