Jerk Chicken

The Jerk style of cooking meat originated amongst the indigenous Indians of the Caribbean (Arawaks and others).

‘Jerk’ means to slowly barbecue the meat with spices. To reduce cooking time, this recipe uses a sauce to cook the chicken in.

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts
1 x 15ml spoon vegetable oil
1 x 15ml spoon jerk paste (see below for ingredients)
1 medium onion
1 red chilli OR ½ x 5ml spoon chilli powder
1 clove garlic
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
200ml pineapple juice
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
Small bunch (10g) fresh coriander (to garnish)

Jerk paste
Small bunch (10g) fresh coriander
1 x 5ml spoon chilli powder
2 x 5ml spoons ground allspice
1 x 15ml spoon dark brown sugar OR treacle
1 x 15ml spoon tomato purée
1 x 15ml spoon cornflour
1 x 15ml spoon red wine vinegar
2cm piece of root ginger
1 lime

Equipment

Chopping board
Sharp knife
Large saucepan with lid
Measuring spoons
Wooden spoon
Small mixing bowl
Metal spoon
Grater
Lemon squeezer
Measuring jug
Pan stand

Instructions

1. Cut each chicken breast into 4–6 large chunks. Now wash your hands after touching raw chicken.
2. Use a clean chopping board and sharp knife to finely chop the onion, red chilli (if using fresh) and garlic. Wash your hands after chopping the chilli.
3. To make the jerk paste, wash and finely chop the coriander and put into the small bowl. Add the chilli powder, allspice, dark brown sugar or treacle, tomato purée, cornflour and red wine vinegar.
4. Using a metal spoon, remove the skin from the ginger and grate finely. Add to the spice mix.
5. Remove the zest of the lime with the grater and squeeze the juice. Add the zest and juice to the spice mix and mix well to form a smooth paste.
6. Using a large saucepan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, chilli (or chilli powder) and garlic and cook for 2 minutes until soft.
7. Add 1 x 15ml spoon of the jerk paste (about half the amount you’ve made), stirring well and cook for a further minute. Save the other half of the paste and store according to instructions in Prepare Now, Eat Later section.
8. Add the chopped chicken to the pan and stir well to mix with the paste. Cook for a further 2 minutes until the chicken has changed colour from pink to white and then light brown.
9. Add the canned tomatoes and pineapple juice and stir the ingredients in the pan well.
10. Remove the thyme leaves from the stalks and discard the stalks. Add the leaves to the pan and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15–20 minutes.
11. Chop the coriander, discarding any tough stems, and sprinkle over the chicken before serving.

Skills used include:
Measuring, peeling, chopping, grating, squeezing, blending, boiling/simmering and frying.

Something to try next time

• Try substituting 450g of cubed pork tenderloin for the chicken.
• Add 2–4 chopped spring onions to the recipe at step 13. This will give the dish more colour. To prepare, wash and chop off both ends to remove the roots and the straggly top part of the green leaves. Chop each spring onion into 1cm pieces.

Prepare now, eat later

• This recipe should make enough Jerk Paste for two meals. Once made, the paste can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. Or it can be frozen in a small container or ice cube trays and, once frozen, transferred to a freezer bag. Use within 2 months and defrost for 15 to 30 minutes before using.
• Cool the Jerk Chicken as quickly as possible, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up 48 hours. Reheat until piping hot and eat immediately.