Jerk Chicken

Ever see a recipe and think that's the one! That's going to be my show-stopping signature!! Well, I thought this recipe for homemade jerk chicken would be one of those. I even waited years to make it, never having the time to cook the marinade, blend it, cool it, then put the chicken in it overnight.

I don't know what went wrong. Maybe it was because it's better with dark meat (I used a whole chicken.) Maybe because the marinade didn't include any salt (I added some to the recipe.) It even smelled to die for in the fridge while marinating...but once cooked was...okay. Not bad. Not great. But all those flavors - what the f?!?

If you have a great homemade jerk chicken marinade - please end it my way.

Jerk Chicken, from Food Network Get Grilling

Ingredients:
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark rum
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 bunch scallions (white and green parts), roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Scotch bonnet chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 tablespoons Pickapeppa sauce (see Cook's Note, below)
1 tablespoon freshly grated peeled ginger
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
zest of 1 lime
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 whole chicken, backbone removed and split

Directions:
Pulse the vinegar, rum, brown sugar, scallions, garlic, chile, Pickapeppa sauce, ginger, allspice, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a food processor to make a slightly chunky sauce. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring, until the oil is absorbed and the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Cool. Stir in lime zest and salt.

Rub the jerk paste all over the chicken halves, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Prepare an outdoor grill with a medium-high fire for both direct and indirect grilling. Position a drip pan under the grate on indirect side. Place the chicken, skin side down, over direct heat and cook until skin crisps and has definite grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Move to indirect heat over the drip pan and cook skin side up, covered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let the chicken rest about 5 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve.

Cook's Note: Pickapeppa -- the celebrated Jamaican bottled sauce -- is a blend of tomatoes, onions, sugar, cane vinegar, mangoes, raisins, tamarind, peppers, and spices. Fans use this "Jamaican ketchup" on all manner of grilled foods. It adds a distinct punch to this version of the island's spicy jerk marinade.