I’ve had a craving for jerk chicken for a while. When I worked at the News Journal in Delaware, there was a restaurant, not too far away in Newark, called D and H. They make Jamaican cuisine, and an incredible jerk chicken with rice and a vegetable. I haven’t been back there in years. Instead of doing takeout, I decided to try and replicate an authentic jerk chicken. I bought pre-made jerk seasoning before, but this time I blended my own spices to make the marinade for the chicken.

What is jerk? The term “jerk” comes from the term “jerky,” which comes from the Spanish “Charqui” (char-key). This is meat cooked over a slow wood fire. In modern cooking, “jerk” doesn’t refer to the cooking method, but the fiery spice mix rubbed on the meat before it’s grilled. There isn’t just one recipe for jerk seasoning, but there are a few basic ingredients that most chefs agree are crucial to creating the jerk flavor. These include chilies, thyme, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, garlic, and onions. This combination gives jerk seasoning the hot and savory flavor.

There are a number of recipes on the web when you search for this dish. I found this combination that appealed to me. I’ve never made coconut rice before, but John makes a good mango salsa. When I told mom what we were having for dinner, she got a little scared. She was concerned it was going to be too spicy. Actually she assumed we were making Indian food, which she does not love. She was relieved it was not Indian, but still a little nervous.

I marinated the chicken thighs overnight, which was easy once you added the spices and prepared the ginger, garlic, onions. Everything went in a gallon ziplock bag and sat in the fridge. I also made the mango salsa on Saturday. The only thing left to do on Sunday was cook the chicken and rice. I decided to brown the chicken on the stove and then bake it in the oven. The rice was also easy, but instead of Jasmine I used basmati.

Once everything was ready to plate, I put rice on the dish, then the chicken, and the salsa on top. It looked lovely. But the best way to eat it was cut everything up and mix it all together then everything was flavored.The most surprising part of the dish was the coconut rice. I loved it. It was a little sweet but it went nicely with the chicken. You could definitely taste the coconut. The coconut water had chunks of coconut, which we left in. Mom enjoyed the dish. Didn’t think it was too spicy. And would eat it again if somebody else made it for her.

Would I make it again? Yes. I’d add a little bit more heat next time. I also think it could’ve been a little spicier, not heat but flavor. I might have to order D and H takeout. It didn’t have a sauce which would have been nice over the rice. So I need to find a way to make that happen.

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