Ingredients
Edible twigs
Marinade
Jerk sauce
Method
1.Cut some deep gashes in each drumstick and set aside.
2.Make the marinade by putting all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
3.In a large bowl, smother the drumsticks with the marinade, saving ¼ cup of this for the jerk sauce. Leave the chicken for as long as you can – 30 minutes is enough, but overnight is ideal.
4.Take a metal roasting pan and in one corner build a small pile of “edible twigs” – I use small, dried branches of bay tree, rosemary and sage stalks.
5.Balance a wire rack over the top of your roasting pan and place the marinated chicken on this.
6.Cover and seal tightly with a double layer of foil, remembering what corner your twig pile is in.
7.Place the corner of the dish with the twigs onto a burner or element turned to a medium heat, and leave it until you can hear the branches crackling. Keep the dish covered to make sure that the smoke is circulating around your chicken.
8.Once this has died down, put the roasting pan, still tightly covered, into a hot oven at 220°C, and leave it to cook for a further 30 minutes.
9.Afterwards, remove the foil carefully, take out the remains of the twig pile and brush the drumsticks with another coating of marinade. Continue to cook the chicken until it is cooked through and the skin is well-browned, even charred.
10.Make your jerk sauce by putting the ¼ cup of the marinade in a saucepan with tomato and soy sauces, then bring to the boil for 5-7 minutes until thickened.
11.Serve the chicken on a bed of cabbage, with the green pepper and jerk sauce on the side.
The recipe for this sauce is believed to originate from West Africa, and was later brought by slaves to Jamaica. The name is said to come from the Spanish word for dried meat, ‘charqui.’
Note
