Are you Jerkin' my Chicken?

I received a fresh batch of very beautiful habbies from Big Ed. I'm so excited to feature them in a baked jerk chicken.



Last night I soaked the chicken in this wet marinade made from tons of fragrant dried spices (my arms are sore from grinding), vinegar, orange & lime juice, soy sauce and olive oil. I added 7! of the dried habanero red peppers, the motivation for this dish (didn't take out the seeds, yikes!). We're thrill seekers. We have amazing jerk in the neighborhood, and I think to really get it spot on you need to smoke the meat on a grill. So I stand here humble and knowing my place.

But unless I want to set the fire escape in flames, I'd better stick to interior heat. But you can't get stuck in the details. I'm sure it will be delicious either way. I am going to try to get that grilled flavor, the crisp and slight burn on the chicken with a brief trip through the broiler. I'll serve it with some of that reserved marinade heated and reduced on top. Instead of collard greens and mac & cheese, the amazing familiar sides, I'll need to figure something more heart smart. You know, P's gettin' a little long in the tooth, so I gotta watch his ticker.

Recipe from: The Sugar Reef Carribean Cookbook," by Devra Dedeaux (sounds legit, although she only used 1 scotch bonnet in her recipe). I say, if you're going to go, go BIG right? So I thought seven peppers should provide the 'Yeowww!' that you need to feel automatically when you taste the jerk sauce. Then all the various other flavors will swarm your pallet before the heat comes back to b#@$h slap your tongue into the next room.

Next day:
Okay we just came out of recovery. We got jerked! This was some full bodied flavor and heat. Delicious, but we decided this was a creeper jerk. The heat rolled up on us like a Mexican home grown. Overall rating - best use of habbies so far.