Many years ago I was in my favorite used bookstore and the proprietor, Connie—may she rest in peace, was engaged in a vigorous discussion with an elderly woman. The elderly woman was slender, well under five feet tall, and had skin the color and texture of a nutmeg. She spoke with a strong Caribbean accent. She was attempting to give Connie a recipe for jerk chicken and was enthusiastically describing a type of pepper (which she had apparently forgotten the name of). I listened for a few moments and then ventured “Scotch Bonnet?” She flashed me an enormous smile and then proceeded to rattle off the instructions as though she were taking a fellow-conspirator into her confidence.
This isn’t the recipe she gave me. This is my recipe for jerk chicken. And now it can be yours as well.
Please, please be careful in handling and using Scotch Bonnet chiles. They are very, very hot and must be treated with respect. Wear gloves. Don’t touch your face when working with them. Wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Jerk Chicken
4 servings
1 medium onion, quartered
1 garlic clove, halved
1 Scotch Bonnet chile or 2 Serrano chiles, seeded, veined, and quartered
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1½ pounds)
- Light a grill or preheat the broiler. Combine the onion, garlic and chile
in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, brown
sugar, oil, allspice, thyme, pepper, cloves, and cinnamon and process
to a coarse paste. - Arrange the chicken breasts in a 10-inch microwaveable baking dish with the thinner ends slightly overlapping
in the center. Pour the marinade evenly over the chicken, cover and let stand at room temperature
for 10 minutes. - Cover the dish with wax paper and cook in the microwave on High, or full, power for 1½ minutes;
do not let the marinade boil. Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour the marinade into a
microwaveable 2-cup measure. - Grill or broil the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side, brushing occasionally
with the marinade, until lightly charred and just cooked through. - To serve, cook the remaining marinade uncovered on High just until boiling,
about 1 minute. Slice the chicken breasts across the grain and arrange on 4 plates.
Serve the warm marinade alongside.
Yum. Gonna save (and make) this recipe. I will have to use serano peppers, though, unless the “Scott Bonnet” peppers you refer to are habañeros (as it seems they may be if the picture you include is indicative). Sadly, the only habañeros I have on hand at this time are last fall’s crop, dehydrated…
So, I may just use fresh serranos, which I /can/ get here in America’s Third World County™. (Of course, I’ll need to make a milder version for the “Northern” palate in the family… )
Thx for a great-looking recipe.
David,
I think Scotch Bonnets and habañeros are pretty well interchangeable — i.e., about the same size and hot as blazes. I wouldn’t think two serranos would equal the heat, but serranos are the hottest other chiles that turn up in supermarkets.
And wow, that really does look tasty. Though I have a feeling I’d better test the heat level on myself first before risking this on my husband . . .
My understanding is that they’re the same chile. When they’re raised in Mexico, they’re called habañeros; when they’re raised in the Caribbean they’re called Scotch Bonnet. Perhaps the Scotch Bonnet are slightly smaller. So long as you’re careful to remove the seeds and veins the heat isn’t that bad but, yes, you’d be wise to prove it out first. The flavor of Scotch Bonnets are rather different from that of serranos (odd to talk of flavor when you’re dealing with something that hot but they do have a distinct flavor).
I was searching for a recipe to use some scotch bonnets that I bought impulsively. Will try this one tonight, thanks. Scotch bonnets and habeneros are not the same chile hower. Similar in heat etc but slight different looking. The habenero is also very slightly higher on the scoville rating (not that it matters when it’s this hot) and is also a cultivated variety which the scotch bonnet isn’t. A nerdy fact for all chilli headz there!
This is a great rcipe me and my farmer friends loved it. WHATEVER YOU DO DON’T PUT MORE THAN ONE SCOTCH BONNET PEPPER IN THE RECIPE!!!
By the way I eat horse and cow shit!!!
If you can’t buy scotch bonnet peppers where you live and want to stay faithful to the original recipe, you can buy bottles of scotch bonnet pepper sauce and use this instead. You may have to try a couple of large supermarkets or “ethnic” stores to find it but it should be available in most large cities, particularly those with a large Caribbean community.
All,
You can also find the scotch bonnet sauces and an excellent Jerk Chicken recipe at http://www.redpeppermall.com/Recipes-c-334.html