Jerk Style Chicken Pilaf Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the chicken: put the butter, soy sauce, allspice, peppercorns, cinnamon, nutmeg, scallions, thyme, garlic, lime zest and juice, chile and ginger in a food processor and pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary with a rubber spatula, until a paste forms.
• Arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet, rub with the marinade and generously sprinkle with salt. Let marinate for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat and brush lightly with canola oil.
• Place the chicken skin-side down on the grill pan. Reserve any leftover marinade on the baking sheet to use later. Cook until slightly charred and marked, flipping halfway through, 5 to 8 minutes total (the chicken will not be fully cooked, it will finish cooking in the oven).
• Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the chicken skin-side up on the rack, leaving ample space between each piece. Top the chicken with the reserved marinade from the baking sheet and bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes.
• For the rice: Put the rice in a large bowl, cover with 4 cups cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Strain well, reserving the soaking liquid.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium. Add the butter and onions and cook until they are translucent but not brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin seeds, cayenne and cinnamon stick and toast for about 1 minute. Add the drained rice and stir gently until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Add the reserved soaking water and gently stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until the water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let rest for about 10 minutes, then season with salt and fluff with a fork. Remove the cinnamon stick.
• For the green beans: fill a large bowl with ice water and set a colander inside the ice bath. Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a generous handful of salt. (The water should taste like sea water.) Add the green beans and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to the colander ice bath.
• When ready to serve, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and toss in the beans to warm them gently. Top with the lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.
• For the honey glaze: Simmer the honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it foams and turns golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the vinegar and return the pan to the stove. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes more to allow the vinegar and honey to cook together. Season with salt and set aside.
• Place a large spoonful of rice on each plate and arrange the chicken and green beans around each portion. Drizzle the chicken with the honey glaze.

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Add the garlic, habanero, onion, five-spice, celery salt, cinnamon, ginger, thyme, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon black pepper to a food processor and pulse until combined and paste-like. Add the soy sauce, oil, vinegar and scallion whites and puree until well-mixed and smooth. Set aside.
• Arrange the chicken parts in a baking dish and pour half of the marinade over the top, brushing so that all pieces are coated. Set the remaining marinade aside. Marinate the chicken at room temperature for 15 minutes or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
• Heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken parts in the pan skin-side down and cook for 7 minutes per side. Place the chicken back in the baking dish and baste with the reserved marinade. Place in the oven and roast until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes. Note that the baking time for the breast may be shorter than the leg. Remove from the baking dish as finished and let rest for a couple of minutes.
• For the rice: Coat the bottom of a small pot with the oil and sweat the sliced onions with a pinch of salt over high heat until browned. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, thyme bundle and bay leaves. Stir and season to taste with salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and stir in the peas. Cover and cook for 17 minutes. Turn off the heat then remove the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Fluff the rice and mix in the cilantro and scallion greens.
• Place a large scoop of rice in the center of each plate and arrange the chicken pieces on top.

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil a pinch of crushed red pepper and kosher salt to taste. Set aside.
• Pat the chicken skin dry and season liberally with kosher salt. Heat a large saute pan with the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the chicken skin-side down into the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the chicken is golden brown and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to cook until golden on the other side, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a sheet tray lined with a wire rack. Reserve the pan that the chicken was cooked in, including the fat. Brush the chicken with the rosemary and garlic mixture. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
• Heat the pan that the chicken was cooked in over medium heat. Add the flour to the pan and stir with the fat to create a roux; cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken stock and a pinch of salt, then cook until the sauce has thickened, 5 minutes.
• For the pilaf: Add the olive oil to a medium saucepan and turn on the heat to medium-high. Add the shallot, season with salt and cook until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the rice and stir to toast for 2 minutes, ensuring the olive oil and shallot have fully coated the rice. Add the chicken stock and kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
• To serve: Plate a scoop of the rice, sliced chicken and gravy. Serve with green beans and garnish with chives if using.

Steps:

• Paste:
• Blend all the ingredients for the paste together in a blender. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 24 hours.
• Using a backyard grill, start your charcoal with charcoal chimney (Never use lighter fluid). When all the coals are covered in a fine grey ash, dump them on 1 side of your grill. Using a stick or spatula push all the coals into a pile. Put your grate on the grill.
• Chicken:
• Open the beer and pour about a quarter of the beer out of each can. Literally rub the chicken cavities and exterior of the chickens with the jerk paste. Carefully put each can of beer into the cavity of the chickens, bring the legs around the can and truss together. Put the chickens on the opposite side of the fire. Sometimes you may need to put a brick or rock on the backside of the chicken to keep it stable and upright. Put the lid on the grill and make sure the vent holes are directly above the chicken to provide adequate drafting of heat and smoke over the bird. Keep the vent holes open all the way.
• Cook chickens for 4 to 5 hours at a temperature of 225 degrees F. You will want to rotate the birds a quarter turn every hour and add coals, when needed, to maintain the temperature. Be careful not to add too many coals at once when attempting to bring your temperature back up. You may get it too hot and will have a tough time bringing it back down. Open the lid only when you have to check the temperature.
• Remove the chickens from the grill and set aside for 10 minutes. Discard the beer cans and refrigerate the chicken until ready to serve.

Steps:

• To make the jerk marinade, combine the spring onions, ginger, garlic, onion, scotch bonnet chillies, dried thyme, lime juice, soy sauce, vegetable oil, brown sugar and ground allspice in a food processor along with 1 tsp salt, and blend to a purée. If you're having trouble getting it to blend, just keep turning off the blender, stirring the mixture, and trying again. Eventually it will start to blend up - don't be tempted to add water, as you want a thick paste.
• Taste the jerk mixture for seasoning - it should taste pretty salty, but not unpleasantly, puckering salty. You can now throw in more chillies if it's not spicy enough for you. If it tastes too salty and sour, try adding in a bit more brown sugar until the mixture tastes well balanced.
• Make a few slashes in 12 chicken thighs and pour the marinade over the meat, rubbing it into all the crevices. Cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
• If you want to barbecue your chicken, get the coals burning 1 hr or so before you're ready to cook. Authentic jerked meats are not exactly grilled as we think of grilling, but sort of smoke-grilled. To get a more authentic jerk experience, add some wood chips to your barbecue, and cook your chicken over slow, indirect heat for 30 mins.
• To cook in the oven, heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin with the halved lime and cook for 45 mins until tender and cooked through.
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice & peas. Rinse the basmati rice in plenty of cold water, then tip it into a large saucepan. Add the coconut milk, spring onions, thyme sprigs, garlic and ground allspice.
• Season with salt, add 300ml cold water and set over a high heat. Once the rice begins to boil, turn it down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 mins. Add the kidney beans to the rice, then cover with a lid. Leave off the heat for 5 mins until all the liquid is absorbed.
• Squeeze the roasted lime over the chicken and serve with the rice & peas, and some hot sauce if you like it really spicy.