Z- Best Two Faced Jerk

Submitted by Debi9400

"There's two faces to every jerk - a sweet face and a spicy face, so why not show them both off? Fire up the grill and give your family & guests a choice of spicy or sweet chicken and all will have happy faces. Served with a zesty salad, fruit & veggie kabobs with a soothing sauce alongside (Recipe #233518). A crusty loaf of bread and a crisp cold Sauvignon Blanc will complete your meal. This meal brought to you for ZWT III by team Z-Best Chefs! (*Our Sweet Jerk recipe is based on one by Chef Gallery Wench - Recipe #232979)"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 44
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 6 pieces chicken breasts
• 1⁄2 cup fresh lime juice
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

• Basic Jerk

• 3 tablespoons onions, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground pepper

• Spicy Jerk

• 1 habanero pepper, seeded & finely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup scallion, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• Sweet Jerk

• 2 scotch bonnet peppers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 2 tablespoons malt vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
• 1⁄3 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• Zesty Green Salad

• 3 cups mixed baby greens
• 1⁄2 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1⁄2 mango, cut into small pieces
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons cashews, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1⁄8 - 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped

• Skewers

• 3 slices pineapple rings, cut in half
• 6 jalapeno peppers, cut in half & seeded
• 1 sweet onion, cut into 6 wedges
• 6 mangoes, cut into chunks
• 1 green pepper, cut into 6 wedges
• 6 wooden skewers, soaked on hour before using

directions

1. Day or afternoon before:

2. Mix up Jerk(s). Make all three to give your family a choice of mild, spicy/hot or spicy/sweet.
3. ***Important note!***The basic jerk spice is the base for both the Spicy Jerk & the Sweet Jerk Mixtures***.
4. To mix, just combine all ingredients and blend well. Whisk the ones with liquid ingredients with a fork.

5. Up to 4 hours ahead:

6. Marinade Chicken:

7. In a large glass baking dish, pour lime juice over chicken pieces. Turn to coat. Add a bit salt & pepper to taste.
8. Coat chicken pieces on both sides with Jerk of choice.
9. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

10. Prepare Zesty Salad Dressing:

11. In a blender, add yogurt, Dijon mustard, cilantro (use amount to taste depending on how much you like it!), garlic, lime juice, white wine vinegar, black pepper and chopped jalapeño pepper. Blend until mixed well.
12. Put into a jar, cover and refrigerate.
13. Shake before using.

14. Prepare Creamy Chutney Dressing:

15. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.

16. Up to 2 hours ahead:

17. Soak wooden skewers at least one hour before using.

18. Up to one hour ahead:

19. Skewers:

20. Thread each skewer with half slice pineapple, 1 half jalapeño pepper, 1 wedge of sweet onion, 1 half jalapeño pepper, 1 chunk of mango, 1 wedge green pepper.
21. Lay on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cooking time.
22. Turn on grill to heat up.

23. Prepare green salad:

24. Toss together baby greens, grape tomatoes, chopped mango, green onions and cashews. Mix with Zesty dressing just before serving.

25. Grilling time:

26. Arrange chicken breasts on grill, basic first, then Spicy, then Sweet - so you don't forget which is which! Leave room for your six skewers.
27. Cook chicken 7 to 8 minutes on each side,until cooked through.
28. After flipping, place skewers on grill and cook those about 4 minutes each side.
29. To serve - place chicken on plate alongside dressed green salad. Place skewers on top. Drizzle chicken and skewers with a bit of Recipe #233518.
30. Serve with crusty bread and a crisp & fruity dry white wine.

Reviews

[MrsKnox2016]

5 STARS all the way! I really had a tough time getting my act in gear with this recipe, but it's very forgiving and was superb anyway. I didn't look to see that I was supposed to marinate this, so left it in lime marinade for 15 minutes and jerk marinade for 15 more, then basted with extra sauce during grilling. I used chicken thighs (so juicy), subbed one habenero for the 2 scotch bonnets in the sweet recipe and used a baking spice mix which had all the spices already in it. I was also out of rum, so I used about a tbs of vodka! So tasty, super quick...made a chicken lover out of me (and I do NOT like chicken). This is now a staple...hands down...period. Thanks!!!

 

[Debber]

*Made for ZWT3 Jerk Challenge* This was very good and a great introduction to the world of Jerkified food for my family! I pretty much followed the recipe, altho' I threw together a regular salad (used the dressing recipe as is here). I threw the Basic Jerk ingredients into my tiny food chopper and whirled it a bit, then added the Sweet Jerk ingreds & whirled it some-more. Cut the meat into strips & threaded onto skewers, then grilled 'em. Didn't do the veggie skewers since we also were having Strawberry Shortcake.... Very lovely meal!

 

[Um Safia]

Reviewed for ZWT III. This was a really nice jerk recipe. I chose the sweet jerk marinade after 'limeing' the chicken. I also used drumsticks instead of breast meat and cooked them in the oven on slow roast. The whole family enjoyed this and I'd like to make it again soon with a combination of the 3 jerks as recommended. Thanks!

 

[Chef floWer]

I made this for *Zaar World Tour III* - I followed the recipe as written except I didn't use the fresh jalapeno peppers on the skewers as it's not available in my region. This recipe was fantastic it was like making three different recipes for one complete meal. I choose to make the Basic Jerk because I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, it sure made the chicken taste very special. The Zesty Green Salad with the dressing was delicious, we used extra coriander/cilantro for the dressing and I used jarred jalapeno pepper for the dressing (It's the only form of jalapeno available in my region). Little Miss (DD) favourite was the skewers she ate about four of them before I could even cook them,so I made more for us. Other teams don't be put off with the long list of ingredients this jerk is very nice. Thank you Z-Best Chefs

 

[Boomette]

I marinated the chicken breasts in fresh lime juice. I did the basic jerk omitting the nutmeg (cause I don't like) and allspice (cause I didn't have) but added a little bit more of cinnamon. I did the sweet jerk, used cider vinegar. I was not sure I would like it. But when it was cooked on the bbq, each bite, I was surprise how much I liked it. It's so delicious. Made for ZWT 3 for the challenge