Today we're talking about Jerk Chicken. Who doesn't love a piece of beautifully charred, perfectly seasoned, Grilled Jerk Chicken? Serve this tasty jerk chicken with my Creamy Coconut Rice.
This jerk chicken recipe is spicy, exotic, and exploding with flavor! Yes, it requires a lot of spices and other ingredients but it is definitely worth the effort!
Jerk chicken is known for its bold and spicy flavor. That's because there are numerous spices used in the marinade. Besides the spices, jerk chicken marinade also contains a delicious assortment of herbs, onion, and garlic. Then there are the wet ingredients: apple cider vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and brown sugar. So much flavor!
The brown sugar helps to balance out the flavors and the sugars help with the caramelization while the chicken is being grilled. Now, on to the recipe!
🍗 How to Make Jerk Chicken
Step 1: Toast all the spices, including the Arbol chilis, in a hot skillet, until aromatic.
Step 2: When cool enough to handle, break the cinnamon stick into a few pieces and add to the coffee grinder. Add the remaining contents of the skillet, except for the nutmeg.
Step 3: Pulse the contents of the mill until the ingredients are ground finely.
Step 4: If you find some larger pieces remaining, sift the contents of the grinder. Grate the nutmeg into the spice mix.
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Step 5: Chop the vegetables, and add them to a food processor. Pulse a few times and add the remaining marinade ingredients and spices. Pulse until everything is finely chopped.
Step 6: Place chicken pieces in a large ziplock bag. Pour the marinade over them. Seal the bag, and make sure the marinade is evenly distributed between the chicken pieces. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.
Step 7: Grill chicken over medium heat. Rotate the chicken as needed, until it's cooked all the way through. Make sure you allow the chicken to char because it's not jerk chicken unless it's charred!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
This Grilled Jerk Chicken goes great with my Creamy Coconut Rice recipe. The spiciness of the Grilled Jerk Chicken pairs wonderfully with the sweetness and creaminess of the coconut rice.
To complete this great meal, consider adding a squeeze of my tasty Balsamic Vinegar Glaze over the chicken and some Oil and Vinegar Coleslaw on the side.
Jerk chicken is made of a large blend of spices. Spices that not only add heat
but also a lot of flavor to this jerk chicken recipe.
Here are the spices used in many Jerk Chicken recipes:
• dried hot chilis
• cinnamon
• cardamom
• cloves
• nutmeg
• peppercorn
• allspice
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Jerk chicken is supposed to be spicy. If you can't tolerate spicy or highly seasoned food, you might want to skip this recipe.
- Another option is to leave out the ingredients that make this a hot recipe. The ingredients to leave out would be the arbor chilis and Serrano peppers.
- If you need to cook this recipe in the oven, place the chicken on a foil-covered pan and cook in a 375 Degree F oven for approximately an hour. Broil at the end to get some charring on the chicken.
🌶 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Grilled Jerk Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
Spices
- ½ cinnamon stick
- ½ nutmeg whole
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns whole
- 1 teaspoon cloves whole
- ½ teaspoon cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon allspice whole
- 5 Arbol chilis dried
Herbs & Vegetables
- 1 inch ginger peeled
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 1 handful thyme
- 2 serrano peppers (optional)
- 3 scallions
Marinade
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 to 4 lbs chicken pieces
Instructions
- Spices: Toast all the spices, including the Arbol chilis, in a hot skillet, until aromatic.
- When cool enough to handle, break the cinnamon stick into a few pieces and add to the coffee grinder. Add the remaining contents of the skillet, except for the nutmeg.
- Pulse the contents of the mill until the ingredients are ground finely.
- If you find some larger pieces remaining, sift the contents of the grinder. Grate the nutmeg into the spice mix.
- Chop the vegetables, and add to a food processor. Pulse a few times, add the remaining marinade ingredients and spices. Pulse until everything is finely chopped.
- Place chicken pieces in a large ziplock bag. Pour the marinade over them. Seal the bag, and make sure the marinade is evenly distributed between the chicken pieces. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.
- Grill chicken over medium heat. Rotate the chicken as needed, until it's cooked all the way through. Make sure you allow the chicken to char, because it's not jerk chicken unless it's charred!
Notes
- Jerk chicken is supposed to be spicy. If you can't tolerate spicy or highly seasoned food, you might want to skip this recipe.
- Another option is to leave out the ingredients that make this a hot recipe. The ingredients to leave out would be the arbor chilis and Serrano peppers.
- If you need to cook this recipe in the oven, place the chicken on a foil-covered pan and cook in a 375 Degree F oven for approximately an hour. Broil at the end to get some charring on the chicken.
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