Jamaican Jerk Chicken

We love jerk chicken but eating it three times in one week was a bit much...  We tried many different versions of Jamaican Jerk Chicken and it always came up short of the jerky taste until we found this recipe from blog.kriegsman.org.  This recipe is from the Sugar Reef Restaurant Caribbean Cook Book and…drum roll.… It’s a thumbs up!

 

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Dry Ingredients

2 tablespoons ground allspice

2 tablespoons ground thyme

3 teaspoons cayenne pepper

3 teaspoons ground black pepper

3 teaspoons ground sage

1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons sugar

Liquid Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup soy sauce

¾ cup white vinegar

½ cup orange juice

juice of one lime

Chunky Ingredients

1 cup chopped white onion

3 green onions, finely chopped 

1 scotch bonnet, habanero, or other very hot pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped.

Chicken

4 chicken thighs and drumsticks  

Directions

-Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

-Stir in the liquid ingredients.

-Add the chunky ingredients and mix well.  Reserve ½ of the marinade and set aside.

-Add the chicken thighs and drumsticks, cover, and marinate for at least one hour, or up to one day (longer is better for flavor)

-Preheat outdoor grill.

-Grill chicken thighs and drumsticks until fully cooked. While grilling, baste with marinade.

-Heat the reserved marinade and serve on the side for dipping.

*If you cannot grill, you can roast jerk chicken in a baking/roasting pan in a preheated 350 F oven until cooked through, 30 to 45 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the oven. 

Preheat the broiler.  Baste the chicken with jerk sauce.  Sear the chicken for 5 minutes under the preheated broiler.

Serve with rice.