Recipes for jerk seasoning

How to use Jerk seasoning 
This is a versatile marinade that can be used for Smoking, grilling, baking, frying, cooking etc. 
You can use this Jamaican spice rub mix as a seasoning for steaks, chicken, vegetables, pork, fish etc. Or use it simply as an additional spice for soups, rice, or pasta.  
Coat the chicken, meat, fish or vegetable with the spice place in a ziplock bag or a bowl with a tight-fitting lid and let them sit for 30 minutes to one hour in the refrigerator. You can also leave it overnight
Jerk chicken 
Ingredients 

  • 1-2 tbsps jerk seasoning 

  • 1 tablespoon light soya sauce 

  • 2 tablespoons honey 

  • 4 tablespoons tomato ketchup 

  • A little vegetable oil for greasing 

  • 8 small or 4 large pieces of chicken skinned (I always skin chicken before seasoning and cooking it but it’s up to you)

Method

  1. Put the jerk seasoning, soy sauce, tomato ketchup and honey into a big bowl and mix everything together.

  2. Carefully cut slits in the chicken meat, without cutting all of the way through. Put the chicken into the jerk mixture and mix well with a spoon so that the chicken is all coated. Cover the bowl and leave for at least 2 hours, or overnight, to allow it to season and marinade 

  3. Preheat the oven on to 190 degrees centigrade/170 for a fan oven/ gas mark 5. Spoon the chicken and the marinade into a greased roasting tin and put into the oven.

  4. Cook the chicken in the oven for at least 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked. To make sure cut a bit of the chicken and if you see any pink bits cook for a bit longer.

  5. Serve with boiled rice or rice and peas.

In an air fryer 
Ingredients 
4 pieces of thigh, drumstick or breast with bone in or bone out and skin removed (I always remove skin from chicken before cooking but it’s up to you)
4-6 teaspoons of jerk seasoning 
Method 

  1. Place chicken in a bowl, sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken and cover with a plate. Give the bowl a good shake and leave them to marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

  2. Transfer to the air fryer basket and air fry at 200°C for 20 minutes, checking on them halfway and turning them over. Check they are cooked all the way through by seeing if the juices run clear and there are no pink bits. If you have a meat thermometer, check the inside of the chicken is at 75°C. Cook for a little longer if necessary.

  3. Serve with chips, plain rice or rice and peas 

Alternatively 
Ingredients
1 bunch spring onions sliced into small pieces 
1 small white onion chopped 
¼ cup lime juice
1 tablespoons olive oil 
4-6 teaspoons jerk seasoning mix 
4 bone in or boned chicken thighs or drumsticks skin removed 
2 bone in or boned chicken breast skin removed and cut in half crossways 
Method 

  1. To prepare jerk marinade: Place spring onions, onion, lime juice, oil, seasoning mix into a blender and process until smooth. 

  2. Place chicken thighs and breasts in a nonreactive baking dish . Rub 2/3 cup of the marinade onto both sides of the chicken. Transfer the remaining marinade to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours

  3. Fold a 12-by-20-inch piece of heavy-duty foil in half to create a 12-by-10- double-thick piece. Transfer the wet wood chips to the centre of the foil, allowing as much water as possible to drip back into the bowl. Create a packet by folding the short ends of the foil over the wood chips and sealing the open sides. Make 6 holes in the top of the foil packet with a skewer or the tip of a knife. (See below)

  4. Place the foil package on a baking tray. Heat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade/170 for a fan oven/ gas mark 5 around 20-40 minutes or put on a barbeque to cook. Check the chicken has cooked by slicing a piece to see if there’s any pink meat. 

 
This recipe is for chicken but you can use the seasoning to cook different types of meat or vegetables if you want to.
Ingredients 

  • 1-2 piece of skinned chicken for each person you’re cooking for 

  • 2-4 teaspoons of jerk seasoning.

  • A little vegetable oil.

Method 

  1. Put the chicken  in a bowl 

  2. Season the chicken sprinkling the seasoning mix over the chicken and give it a good shake to ensure the meat is covered.

  3. Cook the chicken, meat or vegetable in the oven, on a griddle or barbecue until it has cooked through. 

BBQ chicken or meat 
Ingredients 

  • 1 piece of chicken, meat or vegetable per person 

  • 2/3 tsps of jerk seasoning 

Method 

  1. Place the meat or vegetable in a bowl 

  2. Sprinkle the seasoning over the meat or vegetable and give it a good shake to cover everything with the seasoning. Leave to marinade for at least an hour 

  3. Cook the meat or vegetable over the bbq as normal.

Vegetarian jerk dishes 
Sweet potato and black bean curry 
Ingredients 

  • 2 onions 1 diced, 1 roughly chopper

  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil

  • 50 g ginger, roughly chopped

  • small bunch coriander, leaves and stalks separated

  • 3 tbsp jerk seasoning

  • 2 thyme sprigs

  • 400g chopped tomatoes 

  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar

  • 3 tbsp demera sugar 

  • 2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled

  • 1kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

  • 2 x 400g cans black beans (or beans of your choice), rinsed and drained 

  • 450 g jar roasted red peppers cut into thick slices

(This seems like a lot of ingredients for the dish. I would halve them if I was cooking it)
Method 

  1. Gently soften the diced onion in the sunflower oil in a big pan or casserole.

  2. Meanwhile, whizz together the roughly chopped onion, ginger, coriander stalks and jerk seasoning with a hand-held blender. Add to the softened onion and fry until fragrant. Stir in the thyme, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and stock cubes with 600ml water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 mins, then drop in the sweet potatoes and simmer for 10 mins more. Stir in the beans, peppers and some seasoning, and simmer for another 5 mins until the potatoes are almost tender. 

