My husband loves jerk. Jerk chicken, jerk burgers, jerk shrimp, etc. I’m not a huge fan, but I’ll try anythingalmost anything once. Also, we went to Jamaica on our honeymoon so I have some fond memories of jerk.
Caribbean Chicken Chili
From The Dinner Doctor by Anne Byrn (p.110-111)
1 medium size sweet onion
I added diced green and red peppers (~1 cup, I also had these pre-diced and frozen from some peppers I cut up about a week prior).
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (I had some cooked and frozen from making homemade chicken stock and from a store-bought rotisserie chicken.)
1 teaspoon jerk seasoning (You could make your own if you have a well stocked spice rack, I chose to go the easy route)
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) white beans, with their liquid (I drained and rinsed, because I think the liquid is a little gross, and very salty)
1 chicken flavored bouillon cube (I used homemade stock that I had in the freezer, ~3 cups)
Dash of hot pepper sauce, more to taste
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream (optional, I used it)
Chopped fresh chives, cilantro leaves and/or diced mango and red bell pepper for garnish (optional, I used none but they would be good)
1) Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then cute each half cross wise into thin half-moon slices (I chopped into smaller pieces)
2) Place the olive oil in a 4-quart sauce-pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook (this is were I added the bell peppers as well), stirring until soft, 3 minutes. Add the chicken and jerk seasoning and cook, stirring, until the chicken is coated with the seasoning, 1 minute longer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the beans with their liquid (without, in my case), and the bouillon cube (or stock), and hot pepper sauce. Fill one of the bean cans with water, add this to the pan and stir. (I skipped this step because of the 3 cups of chicken stock that I used). Place pan over high heat until the liquid comes to a boil and the bouillon cube dissolves. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and let the chili simmer for 10 minutes.
3) Add the cream to the chili, if desired, stir, cover, and cook two minutes longer. Ladle the chili into serving bowls and serve with garnishes if desired.
Verdict: I wasn’t too fond of it. I prefer my white chicken chili, but that is a post for another day. I actually didn’t even eat any of it and ordered a pizza sub from Jet’s later. I think I was just in a mood. It wasn’t inedible by any means. I think the jerk seasoning ruined it for me. Who knows, maybe it would have been better if I even remotely followed the recipe, which I did not. I probably won’t make it again.
Husband’s take: He liked it, said it tasted just like my white chicken chili (it didn’t). He had leftovers for lunch, which was good, because as I mentioned, I didn’t eat any of it.
Changes I would make: Hmmm…I already made a lot of changes. I guess the biggest change would be that I wouldn’t make it again!
Difficulty: Piece of cake. Sensing a trend? I gravitate towards simple recipes!
Served with: Tortilla chips
What I am eating right now: Popcorn and Great Lakes Brewing Co. Commodore Perry IPA
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
The picture is of hubby and I on our honeymoon in case that was unclear!