SETH: Mike.

MIKE: Yeah, nice to see you.

SETH: Nice to see you.

Andrene.

ANDRENE: Yeah, nice to meet you.

SETH: Thank you so much for having me.

And, wow.

Look at these beautiful peppers and this chicken.

I can tell, whatever this is gonna be, it's gonna be good.

ANDRENE: Yes.

SETH: What are you making today?

ANDRENE: Well, Mike is making our signature dish, jerk chicken wings.

They're extremely popular here.

SETH: Well, you know, I've had the stuff called jerk chicken before, but I'm not sure I've ever had the real deal.

But, you know, I don't even know, what is jerk?

ANDRENE: Jerk is seasoned chicken that's been done for hundreds of years in Jamaica.

It was started by the Arawak Indians.

It was done on charcoal.

So now, jerk is so popular in Jamaica, it's done on side streets, it's done in the markets, it's done at home.

And believe it or not, Scotch bonnet really brings the flavor out.

SETH: Scotch bonnet pepper is not something I know a whole lot about.

This is a key part of jerk seasoning?

ANDRENE: Yes it is.

Scotch bonnet, it's cultivated in Jamaica.

And it has more like a sweet aroma.

When you smell it, you might try to take a bite, but please be careful.

SETH: All right.

I think I know better than to take a bite, but... MIKE: That's hot.

SETH: I can imagine.

ANDRENE: Jamaicans put Scotch bonnet in everything.

It's in beef patties.

It's in peppered shrimp.

It's in goat soup.

And definitely, it's going to be in the jerk wingette.

SETH: Well, that's the version I'm excited to try.

So tell me, how are you going to put this all together?

ANDRENE: Mike is going to start by adding the dry ingredients.

First, he's going to use the paprika, then the garlic powder, the Season-All.

He's getting that seasoning into the meat.

SETH: Mike, you had this recipe just passed down in your family?

MIKE: Yeah.

My parents used to do it all the time.

ANDRENE: When we're sold out of wings, we're in trouble.

I've been called names after saying, "Wings are sold out," and it just tickles me.

SETH: Well, I'll be nice.

ANDRENE: Now we're going to add our browning sauce, one of Jamaica's favorite seasonings.

SETH: I like how you guys work as a team.

ANDRENE: And now he's going to work it in.

So, next we're going to add the wet rub.

It has allspice, a tad bit of brown sugar, scallion, onion, and definitely, it has Scotch bonnet.

SETH: So it's going to have some heat, too.

ANDRENE: Yeah.

Yes, as well as a sweet flavor.

SETH: Hey, Mike, go easy there on that chicken.

You do not mess around.

ANDRENE: Mike is seasoning this chicken to the bone.

SETH: And these poor wings, I mean, they are just drowning in this sauce.

Just the aroma coming out of that bowl... ANDRENE: Oh my God.

SETH: What's the next step?

ANDRENE: The next step, they're going to be placed on a pan and then placed in the oven.

And then, once they're flipped, they should be ready within two hours.

The sauce that's left in the pan, we use it as flavor, our own signature house sauce.

And to complete the sauce, we use pimento, garlic, thyme, scallion, and of course we use Scotch bonnet.

And then that is poured on top of the jerk wings.

ANDRENE: Well, Seth, thank you for stopping by Andrene's today.

We have some classic Jamaican items.

We have black cake, we have coco bread, and of course it's all about the jerk.

SETH: I can't wait to try it.

And I see, oh my God, Mike's coming out with that right now.

ANDRENE: Yes.

SETH: Look at those wings.

ANDRENE: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SETH: All right, I see the sauce in the middle.

Should I dip?

ANDRENE: Yes, you sure can.

SETH: Okay.

All right, I'm going in.

Outrageous.

That is so good.

ANDRENE: If you guys were not here, I'd be chewing on my bone.

SETH: I'm going to devour the rest of this too.

And it's spicy too, spicy but so flavorful.

Wow.

ANDRENE: And still have that sweet flavor to it.

SETH: And I'm glad to see we got a whole plateful of these left to go.

ANDRENE: Now you see why I do all the talking, right?

SETH: You do the talking... ANDRENE: Mike is more hands-on.

SETH: I know there's kind of this debate with jerk wings, about whether it has to be grilled, but in two hours in the oven, this meat is clearly falling off the bone.

Why'd you decide to go that way, Mike?

MIKE: Yeah.

When I cook it in the oven, it's done pretty good, because sometimes you put it in the grill, it cooks so fast it kind of burn.

ANDRENE: I observed that when the jerk is done on the grill, the outside is done, but the inside tends to be sort of rare.

However, once it's oven-baked for two hours, it is seasoned, the flavor goes to the bone, make no mistake.

SETH: No mistakes made, Andrene.

And I also know that, like, up on the sign, it's Andrene's Soul Food as well.

Do you see a lot of crossover between Jamaican food and traditional American soul food?

ANDRENE: Oh, yeah, definitely, definitely.

And of course, that came about because of the African slave trade.

And the seasonings, the preparation, the food items, it's just passed down from one generation to the next.

SETH: Well, I'm glad, Mike, I'm glad you brought your recipes here.

MIKE: Yes.

ANDRENE: Yes, yes, yes.

SETH: I'm glad you're the man of the kitchen, I think my introduction to real jerk cooking...

So, thank you guys so much for having me here today.

ANDRENE: And thank you.

MIKE: Thank you.