Jerk Chicken/Marinade Help, Please

Jeff H said:
Every once in a while on this forum you find a thread that really opens your eyes to culinary tricks that you didn't know about.
 
I'll be man enough to admit that I always thought jerk was all in the marinade. Didn't know about the grilling over the logs. How long can you reuse this wood?
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The green dries fairly quick over fire not sure on the exact science. 
 
Every once in a while on this forum you find a thread that really opens your eyes to culinary tricks that you didn't know about.
 
I'll be man enough to admit that I always thought jerk was all in the marinade. Didn't know about the grilling over the logs. How long can you reuse this wood?


I have the logs, and am not a belieber ... just for the record.

Save the money on the wood, IMHO.

You can have a half-dozen pork butts for the same $.

PS - I've been cooking everything on the logs since I used them ... and the taste faded drastically after second cook. I'm planning to soak them soon, and see if it revitalizes them - it should.
 
grantmichaels said:
I have the logs, and am not a belieber ... just for the record.

Save the money on the wood, IMHO.

You can have a half-dozen pork butts for the same $.

PS - I've been cooking everything on the logs since I used them ... and the taste faded drastically after second cook. I'm planning to soak them soon, and see if it revitalizes them - it should.
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It may but doubtful, green wood and wet wood are different but report back and let us know!
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
It may but doubtful, green wood and wet wood are different but report back and let us know!
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I'm more curious and can't help but be thorough about it (the log experience) ...
 
Can't imagine ordering it in again, honestly ...
Maybe I'll just burn them tonight, actually ... LOL.
 
Once they are dry you can use them to smoke with. You can make some smoked jerk. Hey, you may even like it better. :)
 
The Hot Pepper said:
For me it's a combo of the seasoning and the jerk cooking method. Grilled chicken with jerk seasoning is not jerk chicken. The same way you can order BBQ chicken but if it is baked or grilled with BBQ sauce on it you're like... uh this is not BBQ chicken this is chicken with BBQ sauce.Seasoning, wet rub, paste... usually all terms used interchangeably so that's what I mean.
 
The steaming that happens between the wood and the cover creates very moist chicken, and pimento oils are released from the wood. And charcoal is always used as the fire, far below in the pit.
 
The seasoning just needs some of the essentials like allspice, scallion, thyme, scotch bonnet (or any superhot as far as I'm concerned). Soy sauce, OJ, sugar, all that stuff, do as you please. Even the thyme.
 
Use some of the basics of the seasoning, and some of the basics of the cooking, and to me that is more jerk than 100% seasoning and grilling or smoking (or baking! lol).
 


 
If you're gonna grill, use greyed coals and cook indirect if you can't cook high above the fire like they do on street rigs. Direct flame grilling and smoking will not yield results like real jerk.
 
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So, you don't think the scotch bonnets make any discernible difference? I've been holding out on cooking this because I'm waiting for scotch bonnets to harvest. On the other hand, I have tons of caribbean red habs, if it makes no difference.
 
You will get differing opinions but I am in the camp of use whatever pepper you like just choose a superhot if not a sb.
 
I mean, they are hot peppers, and yes, varieties taste different, but if a recipe calls for roma tomatoes and you use what you like better, at the end of the day, you used tomatoes and stuck to the basics of the recipe.
 
Purists aside.
 
That's just my opinion. The sb is for heat... the actual flavor may get buried, and you may like another better anyway.
 
If you want to try it 100% authentic, sure, go sb. ;)
 
So much awesome info. Thanks all! May have to try the bosses advice re peppers next time I smoke jerk marinated chicken. One mild with a couple MoA's for the better half, and yellow 7's for myself.
 
A wise Jamaican told me this once............or not.................
 
"We use thee scotch bonnet becuz eet is plentiful and eet iz hot mon. But use whatever pepper you like mon, as long as eet iz hot!"
 
I think the hab will be fine enough that it's worth cooking, certainly ...
Maybe grind up a little bit of a bird's eye pepper or something to give it a little gritty/dirty vibe ...
 
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