Habanero Jerk Chicken

Note: This recipe requires special handling. Habaneros are the most spiciest food on the planet and getting the juice on your skin can cause serious irritation. Getting the juice on your fingers and touching sensitive parts of your body (and I do mean the sensitive parts!!!) a few hours later can cause very unpleasant sensations!! (talking from experience here). Wear gloves when handling Habaneros.

Note: This recipe requires advanced preparation.

• 2-3 Habaneros depending on how brave you are.
• 2-4 Jalapeños chopped (to cool it down some).
• 1 large onion coursed chopped.
• 4-6 cloves garlic chopped.
• 1 teaspoons salt.
• 1 teaspoon thyme (optional).
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.
• 2+ Tablespoons oil (used to make a paste).
• 6 skinned, boneless chicken breasts cut into large pieces.

Place all ingredient in a blender (except chicken of course – like duh!) and puree. Drizzle oil into mixture until it forms a thick paste while blending. Put chicken and marinade in a large plastic bag and mix thoroughly. Place in refrigerator and kneed occasionally to mix for a minimum of hour. You can continue to mix the marinate for longer periods, up to 24 hours.

Here’s the tricky part… depending on your heat/spiciness tolerance, either scrape the paste off the chicken before cooking, or leave it on for more spiciness (I always leave it on and cook it with the chicken). The marinate paste is considered a hazardous material and requires FDA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission notification before transporting over state lines! (just kidding, but treat it with respect. It is a skin irritant.)

Cook in a cast iron frying pan using some oil. Make sure chicken is thoroughly cooked and do not burn the marinade. NOTE: Only consume marinate if it has been fully cooked with the chicken. Make sure you bring the marinade to a boil for a few minutes while cooking. Remember is has been soaking in raw chicken juice!

Serve with yellow rice, a fire extinguisher and many cold beers.

Habanero facts:

A typical jalapeno has a heat range of 2,500 – 5,000 Scovilles (a heat scale).
A typical Habanero ranges from 100,000 Scovilles up to 500,000 Scovilles found in the Rico Red Habaneros. A new variety was recently found in India that tips the heat scale at a  hopping 1,000,000 Scovilles!! So if you think jalapeños are hot, a habanero is at least 1,000 times hotter.