Jerk chicken is delicious. You can smell it from blocks away.
It was only after moving to Toronto, did I learn of jerk chicken – a Jamaican invention, a local favourite. The dish can be deceptively unappealing, due to it’s blackened appearance. However, once you’ve tasted it, there’s no turning back. A good jerk chicken should have strong flavours of allspice, a good level of spiciness, and a real smoky aroma.
The word “Jerk” is said to come from the Spanish “charqui”, which are dried strips of meat. Think of “jerky”, or “bak kwa” in Singapore/Malaysia.
Allspice got its name because its taste resembles a combination of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. In fact, if allspice is not available, some recipes call for a 2:2:1 ratio of cloves: cinnamon: nutmeg.
Jerk chicken is often grilled over hot coals like on a BBQ. However, it’s not everyday that you can have a BBQ, so this spice blend is adapted for roasting jerk chicken in an oven.
I recommend toasting the allspice and black peppercorns in a dry pan until slightly smoky. Then ground the allspice, black peppercorns and garlic flakes into a coarse sandy-texture. Mix in the thyme, chili flakes, garlic, ground ginger and hickory smoke salt.
Use this jerk spice blend to marinate chicken for a good amount of time (I usually marinate this overnight in the fridge). When ready to cook, bring the marinated chicken up to room temperature and roast in a 370F oven until fully cooked (internal temperature of 160F).
2 table spoons of whole Allspice
1 table spoon of whole Black Peppercorns
1 table spoon of ground Chipotle (or chili flakes of your choice)
1 table spoon of Garlic flakes
1/2 table spoon of dried Thyme
1/2 table spoon of ground Ginger
1/2 table spoon of Hickory Smoke Salt (or to taste)
👉 Note that photos do not show spices measured to scale.
Johor Kaki blog on jerk chicken in Toronto Canada 👈 click
About Me
Hi Foodies of the Internet!
Welcome to Anita's Spicy Column, a personal spice diary where I document my experiments with spice blends, share my experiences of cooking and baking with spice, and tell stories of my spicy life! I am a social scientist by profession, and a university lecturer based in Toronto, Canada.
I have built for myself a grand wall of spice in my living room and it serves as my reservoir of inspiration and escape. I have my work desk just a stone throw away from this wall of spice, a very strategic move by me I must say.
Every time I look up from my computer to take a breather, I glance over to my spice collection and it somehow relaxes and recharges me. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m crazy about all things spice. Each spice tells a story of its origin, travel and purpose.
The humble peppercorn that is in every kitchen was first grown off India’s Malabar coast. It was used as a form of currency and was traded for gold. This fascinates me.
Every new spice that I encounter, I would purchase a small amount to taste and learn.
Spice is a gift that we’ve been given and I’m more than excited to be able to share this gift with everyone!
Date: 8 Aug 2018
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