First time jerk chicken...need advice

[bgaviator]

hello all,
I am going to be trying jerk chicken for the first time this week. I bought a jar of Walkerswood Mild. I have it marinading in the bag and plan on leaving it in there for two days. I have a few questions for those of you that have done this before.

1. The jar says use 1 oz per 2 lbs meat. Are they talking Weight oz or fluid oz? If fluid, I guess that would be 2 tablespoons per 2 lbs of meat, right? I think I ended up putting more in the bag than that cause it just didn’t look like it would be enough. I also put some olive oil in the bag too to thin it out a little to make sure it got all over the chicken.

2. Should I smoke the chicken on low heat over a particular kind of wood, or should I grill it at a normal temp like 350? If smoking is preferred, I understand they use pimento wood in Jamaica, but since I don’t have that, what is the best option? I have cherry, apple, and hickory, and oak on hand.

3. Any other general tips?

Thanks.

 

[jcam222]

I’d assume fluid oz. I love Walkerwoods or Grace wet rubs. I wing it and just mix some with olive oil and goop it on good. I’d do it hot and fast to get nice crisp skin. If you want it smokier do 275 for awhile and then crank up to 300+. I’d likely use cherry or apple (or a mix). I’ve often wondered if throwing a sachet of allspice berries in the coals would impart the pimento flavo.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I've only done jerked chicken with a dry rub so I'm afraid the amounts would be entirely different.

The secret to jerk beyond the fiery hot jerk seasoning it self <people who work with Real jerk basically lose all feeling in their hands from the peppers!> is the method of smoking, hours of low and slow smoke... and I suggest using cherry with some hickory. Pimento is reportedly more pungent then our standard fruits, thus why I suggest a blending of cherry and hickory.

Just remember if this stuff is like real Jerk..well..can I suggest having some milk ready in case it's a bit to hot? ;)

 

[bgaviator]

I've read on some forum threads where people will put allspice berries and bay leaves into a foil pouch with holes poked in it and use that for the smoke. Anyone done this and how well does it work?

 

[SistaSmoke]

Hi jcam222, I am late to the party but, here are some tips that you can use for the next time. I jerk everything so I'm a bit of a pro lol.

1. Before you add your jerk seasoning, pre-season your chicken with chicken powder ( the powder you use to make chicken soup) adjust to your taste. Remember the jerk seasoning is salty so add maybe 1-2 tbsp heaping of chicken powder per 4-5 lbs of meat. Add fresh garlic, chopped onions and green pepper. Mix Well.

2. If you have a West Indian store or a Asian market around purchase some green seasoning. When you pre-season your chicken with the powder add some green seasoning to the mix.

3. Add juice from 2 limes.

4. For the Walkerswood use about 3-4 heaping tbsp per 4-5 lbs of meat but don't forget to use a dry rub jerk also, I use Cool Running Jerk Seasoning (dry rub) it adds more flavor, I use about 1-2 tbsp . Let marinate for a min of 24 hrs.

Note: you really don't need to use a lot of Walkerswoods jerk to get the flavor it is very strong. 3-4 heaping tbsp for 4-5 lbs of meat. Don't forget to massage the meat and get that seasoning into all the cracks and crevices, trust me you won't regret it.

5. I cook on my charcoal bbq. For the smoke I use Rum Barrel wood and Tabasco wood chips and add a few large pimento berries. Smoke indirect for 1 1/2 hrs, flip 45 mins in. Finish off direct over the coals being very careful not to burn the skin.

At this point while you are finishing off the chicken over direct heat, combine and base.
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp Walkerswood Jerk
and if you want a Jerk BBQ sauce flavor just add your favorite BBQ sauce.

Anywhoooo, I will make a post on how I make my jerk one day soon, but for now enjoy I hope this helps.

 

[zwiller]

From my research there is no wrong to make jerk and so many variations. Made it grilled a few times with Walkerswood and was not really impressed. I got a book on jerk and was surprised how different the pastes and marinades were compared to WW. I one time made jerk pork (grilled) with the paste in the book and my mind was blown so I am sticking to the book. I have since learned more (they cut pork butt into strips) and got some pimento pellets and plan to do a run soon on the smoker. I tend to think the real jerk chicken is dry rubbed and smoked a bit but later grilled and sauced with something like diluted WW and is pretty dang close to SistaSmoke is describing.

 

[bgaviator]

Well, the jerk chicken was.....just ok

I used the "mild" version of Walkerswood and it was still extremely spicy! I used both bone-in, skin-on thighs, and boneless skinless thighs. I preferred the bone-in thighs as I felt they retained more moisture and the spice level was a little more toned down.

I thought the flavor was good....but it didn't blow me away. My wife didn't really care for the flavor. I did try putting Allspice berries and bay leaves in a foil pouch to throw on the coals. I don't think it really did anything as far as smoke flavor goes. I also had a chunk of cherry wood on the fire. I was trying to smoke the meat, but it wasn't getting a good color to the chicken. It just looked nasty. I cranked up the heat and finally got a good color and char on it. Overall, a lot of work for something that was just ok....probably won't be a repeat for us.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

To be fair; there is no such thing as mild jerk.

If you watch Bizarre foods, Andrew helps prepare Jerk and his hands go from on fire to plain numb working with the jerk seasoning. This stuff is meant to be blazingly hot. I tossed out a jerk seasoning I got because it was entirely americanized.

It's very much so a love it or hate it/acquired taste I'm afraid and their smoking method for it is very different then what we do.

 

[SlickRockStones]

I agree that jerk chicken is an acquired taste. After a stop at a famous chicken shack in Grand Turk, my view of this style chicken has been permanently skewed. Maybe the grill person was as drunk as the customers. Or maybe it was the chopping through the bones with a dull machete. Maybe it was the heat and the flies. My only advice is to have some wet wipes handy and don’t make plans to venture far from the men’s room in St. Maarten.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I tossed out a jerk seasoning I got because it was entirely americanized.

Funny I did the same thing. I think it was Mccormicks. Was absolutely terrible couldn't even bring myself to put it on anything. Was more sweet than anything.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Funny I did the same thing. I think it was Mccormicks. Was absolutely terrible couldn't even bring myself to put it on anything. Was more sweet than anything.

Huh...the stuff I got is from a carribean company..but clearly americanized. No heat. Very bland. <Unless it's just that old when I got it>

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

I haven't had any jerk chicken close to the stuff I had in Jamaica. Good luck.

 

[zwiller]

If you put the marinaded chicken directly into the smoker (and not grilling) you had no chance with skin being edible or looking good. One of the best things I learned is to never put wet food into the smoker. I actually use a small fan to dry skin before smoking. This is called a pellicle. Alternately, a rest in the fridge uncovered works.

I researched it well and this is the book I have:
I highly suggest anyone interested get it. As I said, nothing like WW. In fact, nearly all the jerk rub recipes, pastes, etc I see online are also nothing like it. The main ingredients are onion and green onion. I plan to run some jerk soon but pork and will try and post info.