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"Ripe To Tell">
Jerk Chicken 101--Back To Basics
March 31, 2007
JERK CHICKEN 101
Back To Basics
A very simple, NOT well known fact about the Jerk Chicken
made at most restaurants around town is that they are baked
in the oven, rather than slow-grilled and smoked, as it was
done traditionally. If we really want to get technical,
Jerk was never done on a grill either, nor was chicken the
meat of choice, but that’s another story altogether.
In most cities, particularly in New York City, it is
outlawed to use a charcoal grill of any kind in the
preparation of food, unless very rigid and expensive
environmental and sanitation guidelines are adhered to.
This makes it prohibitive for most to do it in this manner,
in order to serve in a restaurant.
The next best legal thing is an indoor gas grill outfitted
with lava rocks, or ceramic briquettes, which does a pretty
decent job, particularly if your marinade is top notch.
Starting with anything other than a “made from scratch”
marinade and a whole chicken, puts the end result in
jeopardy from the giddyup, so make your own sauce, forego
the chicken parts, and grab a whole “fryer” chicken,
usually weighing in at around three and a half pounds.
A great Jerk Chicken is all in the seasoning and cooking on
a grill or smoker, and NOT in some type of finishing sauce
after oven baking, that has been accepted as the norm at
many establishments.
I am not saying that some of these sauces don’t have a
great flavor, I am simply saying that you are then actually
enjoying baked chicken with a wonderful sauce, rather than
an authentic Jerk Chicken put through the rigors of bona
fide (or as close as possible) preparation to yield a deep
flavored-rustic product that screams of complexity and
showcases the extensive ingredient list and cooking process
required to yield that awesome, blaze up your palate piece
of protein that just screams JAMAICA!
Here at Ripe, we HAVE gone to great pains to establish
Ripe’s Original BonaFide Backyard Jerk Chicken.
We keep it as “REAL” as it gonna get around these parts,
and it shows in every bite of our birds!
? Authentic HARDWOOD Charcoal Grill (not that “Matchlight”
bullsiht)
? Slow-Cooked for 2 hours
? Whole Chickens 3-3.5 pounds
? Marinated 24 hours-48 hours
? Made from scratch Dry Jerk Seasoning
? Made from scratch Wet Jerk Seasoning
? Made from scratch pepper-sauce to rip through your soul!
? Grilled with love
? Chef drinking a Red Stripe as it is being prepared
(to ensure the love part)
An enthusiastic 2 thumbs up "YES" to all!
P.S. In one of our future newsletters, we will reveal the
secret to the absolute best Jerk chicken you could lay your
lips on!
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