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Jerk Chicken

Reheating time: 10-15 minutes

Why is it called jerk chicken? Were these chickens mean? Did they give you a hard time in middle school? Nope, that’s not why it’s called jerk chicken. In fact, these chickens were pretty happy- which is also why they taste so good. Jerk refers to a style of cooking in which the main ingredient—which most often is chicken but may also be beef, pork, goat, boar, seafood, or vegetables—is coated in spices and slow-cooked over a fire or grill traditionally composed of green pimento wood positioned over burning coals. The word jerk reportedly stems from the Spanish charqui, meaning dried strips of meat similar to the modern-day jerky. So, we don’t have green pimento grills, or burning coals, so the best we can do is get the marinade spot on, and lightly roast in our workhorse convection ovens. If you ask me, it worked beautifully. The result is nothing close to “jerky”, but instead a plump, well-seasoned chicken breast. Classic sides and a fresh salsa round off the whole dish. Super simple, super delicious. Get in there!

For the chicken breast:

Best way to reheat the chicken? Grill! Buuuuuuuuuuut it’s gonna rain. So maybe stay inside, and use the upside down grill. What am I talking about? The broiler! For the chicken breasts, we’re going to slice first, then broil. This will make it reheat faster! Starting at the wing joint, slice into ½” strips on a steep bias. Keep all the pieces together, and shingle them on a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle some olive oil or smack a fat pad of butter on top, and broil for 3-5 minutes, till hot and toasty! Skin side up. Once it’s hot, you’re done! Plate them up, and cover liberally with the mango=pineapple chutney.

For the coconut rice + beans:

To reheat, toss the rice + beans in a nonstick saute pan with a bit of oil over high heat. I find refrying rice is the best way to not only get it hot, but to bloom and release flavor. When there’s lots of big pungent aromatics and spices, the heat really brings them out- so don’t microwave this. It won’t have the same effect.

For the braised greens:

This was really just an excuse for us to eat smoked chicken sausage. But, I also happen to love love love braised greens- especially when ray grows them. So, it’s a win win for me. To reheat, either fry these out like the rice, or just microwave them for a minute or two to take the cold off. 

For the cucumber salad:

This salad is ready to go. Just make yourself a plate, and scoop some of that fresh cucumber-y goodness right on there .Enjoy!

 

That’s it!

Thanks again for ordering 🙂

#weareweco #dinnersolved

 

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