Jamaican Jerk Chicken
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The Tale of Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Story updated
Jerk seasoning developed among Jamaica's Maroon communities—Africans who escaped slavery and resisted colonial forces from the island's mountainous interior—who combined African smoking and seasoning techniques with local ingredients like Scotch bonnet peppers and allspice, native to Jamaica. This smoky, spicy method dates back centuries and remains central to Jamaican identity.
Ingredients
Scale:· 6 servings
- 3 lbs chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 4 scotch bonnet peppers, stemmed
- 8 scallions, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tbsp ground allspice (pimento)
- 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- 1In a blender, combine scotch bonnet peppers, scallions, onion, garlic, thyme, allspice, brown sugar, soy sauce, oil, lime juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper; blend to a thick paste.
- 2Score the chicken pieces and rub the jerk paste deeply into the meat and under the skin.
- 3Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- 4Prepare a charcoal grill for indirect medium heat, ideally with soaked pimento wood or allspice berries added to the coals.
- 5Grill the chicken over indirect heat, turning every 10 minutes, for 35-40 minutes until deeply charred and the juices run clear.
- 6Move pieces briefly over direct heat at the end to crisp the skin.
- 7Rest 5 minutes, then chop into pieces and serve with festival and rice and peas.
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