Dark ‘n’ Stormy Chicken

The Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktail is a combination of dark rum, ginger beer and (usually) lime juice. (I've added a few notes on the cocktail if you're interested at the end of this post). They're great flavours in a drink but recently I decided it was time to eat them. So here's a simple way to get those flavours into chicken. 

I've used a little Henderson's Relish in this recipe and I've become a bit of a fan of the Sheffield elixir, lately. (I would call it Hendo's, but I think that's illegal unless you were born in Sheffield). There would be outrage in Sheffield at my suggestion that Worcestershire sauce is an alternative but, if that's what you have, then use it.

This method of cooking chicken is based on the way the estimable Rosamund Grant used to cook chicken half a lifetime ago (or thereabouts). While my enthusiasm for Henderson's Relish owes a great deal to the way Tom Wrigglesworth has expounded its virtues.

This should serve 2. 

8 chicken drumsticks

For the marinade:

   4 spring onions, very finely chopped

   1 tbsp lime juice

   2 tsp finely grated ginger

   1 garlic clove, crushed 

   1 tsp paprika 

   1 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves

   1 tsp finely chopped parsley

   ½ tsp ground black pepper

To cook:

   4 tbsp dark rum

   1 tbsp lime juice

   1 tbsp soy sauce

   1 tbsp Henderson's Relish or Worcestershire sauce (sorry Sheffield)

Place the chicken drumsticks in a non-reactive dish. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and coat the drumsticks as evenly as possible. Cover and put in the fridge for, ideally, 3 or 4 hours (or less if you're rushed).

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the drumsticks in a deep oven tray (big enough so that the drumsticks don't touch but not so big that that there's a lot of spare space). Add any remaining marinade. Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Cover the dish with foil and put in the oven for 40 minutes.

Remove the foil, turn the drumsticks to ensure an even coating and return to the oven uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes until the chicken has a nice dark colour and the liquid has reduced to a coating consistency.

Serve with rice or whatever grain or pasta you fancy. I used a wholemeal giant couscous with stir-fried veg for no better reason than that's what I had.

Dark ‘n’ Stormy Cocktail

Although it's made all over the world from many different types of dark rum, the true Dark ‘n’ Stormy should be made with Goslings Black Seal Bermuda Rum. Modern ginger beers (at least in the UK) often have a more fiery and less sweet character than in the past. I think that's a good thing, but add a little sugar syrup if you want to soften the ginger heat a little. Bitters are sometimes added but I prefer it without. 

This is what I do:

• Shake 60 ml dark rum with 15 ml lime juice and plenty of ice. 


• Add more ice to a Collins glass (or whatever tall glass you have to hand) and strain the rum and lime into it. 


• Pour in 100 ml (or thereabouts) of ginger beer, give it a quick stir and garnish with a lime slice or wedge (if you can be bothered) before serving.