Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Caramelized Plantains

Mark and I just returned from a 2 week dive trip to the Cayman Islands. Whenever possible, we sampled the jerk chicken there. I was inspired by our meals in the Cayman Islands to make my own jerk chicken. Traditionally grilled, I converted this jerk recipe to oven-roasting. I think baking at a lower temperature helps to encourage moister meat, while still being hot enough to crisp the skin. I also modified the recipe so that I could cook the plantains at the same time, capitalizing on the rendered fat from the chicken to coat the plantains underneath. I served the jerk chicken with plantains with a Greek cucumber salad, and rice and beans. I think it turned out pretty well, or at least good enough to write down. Anyways, here is my recipe:


Ingredients
Note: This jerk marinade recipe was doubled for future meals. Do not pour entire jerk sauce over the chicken.

• 6 Leg quarters or thighs with skin on
• 1 bunch of scallions (6-8 scallions)
• 3 tablespoons of fresh thyme
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1-1.5 cups of soy sauce
• 5 Habanero peppers, deveined and deseeded
• 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 2-3 teaspoons of cloves
• 1-2 tablespoons of ground all-spice
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 plantains

Instructions:

1. Separate skin from leg meat. This will help the fat to render and coat the plantains underneath. It will also help the skin to crisp.
2. Blend scallions, thyme, garlic, soy sauce, Habanero peppers, nutmeg, cloves, all-spice, and olive oil in a food processor. Make adjustments to ingredient amounts for taste.
3. Pour 1 cup of the jerk marinade over the chicken meat in a bowl and coat all over. Let soak in refrigerator for 2 hours minimum, turning the meat over every so often.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Cut plantains into 3/4" diagonal slices. Layer the bottom of a lasagna pan with the slices. If the plantain peels are not completely black or ripened before using, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar over the top of the plantains to encourage carmelization. Layer marinated chicken leg quarters over the plantain slices, skin side up.
6. When oven has heated up to the right temperature, place lasagna pan into the oven and bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until the leg meat is cooked to 165 deg F or leaks clear juices when pierced. Remove the chicken from pan and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
7. Pour excess chicken fat out of lasagna pan. I like to save the rendered chicken fat for other recipes. Change oven setting to broil. Place plantain layer underneath broiler and broil for an additional 15 minutes or until caramelized.
8. Once chicken leg quarters have rested, cut drumstick away from thigh meat with a chef's knife and plate. Spoon fresh jerk sauce over the top.

Serving suggestions: Serve jerk chicken with plantains with a cucumber salad and rice and beans.

Mina's customization: I like my jerk marinade on the strong side, so I added a couple more Habanero peppers and a lot more all-spice and cloves than normally recommended. I also added way more scallion and garlic than normally recommended. The end result is that it actually tastes a lot like the jerk chicken served at my favorite Jamaican restaurant in San Jose, Back-A-Yard. Back-A-Yard is still the bench mark for jerk chicken, unfortunately, despite all of the jerk chicken we sampled in the Cayman Islands.