Recipe: Jerk Marinade

As a follow up to my posting on Marinades, I thought I would share the below marinade recipe sourced from Bon Appetite. I also included the “formula to a good marinade” below.

Enjoy!

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Jerk Marinade

Makes about 1 cup, enough to marinate 2 lb. of chicken (skin-on thighs, legs, or wings) or pork (chops, loin, or boneless shoulder)

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 4 scallions, coarsely chopped
• 4 Scotch bonnet or habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp. fresh minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. (packed) dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp. allspice berries
• 1 tsp. kosher salt puls more
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar

• Puree 4 Tbsp. oil and the next 10 ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
• Transfer 1/4 cup marinade to a small bowl and make sauce…
• Whisk in vinegar and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and season to taste with salt.
• Refrigerate sauce.
• Put meat in a glass, stainless-steel, or ceramic dish. Toss with remaining marinade.
• Cover and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Remove meat from marinade, pat dry, and grill.

source: Bon Appetite, July 2011

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“Marinade Math”

+ Acid (citrus juice, vinegar, or wine tenderizes and focuses the flavors)

+ Salt (Kosher salt – or soy or fish sauce – allows seasonings to penetrate)

+ Alliums (garlic, shallots, or onions are a must for a muscular marinade)

+ Sugars and & Syrups (Used judiciously, sweetness balances all the flavors)

+ Chiles (where there’s smoke there should be fire)

+ Herbs (fresh, summery herbs – like cilantro, oregano, and basil – work better than dried)

source: Bon Appetite, July 2011