Magic Onion Jerk Marinade

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I mostly keep vegetarian these days.  Every once in a while I'll have meat (if I'm a guest at someone's house, or if I'm having company and want to barbecue, etc.).  As I used to keep a blog dedicated to the art of barbecue, I have learned a thing or two about cooking ribs and chicken and whatnot, and one of my favorite recipes is for jerk chicken drumsticks.


This Jamaican-style jerk marinade can be applied to anything, though it definitely works best with chicken drumsticks.  I can't speak for how authentic it is, having never been to the Caribbean, but I can tell you that my difficult-to-impress brother said it's some of the best chicken he's ever had.  I think part of the key, aside from the specific spices, is in the onion-based marinade.

THE STUFF:

Half of a yellow onion (the big Spanish kind)

Two cloves garlic

1 tsp allspice
1 tsp agave nectar, or honey (or slightly less of white sugar)

1.5 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 or 2 habanero peppers or Scotch bonnet peppers

Olive oil
1 tsp salt

Juice of half a lime

WHAT YOU DO WITH THE STUFF:

1. Put dry spices (allspice, peppercorns, thyme, cumin) into a spice grinder and whazz it up, as Jamie Oliver would say.

2. Cut onion, peppers, and garlic into small, food-processor-friendly chunks.  Place them into a food processor.

3. Add spices, lime juice, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Blend it all up until it turns into a sauce-like consistency - use olive oil to thin it out as necessary.

Apply this marinade to raw chicken drumsticks (or whatever you're cookin) and let it sit at least a few hours, preferably overnight.  I recommend smoking the chicken drumsticks on a slightly-higher-than-normal-smoker-heat, like 300-325ish for about 1.5-2 hours, turning them during the halfway point for proper browning and skin crisping.  When they're done, drizzle them with some lime juice mixed with a little bit of agave nectar.  I just recently tried smoking with oak wood, and it was awesome.  Do that.