Grilled Jerk Chicken

Name: Grilled Jerk Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 small yellow onion, cut into large chunks; 2 scallions, quartered; 2 Scotch bonnet or Habanero chili peppers, stemmed (and seeded, if desired; see note) and roughly chopped; 2 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder; ½ teaspoon allspice; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ¾ teaspoon salt; &frac13; cup soy sauce; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 2½ to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks or breasts); Lime wedges, for serving

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Spicy, smoky and aromatic, Jerk chicken is Jamaica’s most iconic dish.

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica. Some people believe the term comes from the word charqui, a Spanish term for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became jerky in English; others claim it’s related to the constant turning or jerking of the meat to load it with the spice blend and cook it thoroughly. The ingredients for jerk chicken marinade – soy sauce, allspice, nutmeg, Chinese 5-spice powder, and Scotch bonnet peppers – exemplify Caribbean cooking, which is a distinct blend of African, European, Indian, and Asian flavors. This grilled jerk chicken recipe, adapted from Food & Wine, is my go-to recipe. It’s spicy, but you can tone down the heat level by removing the seeds and membranes from the hot peppers.

For best results, marinate the chicken overnight. The marinade is also great on beef, pork, or shrimp (although for shrimp, marinate for only 30 minutes to 1 hour), so feel free to double and freeze it for other uses. If you don’t have a grill (or grilling weather), the chicken can be roasted in the oven instead.

What You’ll Need To Make Jerk Chicken

jerk chicken ingredients

Before we get to the step-by-step instructions, a few notes on the ingredients:

I recommend using bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks over bone-in breasts for this recipe; the flavor is better and they are easier to grill without drying out. If you’d like to use bone-in chicken breasts, look for smaller ones so they won’t burn on the outside before the inside is fully cooked. Or, start them on the grill and finish them in the oven.
The recipe calls for either Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers. These two peppers are varieties of the same chili pepper species, and they have a similar flavor and level of heat. Scotch bonnet peppers are native to the Caribbean and are used to make authentic jerk chicken, but they can be hard to find; habanero peppers, grown primarily in Mexico, make a great substitute. The heat comes from the seeds and membranes, so throw in the whole peppers for spicy jerk chicken. For a milder dish, remove the seeds and membranes from one or both of the peppers.
Be very careful when working with hot peppers. If you touch your eyes while handling them, it will be very painful. It’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves or wash your hands very well when you’re done.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Begin by making the marinade. Combine all of the ingredients except for the chicken in a food processor.

jerk chicken marinade ingredients

Process until the vegetables are finely pureed.

jerk chicken marinade

Place the chicken and marinade in a Ziploc freezer bag and let it marinate in the refrigerator at least eight hours or overnight.

chicken marinading in bag

Preheat the grill to medium heat (about 350°F). Clean and oil the cooking grate. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the cooler side of the grill and cook, covered, turning and moving occasionally to prevent burning and flare-ups, for 35 to 40 minutes.

chicken on the grill
If the skin is not yet crispy, move the chicken, skin side down, to the hotter side of the grill; cook, keeping a close watch to prevent burning, until the skin is rendered and crisp, a few minutes.

jerk chicken on grill

Transfer the chicken to serving platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.

How To Cook Jerk Chicken In The Oven

As mentioned above, jerk chicken can be roasted in the oven if a grill is unavailable. Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up, and set an oven-proof rack on top. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. Place the chicken on the rack, skin side up, and roast until lightly browned and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn on broiler (leave the pan on the middle rack), and cook 1 to 3 minutes more, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy.

If you happen to have leftover chicken, it’s delicious in tacos, wraps, quesadillas, or burrito bowls.