Jah Love Chicken!

[Enrico Brandizzi]

Great looking plate.

 

[dwfisk]

Problem I've been having with it, is it seems to burn too easily. I need to cook indirect for quite a while before I can go direct. Never had that problem with Walkerswood, Good taste, pretty close to Walkerswood, which is my go to Jerk. For me, the jury is still out.

FWIW I did some wings, followed the suggestion on mixing w/oil and marinating for a day but then put them into a med-hot smoker for an hour and a half. Great flavor, good heat but no char (NTTAWWT). I think next time I'll do the same then a quick sear to get some marks.

 

[TheDeuce]

That is some fine looking yard bird. I would do Walkerswood over Grace but since my wife is from the island we have taken to making our own marinade most of the time.

Walkerswood vs Grace seems to be like Pepsi vs Coke

 

[kcmike]

My Jamaican coworker tried a piece of my lunch today, his exact words:

"Wow, the heat is spot-on! Great use of the Scotch Bonnet, but something is missing. It doesn't scream 'jerk' to me. Don't get me wrong, this is delicious...but it's not jerk. I think it needs more Jamaican allspice."

He suggested I try the Walkerswood. He said it's not his favorite jerk season, but it's definitely authentic. He also said a 24 hour marinate time is an absolute minimum for true Jamaican jerk.

Great cook, and solid feedback from your coworker. My intent was to make an authentic Jerk, and I take the feedback seriously. I'm actually traveling to Jamaica in a month for some R&D and may adjust the blend upon my return. Thanks again!

 

[TheDeuce]

Great cook, and solid feedback from your coworker. My intent was to make an authentic Jerk, and I take the feedback seriously. I'm actually traveling to Jamaica in a month for some R&D and may adjust the blend upon my return. Thanks again!

Awesome! R&D in Jamaica!?! Sign me up for that!!

I absolutely loved the rub, but I wanted to get his opinion as he's the only authority on Jamaican cuisine I know. He definitely didn't have a negative opinion, just some constructive criticism. If you change the recipe, let me know and I'll order a small bag and get his feedback again.

Just placed a large order for other rubs from you this weekend. :grin:

 

[kcmike]

Quick PSA Message for anyone trying our Jah Love Jerk Seasoning...

Please be sure to follow the directions and make a paste with equal parts vegetable oil (my favorite is Peanut oil) and rub. I've also found that using a blender to combine the oil and rub results in a superior end product.

After recently traveling to Jamaica to try truly authentic Jerk first hand, I can personally attest to the authenticity of our flavor profile, especially when a paste is made and the meat is marinated for 24 hours prior to grilling.

Paste-making equipment...

Spatchcocked birds after a 24 hour soak in Jerk paste with a light secondary application of Jerk Seasoning over the top...

Finished product, cooked indirect over Mexican Lump charcoal, which is important to use if you want to closely approximate the flavors of grilling over pimento wood as the Jamaicans do...

 

[THoey1963]

That looks delicious Mike...

 

[LYU370]

Finished product, cooked indirect over Mexican Lump charcoal, which is important to use if you want to closely approximate the flavors of grilling over pimento wood as the Jamaicans do...

Good looking birds! :thumb: Just curious, what brand of lump is Mexican lump?

 

[daninnewjersey]

Man...that looks really good....

 

[kcmike]

Good looking birds! :thumb: Just curious, what brand of lump is Mexican lump?

Hey Andy, there are several commonly available brands of lump that are made in Mexico, I think Cowboy lump is one of them. I typically stay away from them, but because of my recent trip to Jamaica, I learned that the tropical hardwoods the Jamaicans use does relatively closely resemble the flavor you get from Mexican hardwood lump charcoal. The flavors are kind-of a mix of mesquite and hot asphalt... :twitch: :biggrin1:

This is the stuff I used, it came from my local Restaurant Depot.

 

[TheDeuce]

Excellent advice!

I used peanut oil for mine, but only marinated for ~5 hours and cooked on my gas grill.
I'll have to use the blender method you recommend.

 

[LYU370]

Mmmm... Hot Asphalt :shock: :noidea: Might check my local RD, I think they carry that brand as well.

 

[fleihr]

The pics of those birds just made me lick my screen

 

[kcmike]

Awesome! R&D in Jamaica!?! Sign me up for that!!

I absolutely loved the rub, but I wanted to get his opinion as he's the only authority on Jamaican cuisine I know. He definitely didn't have a negative opinion, just some constructive criticism. If you change the recipe, let me know and I'll order a small bag and get his feedback again.

Just placed a large order for other rubs from you this weekend. :grin:

Hey Deuce, just following up on this conversation.

I did travel to Jamaica and I did eat a bunch of Jerk while I was there. I too noticed a small difference in our Jerk seasoning when compared to the real deal.

So... I made a few adjustments to the blend and after further testing, I now believe we have totally nailed the true authentic Jerk profile. I'm really happy with how the tweaked recipe turned out. It's fantastic.

We made the formal cut-over to the new recipe when we updated our packaging, so all Jah Love Jerk Seasonings with the new shiny gold labels have the new formula. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Groundhog66]

Oh boy, I'm going to have to place an order today...nice!