Sunday, September 14, 2008

Dutch Oven Jerk Chicken, with Seasoned Baked Potatoes

I tried an experiment tonight, but I’m not sure if it worked. The end result was delicious, but I don’t really know if that was because of the technique I tried or in spite of it. I just don’t know…

I saw this recipe for Jerk Chicken, and it was really intriguing. But, it’s supposed to be grilled or broiled. That means that the marinade dries in place in a sort of glaze. Since dutch ovens trap the moisture, that wouldn’t happen. So, I thought to myself, what if I could raise the lid with the heat a bit, and let the moisture out. So, I lifted the lid on a couple of sticks across the top. I had to put a lot of extra coals on it.

In the end, it worked, but I had to cook it a very long time. So, I’m not certain that there might not be a better way.

I think the way I’d do it next time is to bake it closed lid, as normal, and then change it up in the last 15 minutes. At that point, I’d take off the lid and put a bunch of coals on the bottom to reduce out all the liquid in the dutch oven, leaving only the sauce.


Anyway, here’s the recipe:

Dutch Oven Jerk Chicken

10” Dutch Oven

6-7 coals below
12-14 coals above

  • 2 lbs chicken (I used chicken tenderloins, but I’d also recommend boneless breasts)

  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp sweet juice (I used pineapple)
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 5-6 stalks of green onions, chopped
  • 1-2 jalapenos, cored, seeded, chopped
  • 2 tbsp allspice
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • shake of nutmeg
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • salt
  • black pepper


I started by mixing all of the ingredients (except the chicken in the bowl). I put those all in a ziplock and added the thawed chicken. I shook it all up to get it good and coated and put it in the fridge to marinade.

In the meantime, I started the coals, and started working on the potatoes.
Dutch Oven Seasoned Baked Potatoes

12” Dutch Oven

10 coals below
19-20 coals above

  • 5-6 medium potatoes
  • Oil
  • Sea Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Dried parsley

I started by putting about a quarter inch of oil in the bottom of a bowl. I coated a potato in oil, then sprinkled it with the salt on all sides. I put that in the dutch oven, then repeated that with all the others. Then, I sprinkled the pepper, garlic, and parsley over all the potatoes. Those went on the coals.

At that point, the chicken came out of the fridge, and I put it in the bottom of the 10 inch dutch oven in a single layer. And here’s where what I really did and what I would do in the future diverge. I would put the dutch oven on coals with the lid on, and then, as I said above, I’d cook the chicken, then pull the lid off.

At any rate, it all tasted GREAT!

6 comments:

  1. Wow! This looks great. I am going to have try this one. I used to love getting the Jerk Chicken at a resturant in Atlanta called the Bridgetown Grill. They served theirs with a sauce called rasberry coolie, which sounds weird but compliments the jerk seasonings wonderfully. Now I have an excuse to try both.

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  2. Mark,

    When I have cooked chicken and such using a trivet, I have found that the "crust" can be very dry. The juices settle on the bootom and the top heat creates a nice crust. A trivet might do the trick, what do you think?

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for both your comments. I think you're right on the trivet. I'll bet that would be the best solution!

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  4. Once again you're bringing style to the primitive, amigo. Because of you're creativity, and willingness to share, I've decided to share an award with you. You can claim it at my site.

    http://mormonfoodie.blogspot.com/2008/09/you-love-me-you-really-love-me.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mark,
    Just discovered your blog and I will be checking it frequently! I just had my first Dutch oven success this past weekend and am eager to try more things. Do you have a fire pit in your backyard that you do all your cooking on? My only roadblock to more dutch oven cooking is the practicality of it away from the campsite. How do you adapt it away from the campsite?

    ReplyDelete
  6. John: Woo Hoo! I'm now an Award Winning Blogger! Thanks so much!

    Joie: I don't have a fire pit. For a long time, I just cooked on some bricks. I've since bought some short dutch oven tables that do quite well. I'll post some pictures of them.

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