Feeling Like a Jerk

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After visiting the Cayman Islands for our honeymoon many moons ago, Allan and I began to crave Caribbean flavors.  Fortunately living in Florida, we’re relatively close to the Caribbean, its lifestyle and wonderful foods. Whenever we spot a dish with Caribbean flair on a menu, we don’t pass it up.

 

Last summer, Allan found a Bobby Flay Jerk Grilled Chicken recipe but tweaked the recipe (as only Iron Chef Allan could do) into fabulous a Jerk marinade that sends us back to the Caribbean with every bite.

 

When Allan last prepared this dish, he cubed the chicken and grilled it on skewers as bite size morsels for wraps and as his sous-chef, I made the mango salsa. The sweet paired with the heat is simply delicious!

 

 

This marinade and mango salsa also works well with whole boneless chicken breasts for sandwiches or served on a bed of rice.

 

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken breast

1/4 cup olive oil

½ red onion

1 large Habanero pepper, stem and seeds removed

1 tablespoon fresh ginger (about 1″)

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp thyme

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch ground clove

1 Tbsp ground allspice

1 Tbsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 2 fresh limes

¼ cup orange juice

 

Place all ingredients in a food processor (except the chicken) and puree until almost smooth. Place the chicken breasts into a gallon size Ziploc bag and pour marinade over the chicken.  Place bag in refrigerator and marinade for 24 hours.  The longer the chicken marinades the more intense the flavors and heat becomes.

 

Grill chicken on each side for 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked through.

 

Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (about one half red onion)

1 Habanero pepper seeded and minced

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Juice of one lime

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Salt

Pepper

 

Combine the mangoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, habanero pepper and orange juice in a bowl and gently mix. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste

 

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.

 

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About the author

Denise
From start to finish, Denise is Run DMT, a Tampa Bay homeschooling mom on the run trying to maintain an easy pace through it all between races and raising three beautiful, brilliant adultish kids (ages 23, 19, 14). In 2007, I discovered a passion for running and in February 2015, I completed my tenth marathon. I continue to train for a variety of races and even host annual 5K. In 2023, I became a certified group fitness instructor and teach P.E. in my homeschool co-op.

15 comments

  10. ofelianj says:

    OK the toughest ingredients for me to find will be fresh ginger, habanero, nutmeg, allspice. Making out the grocery list! Oh and I’ll need some music from a steel drum band

  12. Mariana @ The Domestic Buzz says:

    I have fond memories of our very first meal when we visited Jamaica a couple of years ago… jerk chicken. This reminded me of that.

    Mangoes were on sale this week, so I brought home a dozen! Borrowing your salsa recipe for sure!

  13. Stacy (the Random Cool Chick) says:

    Ohhhhhhhh! I’m SO going to have to make this! Hubby and I got a taste for Caribbean food when we went on our first ‘real’ vacation to Punta Cana – and followed that with another trip 5 years later. It’s only been 3 years since we’ve been last, and we’ve been talking about going sooner rather than the every-5-years mode. 😉 Maybe if I make this, he’ll decide to go sooner! 😉

  15. Pingback: Mmmmm Mangos!!! «

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