Caribbean Style Jerk Chicken. In the style of Dixie.

THEBuckeye

Noted @SGH

Give yourself a Seal of Approval !

TN_Sister_State

WeberWho said:

GrillFriend said:

We have the ONLY company approved that imports authentic Pimento wood from Jamaica. We also have a big green egg.  We have had great success doing jerk chicken, Jerk brisket, jerk ribs on our egg. I do HIGHLY recommend using pimento wood chips - wet in a tinfoil burrito. A little goes a long way. You can find them on Amazon and PimentoWood dot com.  Also YouTube has videos of the process. Yea Mon!! 

Any chance you could explain what you do for jerk brisket or a recipe? @GrillFriend Thanks!

I second this question. What goes into a a jerk brisket because I love both and call me intrigued. 

nolaegghead

Mainly scotch bonnet peppers and allspice

THEBuckeye

Well, that's a start.

Hans61

Looks awesome!

thetrim

Saint Maarten is a great start.  Hope you had some guavaberry rum during your stop.  Might not've been such an authentic jerk chicken, but there are plenty of jerk around here that you can call it pretty close to the real thing.

SGH

thetrim said:

Saint Maarten is a great start.  Hope you had some guavaberry rum during your stop.  

I absolutely loved SM. Really thinking about buying a getaway place down there. I picked up all kind of cool stuff while there. Everything from alcohol and cigars to exotic rubs.  

Gunnar

Hmmmm....the exotic rub has potential....

KiterTodd

SGH said:

...On the island of Saint Maaren I was treated to some of the finest jerk chicken...I asked her how she made it and this as best I could tell is what she said. Her English was extremely limited and broken to say the least. 
Jerk Sauce:
1 cup cactus juice. 
1 cup muscadine juice. 
1 cup passion fruit juice. 
1/2 cup coconut juice. 
5 scotch bonnet peppers. 
5 banana peppers. 
Blend the above together and sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of salt while blending. 
Dry rub:
1 teaspoon sage. 
1 teaspoon cinnamon.
1 teaspoon Rosemary.
1 teaspoon cilantro.
The above is what she gave me. Rather it's legit or not, I have no idea. 
The chicken was cooked over a combination of Red Maple, Sugar Maple and sassafras wood. Honeysuckle trimmings were added a handful at a time from what I could see. She cooked raised direct at 225 degrees until the chicken would pull easily.  

That right there is GOLD, @SGH !   Thanks for asking for the details and writing them down.   Wow, I want to make that right now.   Sooo many questions, I'll just fire away...

What the heck is cactus juice and muscadine juice?  I'm sure I can google it, just wondering if that is something I can find readily available in ethnic stores or it is local only.

How hot was her chicken?  The scotch bonnets could scare away the family.  But I also know that peppers when blended and cooked over a fire can lose their heat but keep their flavor.

And most importantly, how were the ribs and Mahi?

Thanks again!!!   Great post, as always.

SGH

@KiterTodd
I will take a shot at your questions my friend. 
As far as cactus juice, I have no idea where to get it. Cactus does not grow in my area. As far as muscadine juice, I don't know where you can buy it. However we grow muscadine' so I have access to muscadine juice. 
As far as the heat, the chicken was hot, but not practical joke hot. The ribs were great but no better than what any of us cook. The difference being that they were spicy. Not as spicy as the chicken, but definitely had some heat to them. The Mahi was as good as I have ever had. Expensive but well worth the money. 
And thanks for the kind words my friend.  

Legume

She doesn't eat the same portions as you.

SGH

Legume said:

She doesn't eat the same portions as you.

No truer words have ever been spoken my friend. 

cheeaa

When we were in Jamaica a few years ago we had some jerk chicken from a roadside stand just like that in some depressed looking area. Most would never eat from it but I'll be damned if it wasn't some of the best chicken ever.... Jamaicas so awesome. And while I don't quite get 11 hour chicken holy crap does that look damn good. 

SGH

cheeaa said:

And while I don't quite get 11 hour chicken holy crap does that look damn good. 

While I may not have any money, I have time to spare. Thus a 11 hour cook is no big deal on my end. And thanks for the compliments on the chicken my friend. 

