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Trying to take some heat out of Jerk marinade... Need Help

THGL

THGL

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Not to get too deep into it, but my ex-wife has pretty pedestrian taste buds and now that's she out of the house I've been trying to expands my kids' palate. The other night, I was watching Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives on the Food Network and the kids started watching. They were making jerk chicken on the show and my two girls were going crazy over it. "Oh my God, I'm sooo hungry now. That looks so good!" Etc.

Anyway, my kids are 6, 8, & 10 and they are no way ready for the heat in a real jerk marinade. I don't think filleting the inner membrane from the habanero would take enough heat out, so I'm thinking maybe a lesser pepper might work.

Basically, I need "peppery" but not "hot". What do you think poblanos or maybe even banana peppers do to the flavor of the marinade?

Any ideas would be appreciated!
 
Just use freshly ground black pepper added gradually, plus possibly cayenne pepper or even dried chili flakes. You don't need real chilis and you can start gently and build up.
 
Removing the seeds and inner membrane will definitely remove some heat.

I think using poblanos or banana peppers will change the flavor too much, and it won't be a jerk marinade. What I'd suggest is adding some mango to add some sweet to that heat.

Another option is an already packaged marinade. I like the World Harbors Jerk Marinade. It is not that hot at all. I think your kids could handle it at full strength. You can find it at any Krogers or Walmart.
 
MWF said:
Just use freshly ground black pepper added gradually, plus possibly cayenne pepper or even dried chili flakes. You don't need real chilis and you can start gently and build up.
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This...
Some anaheim or maybe a habanero relative c.chinese chili could work. Aji Dulce or smth like that.
 
Thanks peeps! Just got back from the market with some banana peppers and anaheims. I'll try the anaheims (sans seeds and membrane) and see how that goes.

I was thinking about doing sandwiches first, so the bread will help and maybe a slice of pineapple on top so that'll be the sweet factor.

Wish me luck! I'll report back after this experiment is over.
 
I think that traditionally you're meant to use scotch bonnets in jerk. With the kids in mind I'd just use as little as possible of the chili flesh. Remember that chilis do add flavour, not just heat.

If you don't want to risk it just use a little bit of a normal red chili.
 
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Scotch bonnets and habaneros have very similar flavor and heat levels - they are the same species of chili pepper, capsicum chinense, after all - and habaneros can be substituted if scotch bonnet peppers are not available.

Anaheim chilies, though, taste nothing like scotch bonnet/habanero peppers. Your marinade may be good, but I'd hesitate to call it jerk. You do at least have the allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & thyme, right?
 
Oh yeah, I'm good on everything but needed help with the pepper choice.
 
CAPT_Howdy said:
I think using poblanos or banana peppers will change the flavor too much, and it won't be a jerk marinade. What I'd suggest is adding some mango to add some sweet to that heat.
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That's actually a great idea. I've always thought, once you get past the heat, that habanero peppers has sort of a tropical-type flavor...sort of like a mango-tangerine taste...but still pepper-y, no doubt.
 
CAPT_Howdy said:
Anaheim chilies, though, taste nothing like scotch bonnet/habanero peppers. Your marinade may be good, but I'd hesitate to call it jerk. You do at least have the allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & thyme, right?
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That taste point is true, thats why i recommended also some c.chinese with a milder heat..

But if its heat reduction (and the taste bit comes from elsewhere than habanaero) anaheims could do the trick..
 
Maybe adding cayenne would be a start, they can shake some extra if they like.

Using a mild hot sauce in bottle might be easier to achieve heat consistency.

Which recipe were you using?
 
I found a number of recipes (of course) but this one looked promising (epicurious.com) :
Blend together:
2 cups finely chopped scallion
2 Scotch bonnet or haba?ero chilies, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
5 teaspoons ground allspice
3 teaspoons English-style dry mustard
2 bay leaves, center ribs discarded and the leaves crumbled
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I read a few places that blending the scallions could make it bitter and suggested just mixing them in (chopped) after everything else is blended well.

So Anaheims, yes or no? Or 1/2 a scotch bonnet (sans seeds and membrane filleted)?
 
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Update time. First off, I had to settle for habaneros as no scotch bonnets were to be found in this city! The largest fruit & veggie market, Fresh Market (kinda like Whole Foods), plus one Asian market and a Hispanic market. Nada. The best anyone could do was a bag of dried peppers but nothing fresh.

Anyway, when the kids weren't here I made a test run using one habanero (deseeded and inner membrane filleted off). Zero heat after the chicken was grilled, but it was tasty nonetheless. I made some cilantro-lime rice and served it with chopped pineapple. Eating it with the pineapple added a cool and sweet aspect that was awesome.

When the kids arrived back home, I made another batch but used two habanero and left the membrane intact. After cooking it was, again, heatless. I could taste the lime and a little onion, but no pepper at all! Maybe the habaneros were duds. I used Key Lime juice in the marinade and it was a little overpowering. The kids enjoyed it and my 6 yr. old really liked it with the pineapple.

Thanks for the extra recipes, Jack. The citrus recipe from the BBC is intriguing. I think I'll try that one next.
 
THGL said:
Thanks for the extra recipes, Jack. The citrus recipe from the BBC is intriguing. I think I'll try that one next.
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No problem. That recipe is from Neneh Cherry the singer.

One point of note is how similar Jerk, Christmas cake and Mulled Wine Spice mixes are.
 
Did you try to taste a little bit of the habanero before you cooked with it?
 
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