Jerk Chicken is a delicious Jamaican dish of grilled chicken infused with a spicy, smoky flavor. If you are craving a taste of the islands, give this recipe a try!
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Warm beaches, friendly people… there is so much to love about Jamaica! Of course delicious food makes it to that list as well, and Jerk Chicken is an island meal that cannot be missed.
On the islands there are entire shops dedicated to making authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Warm spices and the spicy flavor of scotch bonnet peppers combine with the flavors of the pimento seeds to create the Jamaican jerk chicken marinade. The deeply marinated chicken is placed directly on the hot coals of pimento wood and covered with a metal sheet. Over the course of about two hours, it is slowly smoked, taking in the flavor of the wood and the juice from the steam.
The chicken pieces come out very crispy, almost burnt, and sliced to reveal tender, juicy chicken meat. The flavor is smoke and spice and sweetness all at once that takes your taste buds on a ride!
While you may not have the ability to travel to Jamaica for fresh Jerk Chicken, you can bring this amazing jerk chicken recipe to your own home. And while it may be better and more authentic when slow cooked over pimento wood, this Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe allows you to enjoy this dish just by cooking in a hot gas grill or charcoal grill.
If you are craving a little bit of island spice, this jerk chicken recipe should be your go-to!
Recipe Origins
Jerk chicken comes from a combination of African and Taino flavors and cooking techniques.
When the Spanish arrived in Jamaica in the 15th century, the indigenous Taino people fled to the mountains. They were discovered many years later by slaves who were also escaping from Spanish or British rule.
Together, these two groups shared survival tactics, cooking techniques and ways to use the unique flavors of the island, including hot peppers. Thus, jerk was born, using cooking techniques from the African slaves and flavors that are native to the island.
The word jerk comes from the Spanish word charqui, which is translated to “Jerky” in English. Jerk actually refers to the process of seasoning and slowly smoking meats and traditionally it was used on much more than just chicken recipes. It was a great cooking method for tough meats that needed to be cooked slowly until tender.
Today, jerk sauce is still widely enjoyed in Jamaica, but chicken seems to be the most popular meat for the dish.
Why Make This Recipe
- Delicious: This recipe has so many unique flavors and the combination is so mouthwatering! You can find jerk marinade sold on store shelves, but creating it on your own will produce a much more savory flavor.
- Spicy: If you are a fan of spice, then this recipe is a must try! You can adjust the amount of spice to your liking.
- Taste of Jamaica: Jerk Chicken is one of the most popular Jamaican cuisine to make it to the US.
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Marinade Ingredients
- Fresh Thyme: Fresh ingredients are always best if you can get them!
- Scotch Bonnet Peppers: You can add more peppers for more spice. If you cannot find scotch bonnet peppers, you could try substituting habanero peppers.
- Onions: You will need both yellow onions and green onions.
- Allspice or Pimento Berries: Pimento berries and allspice are synonymous and either of them will work. This is a key ingredient to this dish!
- Soy Sauce: This is not always traditional. You can also use browning if you’d like!
Cooking Ingredients
- Chicken: Jointed, bone in, skin on. You can buy a whole chicken, but I personally like to make Jerk Chicken with chicken thighs and chicken legs.
- Limes: These are used to clean and tenderize the meat
- Red Stripe Beer: Red Stripe is a Jamaican beer and I highly recommend trying to find it if you can for the perfect flavor profile. You could substitute it for any beer if you’d like or omit altogether.
How to Make This Recipe
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Step 1: Make your Marinade
Add all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Put the lid on the food processor and run to combine until the marinade is smooth.
Step 2: Prepare the Meat
To clean your chicken using the Jamaican method, run the lime halves over the chicken, using the lime juice to remove any slime on the raw chicken. You can also pour the vinegar and extra lime juice over the chicken and use your hands to rub it into the meat.
Then, place your chicken in a large bowl and run cold water over the chicken, allowing it to soak for a second. Then, drain the water.
Add the chicken into a large, clean bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover, and place it in the fridge. Allow the chicken to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
Step 3: Cook the Meat
When it is time to cook, heat your grill up to about 350-450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the marinated chicken on the hot grill. Open the red stripe beer, and using your finger to block part of the opening, spray the beer on top of the chicken.
Close the lid, and allow the chicken to grill for about 10 minutes (check to make sure it is not burning).
Once the chicken is starting to brown and char on the outside, flip the pieces over and, once again, spray with red stripe beer. Continue flipping the chicken for another 10-20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Instead of a whole jointed chicken you can just use 2 pounds worth of bone-in chicken thighs or legs. I would not recommend boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe as the skin provides great flavor.
- Be careful with the bonnet peppers when you are making your marinade. It’s a good idea to wear gloves to avoid skin irritation and start off slow. You can always add more spice to your marinade, but you cannot take it away once it is blended!
- You can save any leftover marinade in an airtight container in the refrigerator and add a spoonful or two to other dishes.
- The photos feature some limes for color, but jerk chicken is not usually eaten with limes.
Making This the Authentic Way
You may not be able to make Jerk Chicken EXACTLY the way that it is made in Jamaica, and that’s okay! But I want to fill you in on some of the elements that make Jamaican Jerk Chicken so special. If you can mimic these things, then that is great! But if you can’t, your chicken will still be just as tasty.
