Chef Soleil's Roasted Jerk Chicken

Ok gather around chefs, it’s story time. I’d like to tell you about an old friend of mine, and the inspiration behind today’s dish.

Chef Soleil’s Roasted Jerk Chicken

Over the years I’ve had the great fortune to work with and learn from some amazing chefs. These chefs have all come from various backgrounds and have helped mold my perspective on food. I’ve studied the way they work, their approach and philosophies on food, their techniques, their style and overall presence in the kitchen

My first job after my studies at Le Cordon Bleu was working at a small and intimate European Bistro located in the historic Pedestrian Mall of Iowa City. This bistro’s concept was truly unique. Mondays through Wednesdays the menu was a small European-based bistro menu driven by chef inspired features—usually three or four features each night. The weekend menus, however, were grand. Thursday through Sunday we would run a prix fixe menu consisting of four to five courses highlighting a specific region of Europe and North Africa. Thursday was African/Caribbean night, Friday was German night, Saturday night was Italian and Sunday was Mediterranean night.

The first week on the job I met Soleil, the chef of African Caribbean night. Soleil was raised in the Republic of the Congo, on the western shore of Africa. I’m still not quite sure how he ended up in the states, or Iowa, for that matter. I know he told me at one point, but for some reason the story seems to slip my memory.

I will, however, never forget the day I met Soleil (by the way, Soleil is the French word for sun).

It was a cold rainy fall day in Iowa City. I entered the restaurant through the back door, which lead directly into the kitchen. He wore a sun bright red chef coat, which was quite a contrast to the dreary day outside. The instant I walked into the kitchen he yelled out, “Chef!” This moment stands out so vividly in my memory because it was the first time I had ever been addressed as chef! It sent chills down my spine! I eagerly walked toward him to introduce myself. That day and the many days ahead of working with Soleil have had a huge impact on me, and the chef that I am today.

I’ve never met anyone quite like Soleil. He has an energy and passion for food and the people who are lucky enough to experience his food that is unlike any other. Working alongside him that first day, I knew that I had met someone special. During his long day of prep, he would always sing, as music was a huge source of inspiration to him. His demeanor was always calming and he was by far the coolest chef under pressure. He truly loved being in the kitchen and his enthusiasm reached everyone who worked alongside him. In order to work and execute his menu and doing the subsequent prep, you had to truly know the man. Food and the art of preparing the food was his gift, a gift that means everything to him. Soleil’s food comes from his heart and soul and for us to prepare and present his food, we too, had to embrace this philosophy. As young aspiring chefs, working Thursdays was the highlight of our week because of the fact that we got to work with Soleil. Some of the kitchen staff would voluntarily show up in the kitchen on their day off just to be a part of the Soleil experience. 

For the customers of Soleil’s African/Caribbean night, the experience was just as great. The prix fixe menu looked something like this:

First Course: Salad - The salad course once again is still a bit uncertain but I remember a few components and one being an amazing black bean hummus with toasted pita bread.

Second Course: Soup - This one I will never forget. It was a ginger and cayenne infused butternut squash-pureed soup that eloquently tip-toed the fine line of being sweet and spicy. The soup was appropriately titled, “Sunshine Soup.” The soup was everything about the Soleil experience, smooth in texture, bold in flavor and magical in presentation.

Between the soup course and entrée course, Soleil would enter the dining room after all the plates had been cleared. Accompanied by his African drum, he would set a chair in the middle of the small room and perform a traditional song or chant reminiscent of his days in Africa. At the beginning, the dimly lit room would be silent, the high ceiling and exposed brick walls provided perfect acoustics as he began to play. By the end of his performance the energy in the room was palpable. This was his gift, everything about him and his personality. This was how he would connect with the hungry audience, the servers and his kitchen staff. I’ve never experienced anything like it. 

The entrée course was a selection of a few items as best as I can remember:

Lamb Stew
Braised Chicken in a spicy tomato peanut sauce
Sautéed Catfish in a Marsala wine sauce
Jerk Chicken

All of the entrees above included sautéed spinach and your choice of couscous, ginger rice, or fu fu- a thick paste of starchy root vegetables.

Final Course: Desert - Banana and Chocolate Beignets.

The recipe that I am giving you today is a modified version of Chef Soleil’s Jerk Chicken. I’ve made some adjustments to allow you the chance to perform this at home with as much ease as possible.

The Components

3-Chicken hind-quarters, legs and thighs attached, bone in and skin on
4-Cups chopped scallions
3-habanero peppers, quartered and stems removed. (I recommend using rubber gloves for this. Trust me, you don’t want to have the heat of the peppers lingering on your hands for too long. Furthermore, if you don’t use rubber gloves make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling these things. I can tell you some unpleasant stories of what can happen.)
1-Tbsp teriyaki glaze
3-Limes, juice of
10-Tbsp Allspice
12-cloves of garlic, minced
1-Tbsp Kosher Salt
1-Tbsp black pepper
2-tsp cinnamon
3-Tbsp thyme
6-Tbsp grated ginger
¼ Cup olive oil

Place the above components in a food processor and puree away. When the contents are nice and smooth, transfer to a medium sized mixing bowl.

Prep the chicken- Place the cleaned chicken quarters in a large mixing bowl and pour ¾ of the jerk sauce over the chicken. (You’ll want a small reserve of jerk sauce for the final coating so don’t let the chicken touch the last portion of the sauce. Do I need to remind you of the hazards of raw chicken touching ready to eat sauces??? Didn’t think so!)

Using your hands make sure that the sauce coats every last bit of surface area of the chicken. When fully coated, wash your hands and place the mixing bowl of chicken in the refrigerator and let chill for four hours.

To cook the chicken- On a high heat grill, place the jerk-coated chicken quarters skin side down and let the heat of the grill crisp and sear the skin of the chicken, about five minutes.

Give the chicken a flip using clean tongs and let cook for another five minutes. Using the same tongs, transfer the chicken to a sheet pan and place in your preheated 375-degree oven and allow the chicken to continue to cook until it’s reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. (Might be a good idea to use that meat thermometer right about now!)

When the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the oven and transfer to a serving plate with clean tongs. Use a large spoon or a brush to spread the final portion of reserved jerk sauce to coat the chicken.

Final presentation is up to you chef. I used a rice component similar to the ginger rice that Soleil taught us. Instead of using spinach, I found beautiful Swiss chard that I braised in a little white wine and chicken stock infused with crushed red pepper and garlic. Feel free to use whatever components sound good to you. Once again, this is food from your heart so whatever your heart tells you, it’s probably a good thing!

Buen Provecho!