Johnny's Jerk Chicken

Prep time 45 minutes Total time 2 hours Serves 4 portions

HEY THERE!

My name is Johnny, and I work in the greenhouse at Lufa Farms!

I’m a cucumber grower, but I also tend to the bell pepper plants. My main concern is keeping the pests like aphids and whiteflies out of the greenhouse. I tell them where to go (to heaven). When I get home after a long day, I like to incorporate vegetables farmed by myself and my friends into my recipes. Last night, I made what I like to call “Kajerked Chicken,” named after Greenhouse Supervisor Peter Kajaks.

 Here’s how to make it!

 (***This recipe requires overnight marinating.***)

For the jerk chicken:

(Ingredients in your Lufa Farms basket)

  • 2 beefsteak tomatoes
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber
  • 3 hot peppers (five or six for a more legitimate jerk sauce)
  • 1 bunch fresh thyme
  • 1 bunch fresh rosemary
  • 1 head of garlic

 

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp Jamaican allspice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 glug of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • Half of a red onion
  • 2 limes
  • Whole chicken, cut in two halves

For the (recommended!) side dish of rice: cook desired number of rice portions, replacing water/broth with coconut milk and a splash of lime juice

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a roasting pan,  throw in halved tomatoes, roughly chopped bell pepper and onion, hot peppers (with the stems removed), whole cloves of peeled garlic, chopped cucumber, olive oil, salt and pepper, and place it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool. To make the marinade, place roasted vegetables in a blender or food processor, and blend with molasses, thyme, rosemary, and spices (salt, pepper, Jamaican allspice, cinnamon, curry powder).

Now, take the whole chicken and cut it in half. Rub each half in a generous pinch of all-spice and the juice of one lime. Place the chicken in a big ziploc bag, adding 3/4 of the jerk marinade. Place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, take the chicken out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a roasting pan, place the chicken in the oven for roughly one hour, or until done, basting it with the rest of the marinade. While it’s cooking, prepare the rice. 

Remove the chicken from the oven and tent the pan with tinfoil as it cools down. Serve with rice and enjoy Kajerk Chicken with coconut rice, mmm mm mmmm mmmm MMMM!