Fight summer heat with peppery fire
Do you crave spicy food when it’s hot outside? It may sound counterintuitive, but when you eat food that packs a punch in the heat department, it cools you down. Spicy food makes you sweat, because it speeds up your metabolism, and once the sweat evaporates, it cools you off. This is a reason why hot peppers and spices are generously used in many warmweather cuisines, such as this Caribbean barbecue recipe for Jamaican jerk chicken. Jerk cuisine is a method of rubbing a spice blend or marinating meat in a thick paste, packed with island-fresh chilies, herbs and spices. The marinade and spices infuse flavor and tenderize the meat, so the longer the chicken can soak in the marinade, the better the flavor.
Jerk paste is meant to be hot— really hot— which is traditionally achieved by adding scotch bonnet or habanero peppers to the blend. I lean more gently when it comes to the peppers and substitute jalapenos or serranos — I wouldn’t want my dinner guests to self-combust. But if you prefer the rock stars of the Scoville Scale (the measurement of the heat units of peppers), then by all means go for the scotch bonnets — and remember to carefully seed the peppers with gloved hands!
The list of spices and aromatics in this jerk paste is lengthy, but don’t let that deter you. All you need to do is pile them into a food processor, blend away and slather on the chicken. (Just don’t inhale any of the peppery air that may waft up from the feed tube while it processes.) The only other requirement is the fire of the grill to unify the flavors, add smoke and char, and crisp the chicken into spicy finger-licking deliciousness.
Jerk Chicken
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour, plus 24 to 36 hours marinating time Yield: 8 servings
MARINADE:
4 garlic cloves
4 scallions, chopped, plus more for garnish
2 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded (optional) (or other pepper varieties)
1 (2-inch) knob ginger, peeled, chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for garnish
2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 whole chicken legs
Place all the marinade ingredients except the chicken in the bowl of a food processor and process to form a paste. Arrange the chicken in a large baking dish. Rub the marinade all over the chicken and under the skin where possible. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling.
Prepare the grill for indirect cooking over medium heat. Grill the chicken over indirect heat until charred and golden brown and thoroughly cooked through, 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the legs. During the last few moments of grilling, move the chicken to direct heat to char the skin as needed. Serve garnished with chopped scallions and lime wedges.