Thursday, September 24, 2009

Mike's Jerk Chicken travels right

Do you remember from classic movie westerns the armored wagons that traveled from bank to bank hauling the town's cash and the mine's gold ore? There was a movie in 1967, the War Wagon which starred John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. They plot to steal a shipment of gold being transported in a war wagon, a heavily armored stagecoach. When I saw this traveling jerk chicken wagon, it's the first thing I thought of. I know the mind is a weird and strange repository of information, both useful and useless, but I couldn't help it. I hadn't thought of the movie in over 40 years but it came right back when I saw the steel sides and steel mesh security door. I imagine the chicken, when it gets good and jerked around, needs to be well-contained in a reinforced Chicken-on-the-Warpath Wagon. Forget the original movie wagon's Gatling gun, even my imagination can't go that far. (Honey, can I have that second drink now?)
Posted by at

7 comments:

  1. LowellSeptember 24, 2009 at 7:06 PM

    Aha! You're back to food. Couldn't leave it alone, could you? Heh. Heh.

    Isn't jerk chicken a Bahamaian dish?

    It's kind of interesting that I've met a lot of jerks in my life who were also kind of chicken. Hmmm...wonder what that means?

    ReplyDelete
  2. GaelynSeptember 24, 2009 at 7:09 PM

    I love jerked chicken. What drink goes best with it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. KcalpeshSeptember 25, 2009 at 1:00 AM

    Vegetarian here, but will check out the movie you mentioned! Sounds interesting!

    - Pixellicious Photos

    ReplyDelete
  4. JohnSeptember 25, 2009 at 4:13 AM

    We don't really know it in the UK, also, over here a 'Jerk' is an idiot, so it doesn't translate so well. However, when I've seen it on cooking programs on TV, it looks pretty good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. HildaSeptember 25, 2009 at 6:59 AM

    This may seem like a stupid question, but what is a jerk chicken? I keep thinking it's a chicken who's rude…

    ReplyDelete
  6. B SQUAREDSeptember 25, 2009 at 9:16 AM

    Tell me, why is it we can remember things from 40 years ago but can't remember yesterday?

    ReplyDelete
  7. FrankSeptember 25, 2009 at 9:44 AM

    @ Hilda -
    @ John -

    Here is some info on Jerk cooking and flavorings for www.allrecipe.com

    "Jerk was first created by the Arawak Indians, the original natives of Jamaica. The liberal amounts of spices and peppers helped preserve meats in the island heat, as did drying them over an open fire. The term "jerk" is thought to derive from the Spanish term charqui, which means dried meat. The word can also refer to the jerking motion of turning the meat as it roasts over the fire."

    Island Flavors:
    There are any number of recipes for jerk seasoning, and many have an ingredient list a mile long. Jamaican food lovers agree that there are three jerk spice ingredients that are key: allspice, Scotch bonnet peppers, and thyme.
    The allspice berry, also known as "Jamaica pepper," is native to the island and has a rich, spicy flavor reminiscent of a mingling of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
    Scotch bonnet peppers are small, orange, wrinkly and extremely hot--they are among the hottest chiles available.
    Thyme is widely used in Caribbean cooking and adds complexity to the flavor of the meat. Additional ingredients that are often added to jerk seasoning include garlic, brown sugar, green onions, soy sauce, lime juice, orange juice, rum, bay leaves, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper.


    @ Gaelyn - Cold beer, your choice, is the best thing to enjoy with Jerk Chicken. To me that means a frothy Guinness.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)