Anyone put the famous Steve Dub jerk chicken recipe into practice?

[Champiness]

I'd like to extend my thanks to this thread and the people within it for keeping the tradition alive, but my household and I were considering trying out the best-engineered jerk chicken for a birthday celebration and ran up against some ambiguities in the recipe as printed in 2007 (for instance what are "chicken bits"? How should they be purchased and then served?). Was hoping someone around here might have tried it themselves and had some tweaks/insights. Thanks!

[Bosco]

I've yet to make the recipe, but I've got plenty of experience with making chicken dishes.

"Bits" are pieces, such as: wings, legs, thighs, breasts/tenders. I would advise you stick to one particular "bit" to assure even cooking. Hopefully you have access to multi-packed pieces (these come from multiple chickens).

If your a beginner cook, I would personally suggest you use Chicken thighs. More specifically, boneless and skinless chicken thighs.


Why thighs?

Well, they're widely considered the tastiest part of the chicken. Along with the Leg (aka drumstick), they consist of fatty dark meat that prevents the meat from drying out while cooking. As opposed to White meat (Breast/Tenders) where your preparation and cooking methods need to be more precise to ensure a desirable product. The trade off, white meat is a much more healthier protein.

Why thighs over legs?

More meat on thighs, and legs aren't commonly cut into a boneless product. Legs also have more cartilage and visible tendons that can be off-putting for some. Legs are typically the cheapest chicken cut, however.

Why boneless, skinless?

No bone means easier to cook. When the meat is still attached to the bone, it can be tricky for a beginner cook to gauge whether the entire piece of meat is cooked. More times than not, inexperienced cooks, will get mixed results. Boneless simplifies the cooking process. To get more specific of why it's a common mistake for the inexperienced, sometimes the meat closest to the bone doesn't come to temperature like the rest of the piece of meat.

No skin means the marinade can penetrate the meat without the buffer of the skin. If you go all-natural (bone-in and with skin) loosen skin from meat, but do not remove. This will give the marinade access to penetrate meat under the skin. Or, if you don't want skin, just remove entirely.


Looking at the recipe, I would do half the recipe for 2-4 people. But if you're hungry folk, stick to the original recipe.  2kg  = ~4.4lbs. of meat. You should estimate .25kg (250 g) per person or .5lb (8 oz) of meat for each person.

I would also caution making this as a "Birthday meal". While I don't think it's a difficult cook, I know it will be on the spicier side and could possibly be a disappointment if your not ready for that flavor profile or have much experience in grilling. I would experiment when it's a less meaningful meal. Also I wouldn't cook this in-doors because the scotch bonnets are high on the scoville scale. You'd be pepper spraying yourself as you cook in a confined space.


On the other hand, I can stand by this similar recipe (just made it earlier this week!):

https://www.browneyedbaker.com/chipotle-chicken-recipe/

less exotic, less spicy, pretty darn simple, and damn tasty!

Serve with couscous, white rice, or get yourself some fresh corn tortillas with chopped white onion and cilantro and turn it into a street taco. Save discarded marinade add some water (~1/4 cup) and heat in skillet to a simmer for 10 minutes to kill any bacteria. Reduce liquid to a sauce and serve over chicken. Accent with squeeze of lime.

[Csar]

So, it's settled then. @Bosco is going to cook, we are going to observe the process while we all chat and listen to good music. I'll bring beverages and salad. How about 8 pm?


I echo Bosco's caution on the "birthday" dish. Perhaps try cooking it at least once at home just to see if it's what you wanted out of it.
As for the recipe, I could picture rosemary as a good addition regarding spices. It goes really well with chicken and practically everything (it's one of my all-time favorite spices). I really need to give it a shot.