Jerk.

Saveur's guide to jerk ...

Few Caribbean dishes are as well-traveled, or as beloved, as Jamaican jerk, a humble meal of bone-in chicken or pork parts doused in a blend of spices and hot peppers, and cooked slowly over smoldering pimento wood branches. Peppered across the island, roadside jerk stands entice passersby with wafts of fragrant smoke rising from makeshift grills encased in sheets of tin siding. Supple, juicy, and crispy in spots where the meat has been charred by the fire, jerk is an integral part of Jamaica's economy too, with restaurants like the perpetually busy Scotchies or the relaxed Pepper's Jerk Center serving tourists and locals year-round. It's typically eaten with your hands alongside fried cornmeal "festivals" (dumplings), scorching-­hot Scotch bonnet pepper sauce, and cold beer.

We usually serve jerk with fried plantains and peas and rice.  The plantains are bias-sliced thinly, tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I do these in a cast iron skillet on the grill.

The rice and peas are a must ...

Ingredients

• 2 cans red kidney beans
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 head garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups rice
• 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, whole

Preparation

1. Saute onion, garlic, thyme in olive oil in a medium sauce pan.
2. Drain beans; pour into two-quart measuring cup; add coconut milk and enough water to make 4 cups of liquid.
3. Add liquid to sauce pan; boil.
4. Add rice; stir; reduce heat, add pepper, and cook covered until rice is cooked.
5. Remove pepper and serve.

I have been a fan of Walkerswood jerk seasoning for thirty years.  Recent study has made me a disciple of Grace based on its balanced, depth of flavor. 

Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.-Ed.