Jerk Chicken

What you may not know about me is that I am a HUGE James Bond fan.  I’ve watched each movie many, many times.  My favorite one has to be Goldfinger.  I love everything about that movie:  the suave interpretation of James Bond by Sean Connery, the martinis “shaken, not stirred”, the impossible stunts, the bond girls, and even the now comical sexism of the sixties (Bond actually slaps a woman on the butt and say: "say goodbye, man talk"!)

 

I recently discovered that after WWII Ian Fleming, the genius behind the James Bond novels bought a property in Jamaica.  This is where Fleming imagined and wrote most of the James Bond Novels.

Flash forward to today.  His property is now a resort:  The GoldenEye!  I WANT TO GO SO BAD!

 

Since vacations are out of the questions these days, I decided to bring Jamaica to Toronto by preparing a batch of Jerk Chicken, one of my favourite Jamaican dishes.  Serve this dish with rice and a Red Stripe beer or a tall glass of Ting!

 Jerk Chicken

Yields 4 portions

Ingredients:

§  8 green onions, chopped coarse

§  ¼ cup olive oil

§  2 habanero chilies, stemmed and seeded (if you want a milder version, use only 1 pepper or replace by a jalapeno pepper)

§  1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

§  2 tablespoons molasses

§  3 garlic cloves, peeled

§  1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon of dry thyme)

§  2 teaspoons ground allspice

§  2 teaspoons black pepper

§  ½ teaspoon nutmeg

§  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

§  1 teaspoon coarse salt

§  10 to 12 chicken drumsticks

§  lime wedges for serving

Directions

Place the green onions, oil, habaneros, ginger, molasses, garlic, thyme, all spice, cardamom, and salt in a food processor or blender and purée.

Marinate the chicken drumsticks for an hour in the refrigerator (overnight is even better).

If you wish to freeze the jerk chicken for future use, pour approximately ¾ of the marinade in a large freezer bag and add the chicken.  Pour the remaining marinade in a small resealable bag to baste the drumsticks when baking and label.  Shake the bag to coat the chicken.  Place both bags in the freezer.

On the day of cooking, thaw both bags and follow the steps below.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Place the drumsticks on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.

Brush some of the leftover marinade on the chicken.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, turning the pieces of chicken halfway and basting the drumsticks once again.

Finish off under the broil for a 10 minutes or until the skin of the chicken is crispy.

Serve with lime wedges.

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