Category: Jamaican

Jerk Chicken Wings

Jerk SeasoningWe’re just a week away from our Jamaican Pop-Up Event at Ezras Israel Congregation in Chicago! If you haven’t registered yet, here is the link! Since Rachel and I are cooking delicious Jamaican Caribbean food at this upcoming event, here’s a sneak peek at one of the menu items, jerk chicken.

Jerk Seasoning in a BottleWhat is Jerk Chicken? No, It’s Not Just a Steve Martin Movie

What is jerk you ask? (No, it is not your younger sibling or that mean kid from your middle school class)  Jerk is a seasoning blend popular in Jamaica. It is heavy on the allspice (also know as pimento in Jamaica) and chili peppers. In Jamaica, they specifically use a very hot pepper known as the scotch bonnet.  I call for cayenne and red pepper flake in my recipe as they are easier to get ahold of, but feel free to adjust to your heat tolerance.  Of course my wife couldn’t resist getting her label maker out so everyone knows exactly what’s in the bottle.

Jerk seasoning is most often used on chicken. It can also be used on pork (for our gentile friends), seafood, or vegetables.  In Jamaica, jerk is often cooked over pimento (AKA allspice) wood which could be hard to get your hands on.  If you want to cook over wood and want something a little less exotic, I recommend mesquite.  It has a strong smoke flavor so use it cautiously.

Outdoor Cooking Option

For my jerk chicken wings, I call for a two step cooking method in the the oven, first on a low heat to render out the fat and cook the chicken and then finishing the wings on a higher temperature to crisp up the skin.  You could easily do this on a grill with a two zone set up where you bank all the coals to one side, starting with indirect heat and finishing directly over the fire.Jerk Chicken Wings

Due to the heavy spice coating that also contains sugar, the wings will have a charred almost burnt appearance.  Although not the prettiest to look at this is this is normal (and delicious), so please don’t worry.

 

Don’t forget the check out Rachel’s preview recipe for the pop up: Chayote Squash Slaw

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Jerk Seasoning
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Jerk Chicken Wings
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Marinating
3 hrs
 

A spicy Caribbean Classic

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Jamaican
Keyword: chicken wings, Jerk, Jerk Chicken, Jerk Seasoning
Servings: 3 Servings
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Jerk Seasoning
  • 2 tbsp Allspice
  • 2 tbsp Dried Thyme
  • 2 tbsp Granulated Garlic
  • 2 tbsp Granulated Onion
  • 2 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 tbsp Black Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flake Adjust for your heat tolerance
  • 1 tbsp Cayenne Adjust for your heat tolerance
  • 2 tbsp Smoked Hot Paprika Adjust for your heat tolerance
  • 2 tbsp Dried Parsley
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Clove
  • 1 tbsp Nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
Jerk Chicken Wings
  • 1/2 Cup Jerk Seasoning
  • 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Lime Juice
  • 12 Chicken Wings
  • Non-stick Cooking spray
Instructions
Jerk Seasoning

  1. Combine all the jerk seasoning ingredients in a large bowl. Note that this will make more than you need for this recipe. Save the rest for future use.

Jerk Chicken Wings

  1. To make the marinade, in a small sauce pot combine 1/2 cup of the jerk seasoning, lime juice, oil, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes together into a paste. Remove for the heat and allow to cool.

  2. Add the chicken wings to a Ziplock bag along with the marinade. Place in the fridge for a minimum of three hours up to overnight.

  3. Preheat your oven to 250°F. Place your cooling rack on sheet pan and spray the rack with cooking spray. Put the wings on the the rack and bake at 250°F for 30 minutes.

  4. Increase the temperature to 450°F and continue to bake until the skin crisps up and the the spices starts to char. It will be fairly dark, and look almost burnt. Serve immediately.

 

Sweet Potato Pudding

Sweet Potato Pudding

It’s here, ya’ll! We have ONE week left until our Jamaican kitchen pop-up event! If you haven’t registered, make sure to do so ASAP! Here’s the link to register!

On the dessert menu for this even is our Sweet Potato Pudding. This custardy treat is light, easy, naturally gluten-free and nut-free!

This pudding is a common dessert in Jamaica and especially with the warming Caribbean spices like cinnamon, ginger and allspice, this is sure to transport your tastebuds.

Pumpkin pie change-up

This pudding would be a fantastic substitute for the traditional pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. For this recipe, you can use sweet potato, pumpkin, or butternut squash! I used canned just to make my life a bit easier, but if you have fresh sweet potatoes, you’ll want to roast them in the oven at 425F degrees for 40-45 minutes. Then, add the ingredients into a blender, or use a handheld stick blender in a large bowl, pour into a casserole (or pie dish) and that’s it.

