Upsides to the Down Economy/ Don't Be a Jerk about Your Chicken

Are you a white meat or dark meat kind of gal (or dude)? While the white meat wing is actually my favorite part of the chicken, it has very little meat and a lot of skin- not good for dieters. Fry it and add some Buffalo wings sauce, even worse. But, for day-to-day eating, I have been choking down dry chicken breasts, thinking I was making a better nutritional choice than dark meat. Come to find out, dark meat (my favorite is chicken thighs) only has 5 more calories than white meat and (even better news) has four times the zinc, three times the iron and more thiamine, riboflavin and vitamin B6 and B12 than its paler counterpart. The reason dark meat is dark is due to having more Myoglobin in the muscles; But I don't want to think about Myoglobin or muscles when I eat chicken. I just want to relish in the delicious, juicy and tasty morsels that are perfectly cooked chicken thighs. Mmm mmm good! No wait, that's soup. Better to say: (as Colonel Saunders) "Finger lickin' Good!" Here's a recipe for Jerk Chicken I made last night for dinner that falls into that category. I used organic, boneless and skinless chicken thighs from Cotsco. This recipe makes a seasoning that's a little sweet, salty and complex, with a kick of heat to it. The good thing about this, is you should have all the ingredients on hand (excepting the possibility of green onion and jalapeno) to whip up a batch of Jerk marinade anytime the mood strikes. It must have been good Mon, because hubby came home to eat the leftovers. I served it with red beans, rice and cucumber salad (to cut the heat). The only thing missing was an ice cold Red Stripe.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

1/3 cup olive oil

3 T fresh lime juice (I used lemon)

1 T sugar

1/4 cup minced scallions

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 scotch bonnet or jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

3/4 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and or thighs (these can be cut into bite sized chunks and put on a skewer, if desired)

In a glass or stainless steel bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken and mix well. Rinse the chicken under cold water, pat dry with paper towels and place in a large, sealable plastic bag. Pour in the marinade, seal the bag and squish it around to make sure all the chicken is covered. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 24. (The longer the better) To cook, prepare a medium fire in the grill. Remove chicken from marinade and grill until done.