Jamaican ‘Roast It, Don’t Poke It’ Chicken
This recipe can be used for large poussins, guinea fowl or small chickens, especially the corn-fed ones. You will just need to adjust the cooking times, allowing about 15 minutes per 450 g (1 lb) plus 15 minutes. You must have a covered barbecue for this recipe.
Serves 4
1 x 1.5 kg (3 lb) corn-fed chicken
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of ground cinnamon
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
¼ teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
50 g (2 oz) butter, softened
2 fresh bay leaves
Remove the elastic from the legs and any giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavities.
Mix the paprika, curry powder, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, lemon zest, garlic, chopped coriander, salt and black pepper with the butter to make a smooth paste.
Loosen the skin over the breast of the chicken and spread about half of the curry butter over the breast meat in a thin layer.
Spread the rest of the butter inside the cavity of the chicken and then push in the bay leaves. Tie the legs back together with string and leave to stand for at least 1 hour.
Prepare your barbecue for the indirect method of cooking (see here).
Place the chicken directly over the tray, cover with the lid and cook for about 1 hour or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a thin metal skewer. Delicious with Peppy’s Jamaican Rice and Peas here. And for real authenticity a reggae disc of Bob Marley and a glass of Rum Pu-Punch here.
Crispy Chicken-thigh Brochettes
Brochette is just a fancy name for a kebab, and these juicy skewers well deserve a snazzy title.
Serves 4
8 boneless chicken thighs
16 fresh sage leaves
2 small red onions, each cut into 8 wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
salad leaves
Bruschetta-style Bread (see here)
Quarter each chicken thigh and thread, skin-side out, on to 8 metal skewers, alternating each piece with a sage leaf or red onion wedge.
Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, chilli flakes and plenty of salt and pepper. Brush the mixture over the brochettes and cook over medium-low coals or under a preheated grill for 20–30 minutes, turning occasionally, until the chicken is crusty and dark golden and the red onions are sweet and softened.
Serve on a bed of salad leaves with the Bruschetta-style Bread here.
Everywhere you go in Jamaica you’ll find jerking of some sort, whether it be pork, beef, fish or indeed chicken. Everyone’s got their favourite recipe. In Boston Bay, Fuzzy, a jerk specialist, added over twenty different ingredients to his jerk pork. Wow! But somehow I think life’s too short, so check out my recipe. Habaneros or scotch bonnet chillies are the hottest chillies in the world, so go easy. This recipe is quite hot though certainly not overpowering but you can adjust the amount of these chillies that you use, or just use a milder type of chilli – after a few goes, you’ll soon find a happy medium. Lick it back with a tall glass of iced Mango and Pineapple Cooler here.
Serves 6
6 part-boned chicken breasts or 16 large chicken wings
For the jerked sauce
225 g (8 oz) onions, quartered
2 habaneros or scotch bonnet chillies, halved and seeded
50 g (2 oz) fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
½ teaspoon ground allspice
the leaves from 15 g (½ oz) fresh thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
120 ml (4 fl oz) white wine vinegar
120 ml (4 fl oz) dark soy sauce
Put all the ingredients for the jerked sauce into a food processor and whizz until smooth.
Place the chicken in a large shallow dish, pour over the sauce, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours, turning the chicken every now and then.
Barbecue the chicken breasts over medium-hot coals for 25–30 minutes and the wings for 20–25 minutes, basting now and then with the leftover sauce. As it cooks the thick sauce will go quite black in places, but as it falls off it will leave behind a really well flavoured, crisp skin, with lovely moist tender meat underneath. Need I say that Peppy’s Jamaican Rice and Peas here goes exceptionally well with the chicken and, for extra crunch, how about my Ultimate Creole Cabbage Salad here?
Ostrich and Vegetable Sosaties
This dish is regularly featured on Portia de Smidt’s menu at her famous restaurant, ‘The African Cafe’, in Cape Town. She’s a brilliant cook as you’ll discover when you expose your tastebuds to this wonderful dish. These days ostrich is available in larger supermarkets but you can easily substitute chicken or lamb if you wish.
Serves 4
1 kg (2¼ lb) ostrich fillet
1 large red, green and yellow pepper
1 ear of sweetcorn
4 baby marrows or courgettes
4 mini patty pan squash
For the meat and vegetable marinades
1 small bunch (25 g (1 oz)) of fresh coriander
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
300 ml (10 fl oz) olive oil
12 large garlic cloves
225 g (8 oz) apricot jam
2 teaspoons ground cumin
90 ml (2½ fl oz) South African Pinotage or other fruity red wine
150 ml (5 fl oz) lemon juice
8 x 25 cm (10 in) flat metal skewers
For the marinade, put half the coriander, the salt, oil and garlic into a food processor with all the jam, cumin and red wine and blend until smooth.
Cut the ostrich fillet into 4 cm (1½ in) cubes. Place them into a non-metallic bowl and stir in the jam-flavoured marinade.
Place the remaining coriander, salt, oil and garlic into a clean food processor with the lemon juice and blend until smooth.
Halve all the peppers, remove the seeds and cut them into rough 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes. Cut the ear of sweetcorn across into 2.5 cm (1 in) thick slices. Cut the baby marrow or courgettes across into 2.5 cm (1 in) thick slices and cut the patty pan squash into similar-sized pieces.
Place all the vegetables into another bowl and stir in the second marinade. Cover both bowls and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
The next day, thread the meat and the vegetables alternately on to the skewers and barbecue over medium-hot coals for 10–12 minutes. Turn now and then and baste with the leftover meat marinade.