Jerk Feast
Wow, that’s a mouthful! I didn’t even add in the Dipped in Picka-peppa Sauce.
Picka-peppa sauce
We recently had friends over for dinner where I served this Jamaican Jerk Feast. We were so hungry I almost forgot to take a photo. I had filled my plate and had already dipped some wings into the Pica-peppa sauce. I served this up with a tomato, onion and cucumber salad to balance out the spicy beans. The meal was finger licking good. I made so many wings that we couldn’t eat them all. They of course are waiting in the freezer for a quick meal this week.
If you have never tried Jamaican foods, start with Jerk. Jerk is typical seasonings that is used for chicken and pork. I like it on fish and beef as a topping more than a marinade. Rice is a typical side dish but the beans that accompany the rice are usually pigeon peas. I only had red beans so that’s what we had.
Let me stop and expand on that last point. If a recipe calls for something unique like pigeon peas and you have another bean that you’ve already paid for, use that. Now it will taste different but it will taste good. When you are out and about and find that ingredient then pick it up for the next time you make that recipe. Using what you have on hand will save you time and money.
Back to the meal. I cooked the rice in my rice cooker with water but you can use a stock to give it more flavor. I wanted it very plain because I knew the beans would have a kick. The Jerk could have been hot too but it was a medium heat. Make sure you check things before you serve them so you can warn people. The plantains are sweet and are a nice contrast to spicy beans too. I hope you will give it a try. To see the recipes, click at the bottom of the poll to continue.
Jerk Chicken Wings
Jerk Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
2 family sized packaged of chicken wings (cut buffalo wing style)
6 Scotch Bonet or Habanero peppers
1 bunch of scallions, diced- white and green
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup liquid from cooked hot peppers used for Spicy Mustard
Directions:
Mix everything except the chicken in a bowl.
Get two large plastic zip lock bags and put one inside the other. Put the chicken wings into the inside bag and pour the marinade over top. Close tight. Work on getting as much of the air out as you can. Now close the outside bag. Give the bag a toss and mix all of the marinade around all of the wings.
Put into the refrigerator for 5 – 24 hours. The longer they can hang out together the more the seasonings can penetrate the chicken.
If you don’t have the liquid from cooking hot peppers in vinegar you can always add vinegar to the marinade. You can also add more peppers but 6 Scotch Bonet is a lot.
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Put the wings onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Cook for 45 minutes.
Serve with Picka-peppa sauce.
Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans
Ingredients:
1 cup dried beans
water to cover
1-3 Scotch Bonet or Habanero Peppers
1 TBS bacon grease or 2 slices of bacon chopped and rendered
Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
Let your beans soak overnight. Drain them and put into a pot with enough water to cover. Add in the peppers with bacon grease and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and cook for 2-3 hours until soft. If you are using bacon, chop it and cook it to render the fat. You can remove the bacon or leave it in when cooking the beans.
You can also use stock instead of water. I find the bacon and peppers add enough flavor and the stock is not needed.
When you serve you can toss in chopped green onions.
Fried Platnains
Fried Plantains
Ingredients:
1-2 Ripe Plantains (yellow with a few brown spots)
Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Directions:
Slice your plantains while your pan heats. Add in the oil and when the oil is hot add in the plantains. Cook until brown and turn over. Cook until second side brown and remove from pan.
Now this sounds fun!
Katrina- It was a lot of fun. It would have been more fun if I would have used more rum in the rum punch but I was keeping it manageable.
Now this sounds fun!
Katrina- It was a lot of fun. It would have been more fun if I would have used more rum in the rum punch but I was keeping it manageable.
Boy, I wish I'd been at that dinner … yummy wings, beans, and fried plantains! The pictures are great. 🙂
Shirley
Shirley- Thanks! Next time I'll let you know so you can join us.
Boy, I wish I’d been at that dinner … yummy wings, beans, and fried plantains! The pictures are great. 🙂
Shirley
Shirley- Thanks! Next time I’ll let you know so you can join us.
I could go for this dinner!!!!J.
Judy- That can be arranged!
I could go for this dinner!!!!J.
This looks wonderful – my confession though is that I don't like food too spicy – as in hot spicy. I love deep rich spicy flavors such as what you have showcased here so I may give this a try and just cut the amount of the peppers in half. Thanks for being so inventive !
Phoebe- The wings were not spicy but did have that layers of flavor. The beans however were. You can cut down the heat by cutting down the number of peppers and making sure you get all of the seeds and membrane off of the peppers.
This looks wonderful – my confession though is that I don’t like food too spicy – as in hot spicy. I love deep rich spicy flavors such as what you have showcased here so I may give this a try and just cut the amount of the peppers in half. Thanks for being so inventive !
Oh, my. I miss jerk. I have always used a purchased marinade and couldn't find one without wheat! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!
Mikki- You're welcome! Give it a try and let me know how hot you make it.
That is a mouthful. Sounds like a wonderful dinner. Thanks for participating in the blog carnival.
Linda- I love your weekly carnival.
That is a mouthful. Sounds like a wonderful dinner. Thanks for participating in the blog carnival.
What a beautiful meal! This is a one-stop dinner – no need to think about sides or meats or even dessert. You've got it all. I'm coming over for dinner.
Amy- I'll save you a seat.
My wife and I went to Jamaica for our honeymoon. We ate so much Jerk Chicken, it was incredible. I'll have to try your recipe out, it looks delicious!
Brian- Don't you just love Jerk. One night you'll have to make her a little feast as a romantic surprise. Don't forget the rum punch.