Parliamentary Jerk Chicken (House of Commons Jerk Chicken Recipe)

I think one of my favourite nostalgia dishes has to be House of Commons Jerk Chicken (closely followed by House of Commons Jerk Pork!) For the uninitiated (read: everyone who hasn’t worked in British politics) inside the House of Commons there are several staff cafeterias and whilst the food has always been excellent, Jerk days were so popular they developed a cult following, with at one time a Twitter account telling you which cafeteria on any given day was serving Jerk. Each year, apparently Parliamentary and House of Lords staff, Members of Parliament and the House of Lords, and their guests get through 18,000 portions of Jerk chicken or pork!

It’s easy to see why this version of Jerk chicken remains so popular: you have aromatic, mild-to-medium spiced Jerk chicken served on a bed of bean-studded white rice, topped with a rich and creamy sauce, chopped spring onions, and an optional scattering of sliced chillies if you want a bit more heat. It’s not much of a looker (as you can see below!) and I would not call it the healthiest lunch option (how on earth did I manage this plus a bacon, sausage and black pudding breakfast wrap at least once a week in my early twenties?!) but it is the perfect Friday night comfort food to replicate at home and something everyone I have eaten it with has loved, and not just those of us who used to go to work with Big Ben bonging in the background.

How I developed Parliamentary Jerk Chicken for my kitchen (mass catering vs. home cooking)

Now available online, the Jerk chicken recipe was a secret for many years until one day printed versions appeared for you to take home in the cafeteria. Scaled down to serve 4 it is now available online, and whilst the recipe does work, it is also obvious it started life as something designed to serve hundreds, if not thousands of people so I wanted to tweak it a little to serve two on a weeknight, but which would also survive doubling also.

The result sticks pretty true to the original where the chicken legs are concerned (they’ve started serving Jerk Chicken with thighs – probably for budgeting reasons – but I still prefer the legs of the lunchtimes that marked my first full-time job in politics before I left to pursue a career in food) and the sauce is a bit more concentrated than the cafeteria version. I did many tests on this, and whilst I tried to get it lighter and thinner, actually in the end I think it is better this way! I’ve also adjusted the rice to work with basmati as I find it lighter, and added in jarred red kidney beans than the probably canned used for a better texture.

House of Commons Jerk Chicken Spice Blend

By very popular demand, they now sell tubs of House of Commons Jerk Seasoning Mix in the cafeterias and online in the House of Commons gift shop. I’ve developed this recipe using the blend, but my in-laws also make the recipe with Barts Jerk Spice Blend (usually with pork) and it always tastes great! Any good quality blend should work well here.

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House of Commons Jerk Chicken

• Author: Rachel Phipps
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 2
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: British
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Inspired by the version served in the cafeterias in the Houses of Parliament, this delicious Jerk Chicken recipe is served with red beans and rice and finished with a rich, creamy gravy. Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list and method – it’s a really easy recipe that takes just 1 hour to make!

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Ingredients

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For the Jerk Chicken

• 2 chicken leg pieces
• 3 tbsp jerk seasoning
• 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp dark brown sugar
• olive oil spray (I like this one from Good Phats)
• sliced spring onions, to serve
• sliced red chillies, to serve

For the Gravy

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped and divided in two
• 135ml double cream
• 2 tsp soy sauce

For the Red Beans & Rice

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 100g white basmati rice
• 1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
• small sprig fresh thyme
• 1/2 small jar red kidney beans (approx. 100g drained weight), rinsed
• 2 tbsp coconut milk

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c. Stir together the jerk seasoning, coconut and brown sugar, and set aside.
2. Line a baking dish large enough to sit the two chicken legs snugly with foil. Add the chicken, and rub all over with the spice mix. Don’t worry you’ll have slightly too much, just nestle it under the chicken, which you want to end up skin-side up. Place another layer of foil over the top, and fold to seal the edges so the chicken is in a nice packet. Roast for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the foil from the chicken and turn the heat up to 200C. Spray the tops of the chicken with a light mist of olive oil, and return uncovered to the oven for 25 minutes.
4. To make the sauce, heat 1/2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan set over a medium heat. Add 1/2 the chopped onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the double cream, soy sauce and 75ml water. Turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer and thicken, stirring occasionally whilst you make the rice.
5. For the rice, in a small, lidded saucepan warm another 1/2 tbsp of oil over a medium heat and again soften the onion. Meanwhile rinse the rice under the cold tap until the run-off water runs mostly clear. 
6. Stir in the rice, along with 1/4 tsp of flaky sea salt and the thyme sprig. Add 225ml of cold water and turn the heat up to high. Allow the rice to cook until the water level reaches the top of the rice. Then turn the heat down as low as it will go and put on the lid. Cook for a further 8 minutes, then remove from the heat. Keep the lid on for another 5 minutes before removing it, taking out the thyme sprigs, and folding in the kidney beans and the coconut milk.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven, and remove the pieces from the lined dish. Pick up the foil and use it to pour the cooking juices into the gravy, giving it a good scrape. Stir everything together.
8. To serve, divide the rice between two warm plates and top with the chicken and gravy. Finish each plate with a scattering of sliced spring onions and chillies.

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Notes

To use this recipe to make jerk pork, choose thick pork steaks with a little fat on them, but not too much. You want fat for flavour rather than a fat cap (the thick layer of pork you find on chops). Otherwise, you won’t need to change the recipe as the cooking times should be about the same.

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