Jerk & Turk (Jerk Chicken Kebab)

Serves: 4-6  | Prep time: 20 minutes + 3 hours brining + 24 hours marinating | Cook time: 50-60 minutes | Difficulty: Medium

Who is ready for their first Jerk n Turk?! 
We present to you the peak of international food fusion! Jamaican Jerk Chicken meets Turkish Kebab in the most epic alliance since Run DMC teamed up with Aerosmith for Walk This Way. 🤘
Made with Tropical Sun’s Jerk Seasoning Powder and Jerk Seasoning Paste, this dish will surely become a bonafide BBQ classic.
Become the Don of the Grill this summer. Hit em with that Jerk n Turk and watch them crumble. 😈

Ingredients

For the Brine:

1.2kg chicken thigh fillets, boneless and skinless

2 litres cold water

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

2 Tropical Sun Bay Leaves

1 teaspoon Tropical Sun Black Peppercorns

A couple of Tropical Sun All Spice (Pimento) Berries

2 teaspoon lemon juice

 

For the Rub:

2 tablespoons Tropical Sun Dry Jerk Seasoning

 

Jerk Seasoning Marinade:

4 spring onions, finely chopped

1 large (thumbsize) chunk of ginger, grated

6 garlic cloves, finely grated

2 teaspoon thyme leaves

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon Tropical Sun Ground Black Pepper

6 tablespoons Tropical Sun Jerk Seasoning Paste

2 tablespoons Tropical Sun Classic BBQ Sauce

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Tropical Sun Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

4 tablespoons olive oil

 

For the Jerk BBQ Glaze:

2 tablespoons Tropical Sun Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

2 tablespoons Tropical Sun Honey

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

Juice of 1 large orange

 

For the BBQ:

1 drum BBQ

100g apple woodchips

1 tablespoon  All Spice (Pimento) Berries



Method

1. Add all of the brining ingredients to a large soup pan, stir well, and gently place the chicken thigh fillets into the pan. Cover with the lid and place the pan in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (you can also leave it in there overnight).
2. When the chicken has been brining for long enough, remove the thigh fillets from the pan and pat each one thoroughly dry before placing them in a large, deep dish. Coat each piece of chicken with the dry jerk seasoning, ensuring you get maximum coverage over the fillets, allowing the flavour to absorb in the meat whilst you prepare the marinade.
3. Finely chop the spring onions, grate the garlic and the ginger and place them into a blender with the remaining marinade ingredients, and give it all a quick blitz for 15-20 seconds. The marinade should still have a nice texture it once blended. Remove a third of the marinade to a bowl for later and pop it in the fridge.
4. Cover the chicken with the remaining jerk marinade, coating each fillet thoroughly, cover the dish with film wrap, and pop in the fridge to marinate overnight or for 24 hours if possible.

For the BBQ

1. Before lighting the coals, prepare your BBQ sauce. Place the reserved jerk marinade that was left in the fridge in a small sauce pan and add all of the BBQ glaze ingredients to it. Place the pan on a medium heat, and stirring constantly, allow it to come up to a simmer. Turn the heat right down and let it thicken and reduce for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. When the glaze has slightly darkened in colour, remove the pan from the heat and set to one side. Remove 4 tablespoons of the glaze to a separate small dish (you will use this to coat the chicken with, once cooked)
2. When you are ready to cook your chicken, light your coals. Soak the woodchips and all spice berries in cold water for 20-30 minutes then drain them fully.
3. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before the coals are ready, and carefully thread each thigh fillet through 4 large metal skewers – the skewers should go horizontally through each fillet so that they can support the weight of all of the chicken thighs once they have all been threaded. Don’t push the fillets together too tightly, as although they need to be close together to get the desired döner effect, the fillets must have room to ensure that they are cooked all the way through; not pushing them too tightly together will allow this to happen.
4. The coals are ready when they are white, and although they need to be hot, they should not flame at all. The heat should be low (the döner will be cooked directly over the coals and not on a grill) to ensure a slow and thorough cook, allowing all of the flavours to penetrate through the meat.
5. Take your drained woodchips and allspices berries and spread them directly onto the coals. Once the smoke forms (almost immediately) you are ready to BBQ the Jerk & Turk Döner.
6. Place the skewered döner over the coals and close the lid of the drum. Leave the chicken to cook for 10-12 minutes before doing anything (if you are worried about the heat / flames, check on how the underside is cooking, but try not to touch it at all, keeping the lid closed, and the heat and smoke in). After around 10-12 minutes, turn the döner over and repeat again, and then twice more. When you flip the döner over for the last time, brush the top of the chicken with the BBQ glaze and close the lid for another 4-5 minutes again, turn over, brush again and repeat twice more until the chicken is cooked (for peace of mind, you can check that the chicken is cooked by using a food thermometer – the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken should be 75°C).
7. Once cooked, brush the entire döner with the 4 tablespoons BBQ sauce that you reserved to one side (you can also pop some into a dish for dipping into), remove from the BBQ and serve with rice and peas, fried plantain, a summak salata, and sauces and condiments of your choice.