ENGLAND MEETS THE AMERICAN SOUTH: A NORTH CAROLINA STYLE JACKET POTATO

This all started because it was cold out.  It was not supposed to be cold.  Spring in Asheville usually comes on with a rush. You move from sweaters to sundresses in a day and never look back.

But not this Spring.

Oh no.

It’s been nothing but going back.  I bounce from Spring clothes to Winter and back again like the ping pong ball my cat plays with.

Anyway, cold.

Cold means comfort food.  It calls for cheese and starch and carbs.  It calls for potatoes.

A jacket potato is what they call a baked potato in England.  The classic British jacket potato is baked then topped with baked beans (English style) and copious amounts of cheddar cheese on top which is melted in the oven before serving. This was a big favorite with my daughters growing up outside of London. They still buy cans of Heinz Beans with Tomato Sauce and indulge in nostalgic dinners of their own making.

But I was the child of a North Carolina man married to a New Englander.  We ate rice at our table and our baked beans involved molasses and pork and sausage.  And when I think baked potato, I think sweet potato. So I set out to create my own Southern Style Jacket Potato: a baked sweet potato topped with tangy blackberry BBQ chicken and mozzarella.

I started with the BBQ sauce.  Memorial Day is just around the corner and there are a lot of recipes out there.  I found one in my Food Network Magazine from Michael Symon which I have tweaked a bit to suit my Asheville tastes.

The recipe calls for dark beer but in my fridge was a Passionfruit Saison from Wicked Weed, a local Asheville Craft Beer Brewery.  I chose this to amp up the fruit flavor in the sauce.

And where the recipe called for a habanero I went back to my refrigerator for some candied jalapenos (my go-to hot pepper).

Blackberries were an easy find at my grocery store although I would love to make this using some of the tiny sweet hedgerow blackberries we used to pick in the UK.

Everything goes into a pot.

and it all cooks together for a couple of hours until the blackberries and onions are soft and falling apart.

Puree the sauce using a blender or an immersion blender.  (I love my immersion blender.  If you don’t have one, consider getting one.  It means one less thing to clean when you are cooking).  Then pass it through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.  This is a pain but it is necessary.  You will have about two cups of BBQ sauce.

Michael Symon’s recipe called for spice rubbed chicken thighs finished with the sauce in the last 15 minutes of cooking.  This was my bonus meal, served with a fruity Spring salad of strawberries and Boursin Cheese.

On to my Jacket Sweet Potato.   For this meal I baked some chicken breasts, brushed with the BBQ sauce, for about half an hour in the same oven with the sweet potato (which takes about an hour).  The I shredded the chicken breast and tossed it with a bit more BBQ sauce and kept it warm while the potato finished cooking.

Once the potato is done, open it up and loosen the flesh a bit.

Pile on the shredded chicken breast and sauce then add your cheese and pop the whole thing back in the oven for about ten minutes until the cheese is melted.

I finished mine with some slices of candied Jalapeno but you don’t have to.  A variation, also delicious, is to use grated cheddar and finish with fresh chopped Cilantro.

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NORTH CAROLINA JACKET POTATO WITH BLACKBERRY BBQ SAUCE

Servings 2 people

Author BBQ Sauce is adapted from a recipe by Michael Symon

Ingredients

For the BBQ Sauce

• 3 pints 6 cups fresh blackberries
• 12 ounces beer
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tbsp candied jalapeno chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground coffee
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin

Jacket Potato North Carolina Style

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 boned and skinned chicken breast
• ½ - 2/3 cup grated cheese mozzarella or cheddar
• 1 tsp candied jalapeno optional
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves and stems
• 1 cup Blackberry BBQ sauce

Instructions

Make the Sauce

1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 ½-2 hours, stirring from time to time. Mixture will thicken and blackberries will soften. Puree the mixture then pass through a sieve. (Do not skip this step).
2. Make about four cups of BBQ sauce. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

For the Jacket Potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash the sweet potatoes, pierce two or three times with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pat the chicken breast dry and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with about 1-2 tbsps Blackberry BBQ sauce.
4. Place potatoes and chicken in the oven.
5. After about 30 minutes check the chicken breast for doneness. Depending on the size of the breast, it may need a little longer. When done, remove from the oven and let cool. Shredded the chicken breast and toss with remaining BBQ sauce.
6. Check potatoes for doneness after one hour. They should be soft and malleable.
7. Carefully split the hot sweet potatoes and loosen the flesh a bit with a fork. Pile on the chicken breast in the sauce and top liberally with cheese. Return to the oven until the cheese is melted (10-15 minute).
8. Garnish with candied jalapeno and chopped cilantro

Recipe Notes

This sauce will stand up to almost any type of beer.  I used a fruity Saison but you can use whatever you have available.

Makes about four cups of BBQ sauce. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.