It’s my SIL’s 18th birthday today so I asked her what she’d like me to make for her birthday dinner. This was one of her requests, and to be honest I wasn’t crazy about it. I have never eaten this let alone tried to make it before. I have heard of this style of preparing chicken but I had no idea how many seasonings were required. I’m just glad that I have a well stocked spice cabinet! It’s weird because I had all but two ingredients on hand for this marinade – it’s like she knew I have all the stuff this dinner. Well, whether she did or not, I’m glad she chose it. It’s always a good thing to try new types of cuisine with interesting flavor combinations. The scotch bonnet is a mean pepper! I was grating it over the marinating chicken and the fumes made me choke, so I thought it best to use about one third of it.

This dinner was a success! We all enjoyed the unique flavor of the chicken, and it wasn’t too spicy. Next time I will use the whole pepper instead and maybe use dark meat next time. Oh, and I tried this sauce (I made half a batch) that was recommended to me. She said it helped to cool down the chicken, which was something I worried about once I added the scotch bonnet. I had everything for this recipe too, except the cucumber but I don’t think it would have made a huge difference. The sauce had good flavor and paired well with the flavors of the chicken. If I make this again, I will be sure to update this post with the changes I plan on making. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken – adapted from Carribean Choice

• 1 tbs. Ground allspice
• 1 tbs. Dried thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. Ground sage
• 3/4 tsp. Ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 2 tbs. Salt
• 2 tbs. Garlic powder
• 1 tbs. Sugar
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• 1/4 cup Soy sauce
• 3/4 cup White vinegar
• 1/2 cup Orange juice
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 cup Chopped white onion
• 3 Green onions, finely chopped
• 4 Chicken breasts (6 to 8 oz)trimmed of fat