  3. Roughly chop most of the coriander leaves and stir in, then serve scattered with the remaining leaves. Serve with either rice or Nan bread

Rasta pasta 
Ingredients 

  • 3 Bell peppers 

  • 6 Spring Onions

  • 2 Sprigs Thyme

  • 2 tbsp Tomato Purée

  • 4 Cloves Garlic

  • 4 tbsp Jerk Seasoning 

  • 1 tsp Paprika

  • 500 g Fusilli or pasta of your choice

  • 150 ml Double Cream

  • 50 g Cheddar Cheese

  • 1 tsp Chilli Flakes (only put in if you want it very spicy)

  • Olive oil

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

  2. Finely slice the peppers. Finely slice the spring onions. Pick the leaves off your thyme stalks.

  3. Heat a sauté pan over a medium heat. Add a slice of olive oil and some peppers, then fry for 10 mins until softened.

  4. Add your tomato purée and cook out for 5 mins until darkened. Grate your garlic into the pan, then add most of your spring onions, thyme leaves, jerk seasoning, all purpose seasoning and paprika into the pan. Cook for another 2 mins.

  5. Add your pasta to your boiling water and cook until al dente

  6. Pour in your cream, and bring to a gentle simmer.

  7. When your pasta is ready, add a ladle of the cooking water to your creamy sauce. Lift your pasta out of the water with a slotted spoon, and get this in the sauce. Mix until totally combined, adding more pasta water as you need to make it 4glossy.

  8. Grate in your cheddar, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add extra chilli flakes if you’d like it extra spicy.

  9. Spoon into bowls and serve with your remaining sliced spring onions and a little black pepper.

Jerk/Peri Peri veg with couscous 
Ingredients 

  • large red onion 

  • 2 large carrots 

  • 1 courgette 

  • 1 red pepper or pepper of your choice 

  • Or a bag of ready made veg – half for each seasoning 

  • 2 tablespoons oil

  • Jerk/Peri Peri seasoning 

  • 1 tablespoon butter 

  • 250/125 grams cous cous

  • 250/125 ml vegetable stock 

  • 1 lemon 

  • Small bunch of parsley finely chopped (this is optional)

Method 

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C /170 for a fan oven 

  2. Chop all veg into smaller pieces and place in a baking tray 

  3. Drizzle the veg with 1 tablespoon of oil and sprinkle generously with the seasoning mix then mix thoroughly to ensure seasoning and oil is covering veg

  4. Place in the oven and cook for around 25 minutes (without the courgette)

  5. While the veg is cooking prepare the cous cous by melting 1 tbsp of the butter in a pan

  6. Mix in the cous cous, stir well and cook for a minute 

  7. Mix the stock cube with 250/125 ml of boiling water, add to the cous cous, stir then cover with a lid or plate and leave to stand for 5 minutes 

  8. Slice the courgette and fry it with the remaining oil until golden brown on each side 

  9. Take the lid off the pan and fluff up the cous cous grains with a fork, zest and juice the lemon. Add the juice and zest to the cous cous and stir in well 

  10. Once the veg has cooked sprinkle over some chopped parsley, if using, and serve with the cous cous 

Jerk Tofu with Sweetcorn & Kale Quinoa
Ingredients 

  • 1 green chilli (optional)

  • 10g toasted coconut chips (optional)

  • 100g kale

  • 1 tbsp maple syrup

  • 1 brown onion

  • 400g passata

  • 1 red pepper

  • 140g sweetcorn (drained

  • 2 tbsp jerk seasoning

  • 500g golden vegetable quinoa

  • 2 tbsp cornflour

  • 560g soya tofu 

Method

  1. Drain the tofu, pat dry with paper towel and cut into 3-4cm cubes. Place the cornflour and one-third of the jerk seasoning in a large bowl. Season to taste. Add the tofu and toss to coat. Heat a large frying pan with 1 tbsp oil on medium heat. Add the tofu and cook for 8-10 mins, turning occasionally, until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

  2. Meanwhile, finely dice the onion. Cut the pepper into 2cm squares. Heat another large frying pan with 1/2 tbsp oil on medium-high heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 3-4 mins.

  3. Add the maple syrup, dried garlic and remaining jerk seasoning to the pan. Cook for 2 mins, then pour in the passata and 100ml water. Cook for 5-6 mins, until thickened slightly.

  4. Drain the sweetcorn. Finely dice half the chilli (remove the seeds for less heat) and finely slice the remaining. Reheat the tofu pan on medium-high heat. Add the quinoa and break it up with a wooden spoon. Add the sweetcorn, diced chilli (to taste), kale and a splash of water. Cook for 2-3 mins, until the quinoa is piping hot and the kale is wilted. Season to taste.

  5. Stir the crispy tofu through the tomato sauce and cook for 1 min. Season to taste.

  6. Serve the jerk tofu in bowls with the quinoa then garnish with the sliced chilli (to taste) and toasted coconut (if you’ve chosen to use both)