Jamaican Jerk Chicken on the grill

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 3 1/2 lbs chicken (3lb of chicken breasts may be used if preferred)
• 6 sliced scotch bonnet peppers (jalapenos may be used if scotch bonnet peppers are unavailable)
• 2 tablespoons thyme
• 2 tablespoons ground allspice
• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons the following (to taste)
• ground cinnamon
• nutmeg
• ginger
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 lime, juice of
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup white vinegar

Directions:

1. Chop the onions, garlic and peppers. These do not need to be chopped too fine as they liquidised by the blender.
2. Blend all of the ingredients (excluding the chicken) in a blender to make the jerk sauce.
3. Cut the chicken up in to 4 pieces.
4. Rub the sauce in to the meat, saving some for basting and dipping later.
5. Leave the chicken in the fridge to marinade overnight.
6. Grill the meat slowly until cooked, turning regularly. Baste with some of the remaining marinade whilst cooking. For best results, cook over a charcoal barbeque (ideally over a rack of pimento wood).
7. Chop each quarter chicken portion in to 5 or 6 smaller pieces using a heavy cleaver.
8. Use a wooden spoon (or something similar) to hold the chicken in place whilst chopping and NOT YOUR HAND (you will be chopping with enough pressure to cut through bone!).
9. Serve with festival and salad or rice and peas or hardo bread and the jerk sauce leftover for dipping.

THE ROTHERHAMBURGER

*The Rotherhamburger by Jan Braai, inspired by Seth Rotherham, as pictured at its launch in Cape Town by Jan & Seth.

Ingredients (makes 4)

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 hamburger rolls
• 8 slices salami
• 8 slices bacon
• 8 slices mozzarella cheese
• crumbled feta feta cheese

Method

1. Light the fire.
2. Spice the chicken breasts with your favourite chicken spice.
3. When the coals are ready braai the chicken breasts until medium (about 10 minutes) and fry the bacon in a pan on the fire or in a pan on a stove.
4. Assemble the burger as follows: Salami, feta, chicken breast, mozzarella, bacon. (The chicken and bacon will melt the mozzarella, thus logic dictates that you can also assemble it: bacon, mozzarella, chicken, feta, salami).

Tips

• If you use good quality salami and bacon it will make the burger taste even better.
• Chicken breasts dry out easily when overcooked.

Beer Can Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon onion powder
•  1 tablespoon salt
•  1 tablespoon smoked paprika
•  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
•  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
•  1 teaspoon garlic powder
•  1 teaspoon dried oregano
•  1 teaspoon dried thyme
•  1 teaspoon brown sugar
•  1 (4 pound) whole chicken, rinsed and dried
•  1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or more as needed
•  1/2 (12 ounce) can beer (such as Budweiser®)

Directions

Combine onion powder, salt, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, and brown sugar in a small re-sealable plastic bag and shake the bag to mix the spices. Pour spice mix into a small bowl.

Make 2 cuts in the chicken skin, on front and back of chicken; insert your hand underneath the skin in front and back and loosen and separate skin without tearing it. Rub the chicken skin and cavity with vegetable oil, and rub the spice rub over the chicken skin, inside the cavity, and beneath the loosened skin.

Preheat grill for medium heat.

Place the beer can on the preheated grill and sit the chicken onto the beer can. Grill until chicken is thoroughly browned, the juices run clear, and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the breast, not touching bone, reads at least 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

This basic variation of the “beer in the butt” chicken recipe combines the flavours of a great spice rub with the flavours steamed out of the beer can.