This recipe should be called “Can you stand the heat?”  Yowza! It packs quite a punch. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly as far as how many peppers to use for the wee beasts’ sake and it was plenty hot. I can only imagine this will singe your tiny taste buds if you follow it as written. Good luck. I’d love to hear how much heat you can handle!

(From Discovery of a Continent by Marcus Samuelsson)

Jerk Mix

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeno chilies, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

4 scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the garlic and jalepenos and saute until the garlic just starts to color (about 3 minutes). Add the allspice, cinnamon, cayenne, and brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and the mixture starts to clump together. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the mixture to a blender. Add the white pepper, thyme, salt, ginger, scallions, lime juice, and red wine vinegar and blend until smooth.

Note: This makes enough for two chickens, so halve the recipe or put half in the freezer for later!

Jerk Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

One 3- to 4-pound chicken

1/2 cup Jerk Mix

2 thyme sprigs

1/2 head of garlic, top third cut off and papery skin removed

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 Spanish onion, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 quince, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Using your hand, gently loosen the skin of the chicken. Generously rub half the jerk mix under the skin. Stuff one sprig of thyme and the garlic in the cavity of the chicken. Truss the chicken and set aside.

Combine the potatoes, sweet potato and parsnip in a large pot and add enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for about 10 minutes. Drain.

Toss the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnip and onion with the remaining jerk mix, then spread the vegetables in a single layer in a roasting pan. Add the remaining thyme. Place the chicken on a roasting rack above the vegetables and roast for 45 minutes.

Add the pear and quince to the roasting pan, increase the oven temperature to 375 F and roast for an additional 30 to 40 minutes until a meat thermometer registers 160 F when inserted in the thigh and the juices run clear.

I only used 1/2 a jalapeno so it would be edible for the wee beasts. That was just enough heat to be noticed by me and The Doc but not so much that the boys pushed it away. That’s what I call a perfect balance. And they ate the veggies, too!