Meat & Seafood · Latin American & Caribbean

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Name: Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Total time: 780 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 lb chicken (bone-in thighs and drumsticks, skin on, scored); 2 unit scotch bonnet chili (stemmed); 6 unit scallion (rough chopped, white and green); 8 sprig thyme (fresh, leaves stripped); 4 clove garlic (peeled); 1 tbsp ginger (grated); 1 tbsp allspice (ground); 1 tsp black pepper (coarse ground); ½ tsp cinnamon (ground); ½ tsp nutmeg (grated); 1 tbsp brown sugar; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp lime (juice); 2 tbsp vinegar; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 ½ tsp salt

16 ingredients · 780 minutes · 2 servings

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852kcal84.8g protein48.4g fat19.1g carbs~$3.75/ serving*

No porkNo alcohol · without one

Contains: gluten, soy

Ingredients

Servings:

2 lb	chicken (bone-in thighs and drumsticks, skin on, scored)
2 unit	scotch bonnet chili (stemmed)
6 unit	scallion (rough chopped, white and green)
8 sprig	thyme (fresh, leaves stripped)
4 clove	garlic (peeled)
1 tbsp	ginger (grated)
1 tbsp	allspice (ground)
1 tsp	black pepper (coarse ground)
½ tsp	cinnamon (ground)
½ tsp	nutmeg (grated)
1 tbsp	brown sugar
2 tbsp	soy sauce
2 tbsp	lime (juice)
2 tbsp	vinegar
2 tbsp	vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp	salt
2 tbsp	allspice (whole berries, soaked, for the coals)optional
1 tbsp	dark rumoptional
1 unit	scotch bonnet chili (extra, for heat)optional
2 tbsp	ketchup (for the dipping sauce)optional
1 unit	lime (wedges, to serve)optional

Method

score5 min
sharp knife, through skin to the bone
chicken pieces cut 3-4 times on each side — jerk paste is thick and will not migrate on its own, so the cuts are the only route it has into the interior of a bone-in thigh
mix5 min
blender, coarse paste not a purée
scotch bonnet + scallion + thyme + garlic + ginger + allspice + black pepper + cinnamon + nutmeg + brown sugar + soy sauce + lime juice + vinegar + oil + salt = jerk paste. Handle the bonnets with a bag over your hand; capsaicin is oil-soluble and water will not wash it off your fingers. Set aside 2 tbsp of paste before it touches raw chicken if you want a table sauce
marinate720 min
refrigerated, covered, turning once
chicken + paste worked into every score. Twelve hours is the target: the salt and soy need that long to diffuse past the surface and season the meat as a brine would, while the lime and vinegar only ever work on the outside. Past about 24 hours the acid starts breaking down the surface protein and the skin goes soft and mealy on the grill
grill40 min
indirect heat, lid down, ~300°F / 150°C
marinated chicken skin-side up on the cool side of the grill, soaked allspice berries thrown on the coals — the phenols in smouldering pimento are the flavour the dish is named for, and they only deposit on a cool, slow surface. Cook until the thickest thigh reads 170°F / 77°C; dark meat wants to run past 165 so the collagen gives
char6 min
direct heat, turning every 45 seconds
cooked chicken moved over the coals skin-side down first. The brown sugar and soy on the surface are already dehydrated and will go from mahogany to carbon in under a minute unencountered — keep it moving and pull each piece when the skin blisters and crackles, not when it blackens flat
rest8 min
loosely tented, off heat
chicken on a board — juices driven to the bone during the char redistribute, and the crust stays crisp because a tent is not a lid. Chop across the bone into rough pieces, Jamaican style, and serve with reserved paste thinned with ketchup and lime