Luvnlife

That looks awesome. Best chicken I ever had was from a guy on a beach in Jamaica cooking over a steel drum. Been chasing it ever since... I'm going to try this. Thanks @SGH

nolaegghead

nolaegghead said:

Mainly scotch bonnet peppers and allspice

BTW - allspice is "pimento" in Jamaica.  You need these to ingredients as a basis for "Jerk" anything.  Or just add some of me.

Then you add your salt, hell, empty out your spice cabinet.

Luvnlife

@nolaegghead good to know, hard to find that here in Canada. Will try to find some. Closest was a Jamaican lady who moved here and made/sold her sauce at a market downtown.

nolaegghead

@Luvnlife - allspice is super common everywhere.  The peppers, you might have to search for.  But they dry well like most peppers and you can get them mail order.   The rest of the mix is variable.  Of course you can buy pre-made jerk seasoning.  But the real stuff is the allspice, which we look at in the US as a sweet seasoning (hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.).  The scotch bonnet is there to make it hurt.  If you aren't sweating when you eat jerk spice, it's not made right.

Luvnlife

@nolaegghead ok cool, I will check for that and see what I can find thanks. That was my favorite part about the jerk in Jamaica. They suggested medium if you like spice, which I agreed to and I was happy but it was still hot!! My bro in law asked for the hottest they had... Despite the repeated warnings as they were grilling, he insisted. I remember his words exactly seconds after... 'take me to the hospital, I'm dying'. Good times!

SGH

Sorry for the delay. But for those of you that asked for the Dixie style jerk sauce, here is what I used. It's actually a rip off I got from a Clod God sometime back with the exception of the Passion Fruit jam. 

Dry rub. 
1 part salt. 
1 part black pepper. 
1 part red pepper flakes. 
2 parts cayenne. Or more if you are not a whimp or a wuss. 
After applying this rub to the chicken, sprinkle a light coat of sage over the rub. 

Dixie Style Jerk Sauce. 
1/4 cup Passion Fruit jelly/jam. 
1/4 cup Jack Daniel spicy BBQ sauce. 
1/4 cup WalkersWood Jamaican sauce.
2 tablespoons Captain Morgan rum.
1 tablespoon ketchup. 
The last thing that you need is a very potent hot sauce. Preferably Scotch Bonnet or Ghost pepper based. I used 2 teaspoons added to the above and I assure you that it was hot enough for the average Joe. 

A note on the text:
I have used the above (minus the PF jam) many times on beef clod with outstanding results. 
 

ThrillSeeker

Thanks @sgh I'm gonna give this one a try this weekend.

SGH

ThrillSeeker said:

Thanks @sgh I'm gonna give this one a try this weekend.

You are welcome brother. I tell you the truth my friend, this chicken was excellent. Or my crew sure thought so. If you do try it, please share your thoughts on it for better of for worse. Good luck. 

SmokingPiney

I'm going to be in St Maarten this November.

I know what I'll be doing. 

SGH

SmokingPiney said:

I'm going to be in St Maarten this November.

I know what I'll be doing. 

Hey brother, I may own a small place there by then. Be sure you come by and see me my friend. I have every intention of having a small offset unit on the place. We will show the islanders how the Thunder Gods cook. 

SmokingPiney

SGH said:

SmokingPiney said:

I'm going to be in St Maarten this November.

I know what I'll be doing. 

Hey brother, I may own a small place there by then. Be sure you come by and see me my friend. I have every intention of having a small offset unit on the place. We will show the islanders how the Thunder Gods cook. 

That would be epic! 

The wife and I are doing a Caribbean cruise and St Maarten is one of the stops. I have no idea how long we'll be there. 

SGH

SmokingPiney said:
I have no idea how long we'll be there. 

Depending on the ships schedule of course, you should be there between 7-9 hours. We can cook and eat a mountain of food in that time frame. Heck I can have it ready and waiting so all we have to do is eat and drink. Question if I may. Are you a diver? I found a very cool wreck off of St. M we can dive while you are there. 

SmokingPiney

Not a diver. 

Eating and drinking, however, are right up my alley! 

A little OT, but I have SGH burnt ends smoking away on my Egg right now.