Tangy Sort-Of Jerk Chicken

By chbounds

Food and Wine, August 2012
Chef-owner Steven Brown from Tilia in Minneapolis

Ingredients

• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 small habanero, stemmed
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 T. minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 T. thyme leaves
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/2 T. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 T. freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. white wine vinegar
• 1/2 c. fresh orange juice
• 1/3 c. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2 T. Coke
• 1/4 T. liquid smoke (optional)
• 1/4 c. canola oil

Preparation

Step 1

Arrange the chicken on a large baking sheet and season generously with salt. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rinse the chicken and pat dry.

Meanwhile, in a blender, puree the onion, scallions, habanero, garlic, and ginger until chunky. Add the allspice, thyme, sugar, cayenne, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon and puree until very smooth. Add in the vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, coke and liquid smoke. Add the 1/4 c. oil. Pour into a large bowl and add chicken. Turn to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Light a grill and brush the grates with oil. Transfer the chicken to a large plate. Transfer the marinade to a medium saucepan and boil until reduced by half, about 15 minutes.

Brush the chicken with oil and grill over moderate heat for 25 minutes, until lightly charred and cooked through. Brush the chicken with some of the marinade and grill for 1 minutes. Serve the chicken with the remaining reduced marinade.