This sweet potato pudding uses eggs to make a custard-type pudding but if you’re egg-free, substitute the 4 eggs for 1 cup of flour. It’ll still be delicious, of course, but the texture will be cakier and less custard-like.

Hope you all try this recipe – maybe for your next Shabbat lunch meal as a twist on kugel, or for your Thanksgiving dessert. Can’t wait to see you all at the pop-up next week!

If you’re interested in some more recipes that we’ll be featuring at the pop-up, check these out below!

Chayote Squash Slaw – Meat Your Vegetables

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Sweet Potato Pudding
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 2 Sweet Potatoes, OR one 15 oz. can If using whole sweet potatoes, pierce with a fork and roast at 425F for 40-45 minutes until the flesh is soft
  • 1 14 oz. Can of Coconut Milk Don't use light coconut milk, or coconut cream, or cream of coconut (that has too much sugar and is used for pina coladas!)
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 4 Eggs, large
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. Ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. Allspice Used a lot in Jamaican cuisine!
  • 1/4 tsp. Sea salt
Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375F

  2. Add all ingredients into a large bowl, or blender container

  3. Blend, or use a handheld stick blender (or you can use a whisk) and mix all ingredients together until the batter is smooth

  4. Pour into 2-quart square baking dish

  5. Bake at 375F for 1 hour, or until fully set

  6. Let cool and serve! This would be great warmed, or room temp (or cold too, it'll just be a bit firmer) and served with a dollop of whipped cream - YUM!

Chayote Squash Slaw

We’re just 2 weeks away from our Jamaican Pop-Up Event at Ezras Israel Congregation in Chicago! If you haven’t registered yet, here is the link!

Since Daniel and I are cooking delicious Jamaican Caribbean food at this upcoming event, here’s a sneak peek at one of the menu items – Chayote Squash Slaw.

What is Chayote Squash?

Chayote Squash is very popular in Jamaican cuisine (a.k.a. “Cho Cho”), found all other Latin America, but originating in Mexico. The fruit is a member of the gourd family and it looks like a large pear, with a more wrinkly bottom. There are so many great health benefits to chayote squash too. It’s high in antioxidants, vitamin C, folic acid, and vitamin K and B6. It can also help improve blood sugar and studies have found that the chayote can help lower cholesterol levels too.

Chayote squash is a great addition to this slaw because the skin is so thin that you don’t need to peel it and it can be eaten raw. I just sliced it like a pear, removing the inner seed(s) and slicing it thin. Of course, if you want to cook it (not for this slaw) you can treat it just like a summer squash – roasted or grilled would be delicious. It tastes similar to jicama, or even as tart as a green apple. Can’t find chayote squash for this recipe? Substitute it for zucchini!

Spicy, Tangy, Sweet, Crunchy & Herbaceous

I love a good dish that brings together lots of flavor combinations and this slaw certainly hits the mark. The dressing is so simple. Mustard (I used yellow), honey (or for a shortcut, use honey mustard), lime zest and juice, salt, dried thyme. I never knew until my research that thyme is a popular herb in Jamaican cuisine! The slaw combines all of these flavor bombs, The jalapenos bring the heat and spice, mustard for tang, sweet from the bit of honey, tart from the lime, veggies from crunch and thyme and cilantro bring herby flavors!

Can’t wait to devour this slaw, either on its own or piled into a sandwich – YUM!

Hope to see you all soon at our pop-up event!

Like this recipe? Be sure to rate it 5 stars!

 

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Chayote Squash Slaw
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
Slaw
  • 1 8 oz. bag Shredded Red Cabbage Feel free to use a coleslaw mix or green cabbage
  • 1/2 cup Shredded Carrots
  • 1 Chayote Squash, seeds removed, sliced thin
  • 1 cup Cilantro, chopped Don't throw away the cilantro stems! That's where all the flavor is, so chop them up and add them to the slaw too.
  • 1-2 Jalapenos or other hot peppers I used a mix of home-grown small jalapenos and banana peppers (which are more mild) for color
Dressing
  • 3 tbsp. Mustard (I used yellow mustard for an extra tang, but really, any kind would be delish) Or just use honey mustard instead
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. Honey Omit if using honey mustard
  • 2 Limes, zest & juice
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
Instructions

  1. Mix all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl or serving dish

  2. In a bowl or mason jar, add the mustard, honey, zest and juice of both limes, salt and dried thyme. Shake or mix well and pour over slaw

  3. Mix well and serve immediately. The salt will draw out moisture from the veggies so it's best served same-day, however, leftovers are still good in the fridge for about 1-2 days