Cooking With Beer: Allagash Jerk Chicken

North meets south in this is a recipe I have been working on for some time. Tinkering with it to get something truly special and while I will continue to play with it, mostly because that is just how I cook, I feel that this is something truly special and is absolutely delicious.

When it comes to the beer, I used Allagash ‘White.’ Not only because it is my favorite Wit but in my humble opinion it is one of the best Belgian Wits on the market. While you can use another Wit, I do not see why you would do so as ‘White’ is just fantastic. However, if you must, just make sure it has coriander and citrus in it as they help bring out those ingredients in the brine and marinate.

Brine:

6 cups water

1 habanero pepper

1 bay leaf

1 knob ginger

½ lemon (plus its juice)

1 clove of garlic

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup kosher salt

1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns

1 tablespoon Allspice berries

1 teaspoon Coriander seeds

24 oz Allagash White

1 tray of ice cubes

 

Marinate:

1 knob ginger

4 cloves of garlic

2 fresh bay leaves

¼ of a medium size onion

3 scallions

½ cup cilantro

2 habanero peppers (3 if you like it spicy)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon clove

½ cup low sodium soy sauce

½ cup Allagash White

¼ cup Worchester sauce

¼ cup lemon juice

 

Method:

Bring the water up to boil and then add all of the ingredients for the brine except the Allagash and Ice. Let boil for five minutes before taking off the heat and then add to your brining bucket and then add ice and Allagash. Once the brine is cold then place your chicken into the brine and let sit for 24-48 hours.

Next, take the chicken out of the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on a tray and put back into the refrigerator for 12 hours to allow the skin to tack up.

For the marinate, combine all of the solid ingredients and spices into a high-powered blender (rough chop the ginger, scallion, and onion) and pulse five times. Next, add the liquid ingredients and blitz until it is chunky-smooth. Once the chicken is ready, place into a plastic bag with the marinate and let sit for 24-36 hours.

When you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the refrigerator and let sit for 15 minutes. Bring your smoker up to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, I used a combination of hickory and cherry pellets, and then place the chicken skin side up for 30 minutes and then flip so it is skin side down. Cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees and then let sit for at least 15 minutes (the carryover heat will cook to completion).* and then enjoy.

*NOTE: my smoker has a very high deflector plate that acts almost like a broiler. If your smoker doesn’t have one, then you may want to put it under a broiler to crisp up the skin. If you are using a grill, you will definitely want to introduce some smoke through wood chips.

While this recipe is very time consuming it is most assuredly worth it. Proper Jerk Chicken is a labor of love using the brine, marinate, and smoke to make something that is warm, spicy, and smokey all at once. Even if you cannot brine the chicken and just want a nice chicken marinate for the grill this is perfect for you.