This recipe is based on something I found in a magazine in the 90s, recently updated with Chef John’s simplified version and the Serious Eats method. I knew a guy who made the best jerk chicken I’ve ever had, but he wouldn’t share his recipe. This is about as close as I could get to that now fading memory.
Mechanic
Scotch bonnets give jerk its heat and fruitiness; habaneros are the closest substitute. Allspice and cinnamon are the warm backbone, so don’t reduce them. Blending everything wet makes a paste that clings to the chicken and penetrates it overnight.
Ingredients
- 6–8 green onions (about a bunch), roughly chopped
- 3 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- 2 limes, juiced and lightly zested
- ¼ cup red wine or cider vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup brown sugar (or raw or cane sugar)
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from woody stems
- 1 tbsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp whole cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1–2 chickens, quartered
Method
Blend everything except the chicken in a high-powered blender until smooth. Pour over the chicken in a sealable container and marinate in the fridge for 2–24 hours.
Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Lift the chicken out of the marinade, let the excess drip off, and lay it skin side up on a half sheet pan.
Bake until browned and tender, 45–60 minutes: breasts to 65°C (149°F) and dark meat to 85°C (185°F). If it browns too fast, drop the oven to 175°C (350°F) and cover with foil. Rest 5 minutes; for bone-in quarters the rest is the safety hold.
To serve
With rice and peas, coleslaw, and fried plantain.
Variations
Jamaican cooking-class paste
A brighter, citrus-and-ginger paste from a cooking class we took in Jamaica. Enough for about 1 kg of meat; double it for a whole chicken. Blend 4–6 green onions, 4–6 Scotch bonnets (seeds in for hot, out for medium), 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried), 1 tbsp ground allspice, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger, 4 cloves garlic, 1 small onion, 1 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, the juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon, 2 tbsp orange juice, and salt into a rough paste. Taste: it should be hot, fragrant, sweet, and sour in roughly equal balance. Adjust with soy, honey, or citrus. Marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Grilled over allspice and bay (Serious Eats)
For smoke, grill the chicken over indirect heat with about ¼ cup whole allspice berries and a couple of loosely packed cups of dried bay leaves scattered over the coals. Adapted from the Serious Eats method, which also adds chili flakes, a 7.5 cm (3 inch) knob of ginger, and nutmeg to the marinade.
Notes
- Great grilled or smoked.
- Also works with pork sirloin tip or shoulder, cut into manageable pieces.
- For skin-on pieces, score the skin deeply before marinating so the paste reaches the meat.
- The marinade keeps in the fridge for up to a week.