Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Before You Start

Scotch bonnets carry a fruity flavour as well as serious heat. Deseed them for less fire without losing that.

Indirect first, direct last. Reversing the order gives you burnt skin and raw meat.

The marinade keeps for weeks in the fridge and is excellent on pork or prawns.

Cooking Jamaican Jerk Chicken

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1. Blend all the marinade ingredients into a thick, coarse paste. Wear gloves when handling the scotch bonnets and do not touch your face.

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2. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the marinade for basting, then rub the rest into the chicken, deep into every slash.

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3. Marinate, covered, in the fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 24.

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4. Take the chicken out an hour before cooking and scrape off the thickest clumps of marinade, which would burn.

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5. Set up a barbecue for indirect heat, with coals banked to one side, or heat an oven to 180°C / 355°F.

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6. Cook the chicken skin-side up on the cool side, lid closed, for 35 to 45 minutes. Add a handful of soaked wood chips to the coals if you have them.

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7. Baste with the reserved marinade twice during this time.

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8. Move the chicken over direct heat for the final 6 to 8 minutes, turning frequently, until the skin is charred, lacquered and blistered and the meat reads 78°C / 172°F.

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9. Rest 10 minutes, chop into pieces with a cleaver as they do in Jamaica, and serve with lime, rice and peas, and mango salsa.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Choosing rice.

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Why the Method Works

Allspice — pimento — is the defining flavour, and both the berries and the wood are traditionally used, which is why smoke matters as much as the marinade. Cooking over indirect heat for 40 minutes before finishing hot lets the fat render and the spices penetrate without the sugars in the marinade burning.

Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping

Refrigerate 4 days, freeze 3 months. Reheat at 190°C / 375°F for 12 minutes; it is also excellent cold.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.

Good With

• A cold Red Stripe or a rum punch
• Serve with rice and peas, fried plantain and festival dumplings
• Finish with fresh pineapple

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Jamaican Fry Dumplings.

Still Wondering?

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: the marinade or brine is counted in full, though some is discarded; weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high. How the figures are worked out.

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