Jerk Chicken Dinner for a Party

Let’s say you have a whole bunch of guests coming over to your home for a party, they’re all hungry, and you want to put more TLC into their food than just ordering a couple of pizzas. This meal will greet them with a glorious aroma down the street long before passing through your front door. And they won’t go home hungry either.

Today we’re making jerk chicken, coconut rice and peas (kidney beans), coleslaw, and fried plantains, inspired by the culinary traditions of Jamaica.

Yield: twelve people

Prep and cooking time: 3.5 hours

Ingredients:

-2 large bulbs of garlic

-1 bunch of thyme (with a few sprigs reserved for the rice)

-7 Scotch bonnet peppers

-2 limes or 4 tbsp of white vinegar

-1 medium head of cabbage

-5 carrots

-6 plantains

-24 chicken thighs

-6 cups of white rice

-3 cans of kidney beans

-3 cans of coconut milk

-4 cups of chicken broth

-3/4 cup of soy sauce

-2 cups of mayonnaise

-4 tbsp or so of ground allspice

-2 tbsp of sugar

-chili powder

-olive oil

-salt and black pepper

Preparation method:

Jerk chicken

If you have a blender, use it to save time when making the marinade. The chicken will taste best when the marinade has time to soak in, so you’ll want to get it into the oven about an hour before serving.

1. To make the marinade, combine in the blender 4 tbsp of ground allspice, most of the leaves from 1 bunch of thyme (save some for the rice), 12 peeled garlic cloves, 5 chopped Scotch Bonnet peppers (remove the seeds for less heat), 3/4 of a cup of soy sauce, a big pinch of salt, and a splash of oil or water to help it blend. Pulse the combination until it forms a thick paste. Put this in a bowl.

2. Move each of the 24 chicken thighs through the marinade bowl, making sure they’re all thoroughly coated, and then onto a baking sheet. Leave it on the counter to marinate at room temperature until it's time to cook.

3. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer across two large baking sheets. Bake for 45 minutes, but keep an eye on the chicken in case the skin becomes nicely charred and crispy sooner and the meat temperature is 165°F (74°C) inside.

Coleslaw

1. Remove the outer leaves of the medium cabbage head and grate that along with the five carrots and mix that together in a large salad bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups of mayonnaise, the juice of 2 limes (or 4 tbsp of white vinegar), 2 tbsp of sugar, salt, and several cracks of black pepper.
3. Pour the dressing over the cabbage and carrot mix, toss it thoroughly, and place it in the fridge.

Coconut rice and kidney beans

1. In your largest available pot, heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat. Drop in 5 smashed garlic cloves and a few remaining sprigs of fresh thyme. Stir that for a minute.
2. Pour (or scrape) in 3 cans of coconut milk, 3 cans of kidney beans (rinsed), and 4 cups of chicken broth (or water, but it’s always extra nice to have some chicken broth on-hand made from a previous whole roasted chicken).
3. Place 2 whole Scotch bonnet peppers directly into the liquid. *Note: make sure you don’t cut or puncture them! Keeping the peppers intact gives the rice flavour without making it spicy. After cutting the peppers, your hands are already probably burning a bit.* Bring the liquid to a boil.
4. Rinse 6 cups of white rice under cold water, then stir it into the boiling liquid. Add two teaspoons of salt and a pinch of allspice.
5. Let the liquid boil down until it’s level with the top of the rice, then turn the heat down to low before putting a lid on top. If you find that a lot of liquid has already disappeared, stir in about a cup of water and keep an eye on this pot so that the rice on the bottom doesn’t burn. Test out some of the rice to see if it’s tender a few minutes in, but after 20 minutes it should be ready. At that point you can remove the two peppers in the rice. You may well have leftover rice, but you can have that with eggs in the morning.

Fried plantains

1. Peel 6 ripe plantains and slice them diagonally into pieces about half an inch thick.
2. Heat a coating of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the plantain slices for 3 minutes per side until they’re golden-brown. Add some salt and chili powder on top.
3. Transfer the plantains to a plate… and what do you know, your guests have arrived!

Head isu! Enjoy!