Jerk Chicken/Marinade Help, Please
- Thread starter Roguejim
- Start date
BigB said:
i found a better source for the pimento wood in the end ... let me find it.
http://pimentowoodproducts.com/
BigB said:
Personally. I don't think the pimento added all that much to it all, and certainly the reward does not justify the cost.
I will not be ordering further pimento wood.
You can get a lot more mileage out of the spice mixture than the wood, in my opinion.
I actually tested this quite a bit a few months ago ... including cooking other meats over the pimento to see just what flavors it instills during shorter cooks, in different (more subtly seasoned) meats ...
Walkerswood, or even just fresh thyme and extended marinade length >> pimento logs or lump.
How much allspice does Chris say to use? I was a bit confused since I thought he held up two separate dishes containing allspice. Oh, and that comment about him being a "Trini?"...nutty. His recipe stands on its own, and should be judged as such, regardless of his ethnicity.hot stuff said:
Is orange juice an essential ingredient in jerk? The recipe I've been using doesn't call for it at all, but then again this is the only one I've tried and have no idea what authentic jerk is like
http://www.islands.com/best-jamaican-jerk-sauce
http://www.islands.com/best-jamaican-jerk-sauce
I find a difference in jerk marinade and jerk paste....I prefer the paste type
To me Walkerswood is more of a jerk paste and they have another jerk sauce recipe and bottled.Roguejim 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.MeatHead1313 said:
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.
Roguejim said:
Yes real jerk is made similar to planking and the two popular woods are green pimento or a wood they call sweetwood (laurel tree). Aromatics like cedar is to fish.
Coals are greyed and below.
Pimento leaves or tins are put on top for some of the process for a steam effect.
It's an amazing food.
Thanks for the info boss! Wonder if I can rig something similar up using the wsm?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.
jerk_chicken_grill1.jpeg
jerk_chicken_grill2.jpg
Short answer is yes, remove water pan and use bottom rack and and it will be close. You would need to cut wood to fit bottom rack of course. Man island street food is so epic!MeatHead1313 said:
Sure it can be done on WSM, you can buy green pimento or sweetwood online, many have done it here. Grant, PIC 1. Remember jerk is a slow process so if not using the wood, make sure the coals are greyed and don't put a lid on it. Start with your presentation side down because you will need to flip it and you want to finish it presentation side up, adding more jerk seasoning and letting it cook longer, that way it looks good. You could also buy pimento charcoal which has bits of wood in it (or wood chips/chunks) for some wood flavor but you won't get that infused oil taste from the green wood and that is more like smoking so I wouldn't do that. Jerk chicken is not smoked. The charcoal flavor is actually very important, with the seasoning, and oils from the wood but not always done. There is the "hut" version and the "street" version. 
