Dark and Stormy and Jerk Chicken Bites
This week, the For Starters column features the pairing of a Dark and Stormy cocktail and Jerk Chicken Bites.
An array of spices and brown sugar give these jerk chicken bites a classic flavor.
Dark rum and ginger beer combine to make this cocktail.
Over the past month or so the recurring theme of my columns has been trying to cling onto what’s left of summer. There’s not much summer left in this area, and the weather and feel turning into fall has already begun.
The coming seasons don’t intimidate or scare me. I just have the feeling, usually when any season is about to change, that there’s still so much that hasn’t been done.
I know that summer will return again next year and the opportunity to explore summer ingredients and food will be back, but in the word of my little cousin as we were getting ready to come home from vacation – “Next year is too far away!”
With those thoughts and feelings running through my mind, I did what I always do. I thought and thought and thought some more about how to keep it summer just a little longer.
All this thinking did in fact lead to a very logical solution. Actually, I’m a bit embarrassed that it took me that long to figure it out. Are you ready for the answer?
The answer is not to bring the summer season here; it’s to go to the summer season. I immediately began to think about some of the places I’ve visited in the past – specifically Bermuda and Jamaica.
A lot of people retire to warmer climate areas for that exact reason. If you can go visit the islands now, then by all means hop on a boat or a plane and enjoy summer during the traditional fall and/or winter months. However, if that’s not an option then why not bring some of the local island fare to you?
The cocktail that I made for this weeks column is one that I enjoy very much and one that is synonymous with Bermuda.
It’s called the “Dark ‘N Stormy” or Dark and Stormy. The Dark ‘N Stormy is a cocktail made with Goslings Black Seal rum and ginger beer. The rum is “the dark” and the ginger beer is “the stormy.”
The cocktail is traditionally served over ice and garnished with a wedge or wheel of lime.
Rum is an interesting spirit. It came about in the 16th century with the distillation of molasses. Molasses was mixed with water and fermented into a crude liqueur and then finally distilled into a spirit that today we call rum.
For men who worked the sea in the 16th century rum became the drink of choice.
It was less inclined to spoil than fresh water and sturdier than beer. Rum eventually became the official drink of the British Royal Navy.
Rum wasn’t always as smooth and delicious as it is today. In it’s raw state when it first came to be, it was extremely potent and was even known as “Kill Devil” for its potency.
In the 17th century rum was described as “hot, hellish, and terrible liquor.” It was then said that the drink could “light ablaze” and “provoke rumbustious behavior. The name was then changed to rumbullion and then eventually shortened to Rum.
Today rum is not nearly as potent as it was back then. The process of creating and straining rum has been altered slightly so that it is much more gentle on the palate. Today rum is one of the most popular liqueurs in the world.
Ginger beer is also very interesting. Ginger beer can be purchased in both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic form. The Dark ‘N Story is traditionally made with Goslings non-alcoholic version of ginger beer.
Ginger beer is different from ginger ale although ginger ale can be used as a substitute if you can’t find ginger beer. Ginger beer has more of a fresh ginger taste where ginger ale has more of a sweeter soda taste.
For an hors d’oeuvre to pair with the Dark ‘N Stormy I thought we should make a short 1,255.14 mile trip to Jamaica, mon. In Jamaica they make a delicious dish that goes fantastically well with a Dark N’ Stormy. You’ve most likely have either had it or heard of it, it’s called – Jerk Chicken.
Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamiaca in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice.
Traditionally jerk spice is made primarily from two ingredients, allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers.
Scotch bonnet peppers are extremely hot so if you are going to use them in your jerk marinade please be very careful and wear gloves when handling them. For the recipe listed below I chose to use cayenne instead of Scotch bonnet peppers for this exact reason. Of course if you are going to use the Scotch bonnets, you will obviously want to use them in place of the cayenne.
Jerk chicken, as mentioned above, is normally on the spicy side and this recipe will have some heat to it, however feel free to adjust the heat level to your personal preference. The marinade is very flavorful and is traditionally used on chicken and pork but can also be used on beef, fish, or really anything you can imagine.
You can marinate larger pieces of meat and prepare them as your entrée or do the smaller cuts as per the recipe and use them as an hors d’oeuvre. I typically prefer using smaller pieces because they don’t take as much time to marinate and they also cook faster.
Those are both a couple of my prerequisites for the perfect hors d’oeuvre.
Try this combo today and enjoy your own little private island getaway from the comfort of your own home. You’ll be glad you did as that fall chill creeps into the air with fall food on the horizon.
Mario Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, entrepreneur, author, and the host of Just Cook It Radio on WMBS Radio 590 AM. He can be reached via his website at: www.MarioPorreca.com. Twitter: @MarioPorreca
Jerk Chicken Bites
Yield: about 8 servings
2 scallions, green part only
1 garlic clove
½ tablespoon allspice
½ tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 chicken breasts, cut into 1-2 ounce cubes
Procedure:
1. In a food processor, pulse the scallions and garlic to a paste. Add the allspice, thyme, cayenne, cracked black pepper, sea salt, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and olive oil to the food processor and process until smooth.
2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade for brushing. Place the chicken in a medium size bowl, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken, gently fold to evenly coat the chicken in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for about one minute, spray with non-stick cooking spray, and add the chicken to the pan.
Rotate the chicken as it cooks so that it cooks evenly on all sides. Cook the chicken for 7-10 minutes or until the internal temperature read 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan, allow it to rest at room temperature for at least five minutes, brush it with the reserved marinade, arrange on a serving platter, and serve immediately.
Dark and Stormy
Yield: 1 cocktail
2 ounces dark rum
6-8 ounces ginger beer
1 lime wheel, to garnish
Procedure:
1. Fill a rocks glass with ice; pour the run and ginger beer over the ice and stir to combine. Garnish with a lime wheel and serve immediately.