Jerk Chicken

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Jerk Chicken | Not for the Faint of Heart

Spices and herbs in every nook and corner, a scintillating base of aromatic onions and garlic, the awakening pungency of the Scotch Bonnet pepper and Jamaican pimento.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Jamaican

Calories: 350

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

Meat

• 2 lbs dark chicken meat (legs and/or thighs) (bone-in or de-boned) (900 g)

Vegetables

• 3 large yellow onions (chopped) (500 g)
• 1 bunch green onions or Jamaican escallions (100 g)
• 2 Scotch Bonnet peppers (habanero) (30 g)
• 1 bunch fresh thyme (40 g)
• 6 cloves fresh garlic (90 g)
• 75 g fresh ginger

Seasonings (dry)

• 4 tbsp Kosher salt (60 g)
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (8 g)
• 1 tbsp Jamaican pimento (all-spice) (15 g)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (8 g)
• 2 tsp cloves (8 g)

Seasonings (wet)

• 3 tbsp vinegar or citrus juice (45 mL)
• ¼ cup olive oil (60 g)
• 1 tbsp butter (15 g)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (15 g)
• 2 tbsp Walker's Wood Jerk Seasoning Spicy do not substitute, only omit if not found (30 g)
• 4 tbsp Pickapeppa sauce (60 g)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (30 mL)
• 150 mL Grace browning

Equipment

• 1 oven or grill Preheat to 425 F / 220 ℃
• 1 roasting pan
• 1 Meat cleaver (optional)
• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 blender or food processor or mortar/pestle

Method

 

Assembly

1. Preheat an oven and roasting pan or grill to 400 F / 200 ℃.

Marinade

1. Peel onions and garlic, chop roughly and add to a large bowl.
2. Remove the roots of the green onions and chop roughly. Add to bowl.
3. Wash the thyme and add to bowl whole.
4. Carefully halve the peppers and remove the stem, seeds and veins. Add to bowl.
5. Chop ginger roughly and add to bowl.
6. Transfer bowl contents to blender with oil and pulse to combine.
7. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, salt, browning, Worcestershire sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, and WW jerk seasoning to the blender. Blend until smooth adding up to 75 mL water, if necessary, to achieve a smooth consistency.

Roasting

1. Coat the dark chicken meat liberally with marinade and massage. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste.
2. To the pre-heated roasting pan, add butter and coat the bottom.
3. Add chicken skin side up and roast for 25 minutes at 400 F until the top reaches a charcoal brown colour. Reduce heat to 360 F and cover. Continue baking for 35 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 F.
   
4. Serve with your favourite starches and veggies. Enjoy!

Jerk. A name of infamy and not for the faint of heart. I’ve likened a house Jerk marinade to Mexican mole or Italian bolognese. Easily comprised of over 20 ingredients, whittled down, pored over and reiterated to exhaustion. Spices and herbs in every nook and corner, a scintillating base of aromatic onions and garlic, the awakening pungency of the Scotch Bonnet pepper and allspice. Traditionally, slow-smoking over pimento bark charcoal locked in every ounce of flavouring into the tender protein du jour. Chicken, pork and fish are all fair game. In modern times, roasted in a conventional oven with remarkable results. Chicken, pork and fish are all fair game. More modern affairs have tried their hand at tofu, beef and goat. Truly the G.O.A.T. in my estimation, jerk is not something to be trifled with as a mere sauce or spice blend. Jerk is a culture, an homage to harmony, an exclamation of the bold that sings flavour as much as it bellows heat.