Recipes from BlogHer09: Common Threads Jerk Chicken

I wasn’t part of the Common Threadsblogger event group that made the Jerk Chicken, but I did watch Chef Josh make the rub. He had the kids remove the leaves from the thyme as he explained about Caribbean spices.

The original recipe calls for chicken wings, but the kids used strips of chicken breast that they skewered and grilled. (They let the older kids use the gas grill, with supervision of course.)

According to the recipes printout we were using (and that Josh let me take home), this recipe gets two stars for the lean protein in the chicken and for the vitamin A, C and potassium in the mangoes. (Vitamin A for vision, Vitamin C for healing and infection fighting, and potassium to prevent or control high blood pressure.) The handout also explains that the spices add flavor, so leave the skin off your chicken.

If you’re doing Weight Watchers, remember that each ounce of jerk chicken is equal to 1 Weight Watchers POINTS. The calories from the seasonings and the mango are negligible.

Jerk Rub
Yields 16 servings

Ingredients for rub:

• 4 tablespoons ground allspice
• 1 tablespoons dried thyme
• 1 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Use 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons for every 1 pound of meat, rubbing (coating) the meat well.

Did you know that allspice is also known as Jamaican pepper, growing in Mexico and throughout the Caribbean and is rightly named "allspice" because it supplies the flavor of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon to food when added?

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 ripe mango
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of jerk rub

1. Cut chicken into strips and place in a baking dish or bowl.
2. Add vinegar and water and rinse wings. Pat dry.
3. In a food processor, combine mango, oil and rub and process until smooth.
4. Pour mixture over the chicken. Stir to coat.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. It is best if you can marinate longer, 12 hours is ideal.
6. Thread strips of chicken on skewers.
7. Grill until cooked through.

Did you know that mangos originated in India and are considered a sacred fruit by Buddhist monks because they believed that Buddha mediated under a mango tree?

Posted on August 3, 2009 in Events,Recipes,Weight Watchers

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