Jerk Sauce for Pork or Chicken

One of my favorite recipes.

1 med onion coarsely chopped
3 med scallions coarsely chopped
2 scotch bonnets chilies coarsely chopped {or Serrano's, etc. depending on how hot you want..}
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon five spice powder
1 tablespoon allspice berries, coarsely ground
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a food processor blender, combine the onion, scallions,chilies, garlic, five spice powder, allspice, pepper, thyme, nutmeg and salt.

Process to a fine paste

In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce and oil.

With the machine running, add the soy sauce and oil mixture in a steady stream.

In a large shallow dish, add the {chicken or pork} and turn to coat.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Cook over a Grill or in oven at 500 degree for 30-40 minutes..for the chicken.

After Wine bottling BBQ, the menu

I haven't made jerk pork all summer, so that was my choice for the main dish. The standard side dish is rice and beans, but I wanted to do something different...grilled plantains.

The grilled plantains should be sweet and starchy to go with the hot and heavy jerk pork.

Another side dish will be black beans.

We'll also have an appetizer of some sort... but we're still looking at recipes.

I think I'll give the grilled plantains recipe a try tonight [Sat.] to see how it will work out for Sunday.

Grilled Plantains

For our after wine bottling BBQ, I plan to make Jerk pork. Since the pork will be heavy, hot and spicy, something sweet and starchy to accompany the pork is needed.

So I'm trying this recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-plantains-with-rum-brown-sugar-glaze-recipe/index.html

Grilled Plantains with Rum-Brown Sugar Glaze
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Serves:
--
2 cups dark rum
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 very ripe plantains (should be almost black), peeled and sliced on the bias into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/4 cup canola oil

Heat grill to high. Place rum, brown sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and cook until the sugar has melted and the mixture reduces and thickens slightly. Stir in butter until melted. Remove from the heat.

Brush plantains with oil on both sides and grill until golden brown and caramelized, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Brush with the glaze during the last few minutes of grilling. Remove from the grill and brush with more of the glaze before serving.

A note about the ripeness of the plantains.... The flavor and texture of plantains range from flavors of potatoes to bananas depending on the ripeness. When I purchased plantains for this recipe, they were on the "hard" side, and the flavors were more like potatoes. After a few days, they were like bananas. e.g. the recipe tasted like flaming bananas, e.g. dessert rather than a starch.