Bust Out That Grill!
It’s THAT time of year. We love how the warm weather beckons us to our grills each evening, keeping our kitchen clean (for the most part) and dining al fresco is our favorite summer activity. Life just seems a little bit lighter and dare we say easier in the summer. We are confident that these grilled Jamacian jerk chicken kebabs will make your dinner time routine a little more enjoyable.
What Is Jerk Chicken?
Many people think that “jerk”—as in “Jamaican jerk chicken”—is a word that is always synonymous with a super spicy chicken dinner. But in fact, Jamaican jerk spice doesn’t have to be crazy hot. While the exact meaning of the word “jerk” is somewhat open for interpretation, most agree that the term “jerk” is more about a style of cooking than a set-in-stone flavor profile. In Jamaican culinary tradition, “jerking” refers to the practice of cooking meat over an open flame, and, historically, the beloved “jerk” flavor profile came from cooking over local Jamaican pimento wood. This very unique pimento tree wood releases fragrant oils as it burns, and the smoke produced by its fire flavors the grilling meats. As time went on, people wanted to create faster and easier ways to enjoy the flavor of “jerk” and therefore we have jerk spice blends, like the one we use to flavor these delicious jerk chicken kebabs!
How to Make Jerk Chicken Seasoning.
We wanted our jerk chicken kebabs to be extra juicy and never dry out on the grill, so decided to marinate them in a wet jerk seasoning marinade. This jerk seasoning keeps the chicken pieces nice and juicy and we love the flavor it adds to the pineapple, bell peppers and grilled red onions. Here’s what you’ll need to make it.
- Warm spices: nutmeg, allspice & cinnamon
- Sweetness to balance the spices: brown sugar
- A little bit of a bite: green onions, garlic, red onion and cilantro
- Paprika, salt, black pepper, thyme
- Olive oil and lime juice
How to Make The Best Chicken Kebabs Ever.
Marinate the chicken in the wet jerk chicken seasoning. Lace the bell pepper, pineapple red onion and marinated chicken onto the skewers. Now you’re ready to grill. When the chicken is nice and seared on the outside and still juicy on the inside, you can serve these babies over warm rice (coconut rice is even better) and you’ve got yourself another winner chicken dinner!
Tools You Will Need:
- Blender
- Large bowl for marinating the chicken
- Grill
- Metal skewers
- Sharp knife
More Kebab Dinners:
Be A Jerk!
Or at least make these jerk chicken kebabs for dinner. We promise everyone will love you for it. WHen you do be sure to snap a photo of your masterpiece and tag us using @themodernproper or #themodernproper when you do.
