I’m not a fan of jerks.  But lately, I’ve done nothing but think and talk jerk.  Confused?  Don’t be!  I’m talking about a Jamaican delicacy – Jerk chicken 🙂  A few days ago I shared with you my culinary experience at Just Jerk in Maryland.  The platter of Jerk chicken, rice & peas, plantains and cabbage was easily large enough to feed two people.  But since everyone else ordered their own food, I had a challenge of eating it all on my own.  Luckily for me, I failed the challenge, and had half the plate of chicken to take home.

The leftovers didn’t stay in the refrigerator long enough.  That same evening, I used the chicken to make Jerk Chicken Salad with Mango and Grapes.  Normally, I would definitely remove the chicken skin when making the salad.  But with the Jerk chicken, a lot of the flavor is actually in the skin – the skin is charred, crisp and delicious.  Thus, I decided to leave it on.  The sweetness of the mango and grapes went really well with the gentle heat of the chicken.  I served a little bit of rice on the side.  Give this salad a try!

Ingredients
Quartered red grapes
Minced red onion
Chopped cilantro
Mayonnaise
Chopped Jerk chicken
Diced mango
Directions
1.  Combine grapes, onion, cilantro and mayonnaise in a bowl.  Mix in some salt and pepper.
2.  Gently fold in chicken and mango.
Optional: add minced jalapeno and fresh lime juice.
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