Country 6: Jerk Chicken from Jamaica.

Jerk chicken has been a favourite of mine ever since I first remember trying it at the Edmonton Cariwest festival with my Dad alongside a crisp ginger beer. It is probably one of the first dishes that started my interest in spicy food (and as the many hot sauce bottles in my possession indicate, that interest has only expanded). Along with the memories of having this with my dad, this meal also has another family connection as my Great Uncle-in-law is originally from Jamaica and has makes his own hot sauces and jerk seasoning mix under the name "Soupy's" (pictured below). The last time I visited my family in Halifax, I was gifted a few bottles of the hot sauce and jar of his jerk seasoning, which is what I used for this meal.

Since just jerk chicken isn't really a full meal, I tried to make this along side some other Jamaican staples: red beans and rice and pineapple salsa. I think I have only had red beans and rice one other time, but I will be making it more from now on. It is super flavourful and great with the jerk chicken. The pineapple salsa helps cool everything down just a bit. The chicken was the star of course, crispy grilled skin, tender meat and spicy all the way through.

I was lucky that Edmonton happened to be so hot in May; I was able to grill the chicken on the BBQ and have a cold beer on a 28°C day, felt pretty appropriate given the meal and its origin.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and hope you return for country/meal 7.

Updated map and more photos below: