Authentic Jerk Chicken

My inspiration for this Authentic Jerk Chicken was a dinner my wife and I had at EL BUREN in Highwood, IL.  For those of you that know Highwood, it is historically been known for its Italian restaurants.  It has expanded in recent years and one of its newer restaurants is this Caribbean restaurant.  I pushed my wife to try the new restaurant with me and we were not disappointed.  The jerk chicken was amazing. 

Authentic Jerk Chicken from Feed Your Soul Too

Authentic Jerk Chicken from Feed Your Soul Too

My wife told our waitress that I was a food blogger.  She told the owner/chef and he came out and talked to us.  We talked for at least an hour.  This food blogger was in heaven.  I drilled the chef about his cooking and learned not only about his recipes about his butchering.  From this conversation and how much we liked the jerk chicken, I had to try and make it myself.  I made a mental note of the ingredients he used and I tried to re-create his recipe.  I ended up really making it my own and it was so good. 

What is JERK CHICKEN?  What I learned is that it comes from a Spanish word.  In America, it became what we know as jerky.  The Caribbean version is thought to be quite hot.  It does use Scotch bonnet peppers – HOT!  It is blended with so many ingredients that the heat is nicely balanced with a bunch of citrus and herbs.  In my recipe, I added lemon, lime, orange and pineapple juice.  I also used a whole bunch of cilantro, thyme and parsley.  The chicken is marinated with the mixture and cooked in a cast iron skillet.  I made my version healthier too by using skinless chicken.        

The cast of characters for the jerk and then everything that went into my stew.

Vegetable Ingredients for Jerk Stew

Combining the jerk ingredients and marinating the chicken. 

Mixing the Jerk Ingredients and Marinating the Chicken

Adding the rest of the vegetables to the chicken for the jerk stew.

Adding the Rest of the Vegetables

The Authentic Jerk Chicken Plated.

Authentic Jerk Chicken Plated

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Jerk Chicken Fried Rice

A super tasty and somewhat spicy spin on the Chinese classic recipe with this Caribbean Jerk Chicken Fried Rice #habanero peppers.

Course dinner

Cuisine Caribbean food, chicken, gluten free

Keyword Caribbean food, chicken, Chicken recipes, fusion, gluten free, Spices

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Feed Your Soul Too

Ingredients

Jerk Ingredients

• 2 Lbs Boneless Chicken Thighs cubed
• 1 Bunch Green Onions
• 2 Inch Ginger sliced
• 2 Whole Scotch Bonnet Peppers ends removed
• 1/4 Cup Lime juice
• 1 Bunch Cilantro
• 2 Tbsp Gluten free soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp White wine vinegar
• 2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 2 Tsp Cumin
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Coriander
• 1/2 Tsp Cloves
• 1/2 Whole Red Pepper diced
• 2 Cups Peas
• 2 Cups White rice

Instructions

Jerk Chicken Fried Rice

1. Combine all the ingredients through the clove (reserving the chicken) in a blender.  Blend until fully pureed.  Pour over the chicken thighs and place in a bowl and marinate at for 2 hours to overnight.

   Cook the rice according to box instructions.

   Remove the chicken from the fridge and place on a baking tray including the marinade. Place in a 300 degree oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

   Heat a wok on medium high heat.  Add the chicken with the marinade and get a good sear.  Remove from wok and set aside. Add the red peppers to the wok and cook for 2 minutes. Add peas and cook for 1 minute.  Next, add in the rice and crisp it in the wok. Finish by adding back in the chicken.  Cook for about 5 minutes. 

   Serve and enjoy!