Jerk Chicken

Jerk Chicken

I love chicken. Fried chicken, roast chicken, chicken soup, but for me the best chicken, is Jerk Chicken! A punchy spicy marinade with nutty and citrus notes is a great companion to our feathered friend. There are a few recipes around, but this one is my go-to for taking my taste buds to the shores of the Caribbean. You can cook this recipe in the oven which we will do below, or even better, cook it on the BBQ for that ultimate charred flavor. 

Ingredients:

·         3-4 Chicken Drumsticks per person. 

·         A teaspoon of Pimento (Allspice) – You can use preground, but I love to smash my own in a pestle and mortar.

·         1-2 Scotch Bonnet Chili Peppers, depending on your tolerance for heat. You can make do with other varieties if you can’t get your hands on this Caribbean pepper. 

·         A thumb worth of Fresh Ginger – Again preground will work, but fresh ginger will serve you better.

·         1 Garlic Clove 

·         1 Teaspoon of Dried Thyme  

·         1 Teaspoon of Dried Parsley

·         1 Half a tablespoon of Brown Sugar 

·         1 Tablespoons of Honey 

·         Half a teaspoon of Nutmeg

·         Half a teaspoon Cinnamon 

·         Half a Fresh Lime

·         Olive Oil

·         Salt and Black Pepper – Peppercorns are better but no shame in buying preground.

So many flavors but they all work well together. Despite many ingredients, this recipe is fairly 

simple. 

Let's get cooking!

1.    Thinly slice your ginger, garlic, and chili peppers.

2.    Grab your pestle and mortar and grind up your pimento and black peppercorns. – For the peppercorns, a teaspoon should do it.

3.    Put your ginger, garlic, and chili into your mortar with the now ground pimento and peppercorns. Add the honey, sugar, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Also, add a pinch of salt to the blend. 

4.    Mash!

5.    Grab your chicken drumsticks and score each one 2-3 times in the meaty section to let all those spices get down to the bone. 

6.    Drizzle some olive oil over your chicken, grab your spice mix and massage it into the chicken.

7.    Leave your chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, overnight is better. 

8.    Once you are ready to cook, turn your oven up to 180°C or 350°F. 

9.    When the oven is preheated, put your chicken into a roasting pan and cover with foil. 

10. Cook for 45 minutes with you turning the chicken over halfway through. Then, once your chicken has been cooking for 45 minutes, remove the foil and leave to cook for another 10 -15 minutes. You will be left with juicy chicken meat with crispy skin on the outside.

11. Grab that lime and squeeze the juice over the chicken and then plate.

This recipe goes great with coleslaw and sweet potato fries. Both of which have recipes to come. A beach setting and a nice cold beer with a wedge of lime are optional ingredients!