I spent last week up in snowy, icy Wisconsin and when I got back this weekend, I wanted to eat something tropical to shake off the winter grays. I decided on jerk chicken because Jamaica's most famous dish warms you up with spicy chiles and warm, earthy spices like allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
The shoestring sweet potatoes not only pair perfectly with the jerk flavors, they also add texture to offset the creamy cilantro avocado slaw. The slaw might be in a bowl like a side dish but you know that I'm going to put that on the sandwich, right?
The
jerk marinade (recipe) that we use is one that we found online years ago and have been very happy with it. It packs a lot of POW into the chicken, not just heat. I like 1 1/2 to 2 habanero chiles in it but adjust to your liking. Once you put all of the ingredients into a blender it comes out a little thinner than but just as flavorful as the popular
Walkerswood jerk seasoning (mild).
This marinade works great whether used chunky or blended into a smoother texture. Traditionally, we like it best on bone in chicken thighs but it works on chicken breasts, like this, too.
Jerk Chicken Sandwich with Shoestring Sweet Potatoes
Published
01/31/2016
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, butterflied
- 1 cup jerk marinade (homemade or commercial)
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- pinch ground ancho chile
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 package coleslaw vegetables mix
- 1 cup avocado cilantro yogurt dressing (homemade or commercial)
- 4 buns, split and toasted
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken in the marinade 8-12 hours.
- Mix the dressing and coleslaw mix together and refrigerate.
- Mix together the salt, sugar, chile, and cinnamon for the sweet potato seasoning.
- Preheat your grill to 350-400°f and preheat your deep fryer or oil in pan to 350°f.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, shake off the excess, and place on your hot and clean grill grates. Cook until they reach an internal temperature of 160°f degrees, about 4 minutes per side.
- Make the shoestring potatoes. Finely shred or spiralize the sweet potatoes into threads. Deep fry in oil at 350°f until crisped, about 30 seconds. Remove to a resting rack and immediately season with the salt, sugar, chile, and cinnamon.
- Place the chicken breasts on the bun bottom halves and top with the crispy sweet potatoes. Serve the slaw on the side so the potatoes don't get soggy but you definitely want a spoonful or two of the slaw in the sandwich. It's a rockstar.
Yield: 4
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Obligatory snow shot of my GrillDome. This was before I left for Wisconsin. |
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I used our Foodsaver vacuum marinator. Do they really draw the marinade into the meat faster or better? I don't know, I doubt the pores of the meat open up or anything. But we already have had it for a few years so I might as well use it. |
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I used my GrillGrates for this cook because it focuses that searing lump coal's ripping energy into a great blend of conductive heat (for sear marks) and infrared heat (for juicy chicken). Grill Dome carries a custom fit set of these. |
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This is what my GrillGrates look like brand new (back in 2011), before I got them so...um..."heavily seasoned". |