Does anyone actually enjoy freeze dried camping food? No. Neither do we. There’s no reason to eat poorly when camping. For us, one of the greatest joys of camping is preparing a decent meal and enjoying it in the glory of nature. Sitting by a camp fire as the sun goes down with the stars slowly appearing and a delicious meal in front of you is a real pleasure.

One of the best ways to ensure a successful camp feed is preparing your meals before the trip.

This authentic Jerk chicken recipe was shared by a Jamaican friend in London and was a favourite growing up. There’s been a few tweaks over the years and it has never failed to impress when camping.  It’s a good idea to make a big batch so you can have some then next day in a sandwich while you’re out and about.

Ingredients:

• 6 x pieces of quality free range, organic chicken on the bone with the skin on. We recommend Maryland pieces, so thighs with drumsticks attached or just 12 pieces of smaller bits (drumsticks and thighs).
• 2 x tbsp. of Tamari sauce
• 1 x tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 x tbsp. of brown sugar or rice malt syrup (or alternative sweetener of your choice)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 x tbsp. of olive oil
• 6 x spring onions (peel away outer layer and remove ends)
• 4 x scotch bonnet chillies (or equivalent hot chilli), deseeded
• 2 x tbsp. of fresh thyme
• 1 x large knob of grated fresh ginger (peeled, about 2inches long)
• 1 x tbsp. of All Spice berries (or powder)
• 1 x tbsp. of black pepper
• 1 x tsp. of sea salt
• 1/2 x tsp. of fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/2 x tsp. of cinnamon

Method:

• Smash All Spice, pepper, nutmeg and sea salt in mortar in pestle until finely ground
• Blend all remaining ingredients (except the chicken!) in a food processor until you have formed a nice fine consistency
• Add in all spice, pepper, nutmeg and sea salt and blend some more
• Wash and pat dry chicken pieces
• Transfer chicken to bowl / sealable plastic bag / sealable container. Add marinade and massage mixture into the chicken pieces making sure you get it under the skin (you might want to wear plastic gloves as the chilli will sting!)
• Cover and leave to marinade overnight in the fridge (or at least 4 hours)
• When at camp, bring chicken and marinade to room temperature. Cook on medium/high BBQ grill for 5 minutes on each side or until browned and slightly charred.
• Transfer chicken to cooler part of BBQ or reduce heat to medium/low, close hood and then cook for 25 to 30 minutes (if you have a BBQ thermometer you should aim to get your BBQ to around 180c).
• Pierce the chicken near a joint bone and check that juices are running clear.

Serve with rice & peas. The chicken tastes best eaten by hand!