Red Stripe beer is optional for this meal, but very authentic. I got mine from a Jamaican restaurant that allowed me to buy a bottle. You can call any Jamaican restaurants near you and ask if they have any Red Stripe to sell. You can also buy it at any Caribbean grocery store.
If you can, grill over wood chips, as it creates the authentic jerk chicken taste. Jamaican chefs will say it is not jerk chicken unless it is cooked over pimento wood chips but cinnamon wood chips create a great flavor as well.
While interviewing Jamaicans on how to make this recipe, I found out something very interesting – Most Jamaicans that live in Jamaica do not make their jerk sauce by hand. Instead, they have a bottled marinade that most will use to flavor their chicken. If you can find Jamaican jerk sauce, feel free to use that to make this recipe easier. If not, you can make the sauce from scratch using this recipe!
Adaptations of Jerk Chicken Recipes
There are many slight variations of jerk chicken that will make each person’s taste a little bit different. Here are some variations I found online that might give some different flavors to your Jerk Chicken.
- You can reduce or omit the amount of water in your marinade to get the texture you prefer.
- The lime juice in this marinade is optional. Feel free to try pineapple juice or orange juice instead or omit altogether.
- You can also sprinkle the chicken with a blend of dry jerk seasoning for some extra flavor.
- Some people will choose to add brown sugar into the marinade to make it a little bit sweeter and to allow the sauce to char onto the chicken.
FAQs
Yes! Save any remaining marinade in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The flavors will become stronger the longer it sits.
Use it to add flavor to rice, potatoes, beans, vegetables, or even sandwiches.
Serve with a side of coconut rice, Jamaican rice, beans, plantains, coleslaw, or salad. Want a fresh serving of veggies? Kachumbari is easy to prepare and would complement the spice.
Did you enjoy this Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Jerk Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Food Thermometer
- Mixing Bowl(s)
- Citrus Juicer
Ingredients
Marinade Ingredients
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
- 2 small onions
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp all purpose seasoning
- ½ orange bell pepper
- 2 scallions
- 1 tbsp allspice, substitute pimento
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 inch ginger, small piece
- 1 cup water
Cooking Ingredients
- 2 lb Bone in chicken, jointed, bone in, skin on
- 5-6 Limes, halved
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- ¼ bottle Red Stripe Beer
Instructions
- Add all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Put the lid on the food processor and run to combine until the marinade is smooth.
- To clean your 2 lb chicken using the Jamaican method, run 5 lime halves over the raw, uncooked chicken, using the lime juice to remove any slime on the chicken. You can also pour the vinegar and extra lime juice over the chicken and use your hands to rub it into the meat. Then, place your chicken in a large bowl and run cold water over the chicken, allowing it to soak for a second. Then, drain the water.
- Add the chicken into a large, clean bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover, and place it in the fridge. Allow the chicken to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
- When it is time to cook, heat your grill up to about 350-450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the marinated chicken on the hot grill. Open the red stripe beer, and using your finger to block part of the opening, spray the beer on top of the chicken.
- Close the lid, and allow the chicken to grill for about 10 minutes (check to make sure it is not burning).
- Once the chicken is starting to brown and char on the outside, flip the pieces over and, once again, spray with red stripe beer. Continue flipping the chicken for another 10-20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Marinade Ingredients
- Fresh Thyme: Fresh ingredients are always best if you can get them!
- Scotch Bonnet Peppers: You can add more peppers for more spice. If you cannot find scotch bonnet peppers, you could try substituting habanero peppers.
- Onions: You will need both yellow onions and green onions.
- Allspice or Pimento Berries: Pimento berries and allspice are synonymous and either of them will work. This is a key ingredient to this dish!
- Soy Sauce: This is not always traditional. You can also use browning if you’d like!
- Cooking Ingredients
- Chicken: Jointed, bone in, skin on. You can buy a whole chicken, but I personally like to make Jerk Chicken with chicken thighs and chicken legs.
- Limes: These are used to clean and tenderize the meat
- Red Stripe Beer: Red Stripe is a Jamaican beer and I highly recommend trying to find it if you can for the perfect flavor profile. You could substitute it for any beer if you’d like or omit altogether.
- Instead of a whole jointed chicken you can just use 2 pounds worth of bone-in chicken thighs or legs. I would not recommend boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe as the skin provides great flavor.
- Be careful with the bonnet peppers when you are making your marinade. It’s a good idea to wear gloves to avoid skin irritation and start off slow. You can always add more spice to your marinade, but you cannot take it away once it is blended!
- You can save any leftover marinade in an airtight container in the refrigerator and add a spoonful or two to other dishes
Jan says
So authentic
The Foreign Fork says
Thank you Jan, this is such a compliment!
Omar says
I’m Jamaican and was a cooking 2 Jamaican restaurants.I’ve never seen jerk chicken served with limes in my life. Also this recipe is missing stuff.
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Omar, the limes were just for some color in the photos but the instructions don’t say to serve it with limes 🙂 What ingredients do you recommend adding?