Caribbean Jerk Chicken

Just back from St Martin in the Caribbean. With it being half French, most of the restaurants were nodding in that direction. So, local grub? These days, the first thing I do on arrival is engage with the taxi driver, Francois Le Taxi didn't let us down. Rosemary's, he said, down by the waterfront in Marigot, capital of the French part of the island. Creole food.

On our first visit we met Rosemary herself, a St Martin institution. She's been presiding over this place for over 45 years. Very encouraging to see the boss eating her own food, tucking into what looked like a large portion of jerk chicken.

Originally from Jamaica, this is probably the best known of all Caribbean dishes. It involves an overnight marinade. Once upon time it was traditionally cooked in underground pits. Today, the best result comes from a slow cook over pimento wood. You can barbecue it, but read my general fears about BBQ chicken. Not for beginners. I cooked mine in the oven and very good it was too.

After Wednesday's article about chilli you will also know my wariness about the Scotch bonnet; however, everything I read was quite definite - nothing else will do. My recipe is a combination of two or three which I found. It might surprise people to learn that spring onions (or scallions as they are known over there) and thyme are very common ingredients. The confusingly named allspice (dried pimento berries) and limes are more what you would expect. This being the melting pot that it is, soy sauce has snuck in, and I have seen recipes which use Worcester sauce as well.

Back to the chillies. No namby pamby, prick then remove, stuff here. Today, they get blitzed with everything else. Yes, I did say they. Well, yes and no. My base recipe called for THREE of the critters. I settled for one, deseeded, That was plenty for me, but your recipe, your mouth lining.

When eating at Rosemary's, I was served half a chicken. For home cooking I would recommend thighs, my favourite part. I had a pack of legs which I separated into thighs and drumsticks. That worked well too, but there are no rules. I don't know enough about the traditions to go into local variations. Here is my version. Remember that it's advisable to marinate the meat for 24 hours.

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in; 1 lime, halved.

For the marinade

1 large bunch spring onions, roughly chopped; thumb sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped; 3 garlic cloves; ½ a small onion; 1 Scotch bonnet chilli - I removed the seeds, but your choice; ½ tsp dried thyme; 1 lime, juiced; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tbsp  cider or white wine vinegar; 3 tbsp of brown sugar; 1 tbsp ground allspice; 1tsp salt.

************************************************

Put all the marinade ingredients in a blender and blitz to a paste. This should be fairly thick - don't be tempted to add water. Taste. I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced it was, with just the right amount of heat. You may wish a touch more salt or chilli.

Make 3 or 4 deep slashes in the chicken pieces. Put in a bowl and pour the marinade over. Rub in well, cover and leave in the fridge to marinate. 24 hours is ideal: 4 would be the absolute minimum.

Preheat your oven to 180C/Mark 4. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin. Some recipes recommend lining it first. While that can do no harm I didn't feel the need. Cook for 45 minutes, turning half way through. Double check that the chicken is cooked, and serve with traditional rice and peas.