Traditional Jerk Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Place chicken in a medium bowl. Cover with lime juice and water. Set aside.
• In a blender or food processor, place allspice, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, thyme, ginger, black pepper and vegetable oil. Blend well, then mix in onions, green onions, garlic and habanero peppers until almost smooth.
• Pour most of the blended marinade mixture into bowl with chicken, reserving a small amount to use as a basting sauce while cooking. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.
• Brush grill grate with oil. Cook chicken slowly on the preheated grill. Turn frequently, basting often with remaining marinade mixture. Cook to desired doneness.

Steps:

• At least 1 day before cooking, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and grind to a coarse paste. Slather all over chicken, including under skin. Refrigerate 12 to 36 hours. Bring to room temperature before cooking and lightly sprinkle with more salt and ground allspice.
• Prepare a charcoal grill: Clean and oil grates, and preheat to medium heat using one chimney of charcoal. The temperature can start as high as 300 degrees and go as low as 250. For best results, coals should be at least 12 inches away from chicken. If necessary, push coals to one side of grill to create indirect heat. Add two large handfuls of soaked pimento (allspice) wood sticks and chips (see note) or other aromatic wood chips to coals, then close grill. When thick white smoke billows from grill, place chicken on grate, skin side up, and cover. Let cook undisturbed for 30 to 35 minutes.
• Uncover grill. Chicken will be golden and mahogany in places. Chicken thighs may already be cooked through. For other cuts, turn chicken over and add more wood chips, and charcoal if needed. Cover and continue cooking, checking and turning every 10 minutes. Jerk chicken is done when skin is burnished brown and chicken juices are completely clear, with no pink near the bone. For large pieces, this can take up to an hour. Serve hot or warm, with rice and beans.

Steps:

• Put allspice, thyme, garlic, chiles, scallions, peppercorns, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, soy sauce and lime juice in a blender or food processor and grind to a rough paste.
• Put chicken in a baking dish, add seasoning paste and coat chicken well, using a spoon. Cover and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees and bring chicken to room temperature. Turn chicken once more in marinade to coat well, then put baking dish in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 1 hour or until well browned and juices run clear when probed with a paring knife. Put dish under the broiler for a minute or so to char chicken slightly. Remove and serve with coconut rice, if desired.

Steps:

• Make the jerk rub by combining the salt, allspice, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and thyme. Toss the chicken pieces with the spice mixture, then cover, and marinate in the refrigerator 2 to 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Pour the vegetable oil into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Place the chicken pieces skin-side up into the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 20 minutes, until no longer pink near the bone. Turn the oven on to broil, and cook until the skin crisps, 2 to 5 minutes.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor or the jar of a blender, combine vinegar, 1/2 cup water, lime juice, vegetable oil, onion, scallion, garlic, Scotch bonnet pepper, and ginger. Puree ingredients until smooth and well combined. Add allspice, thyme, cinnamon, sugar, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Puree until smooth and free of lumps.
• Place chicken pieces in a medium-size bowl. Pour marinade over chicken, and turn chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight if possible.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken pieces on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place in the heated oven and cook until the juices run clear when pierced with a two-pronged fork, 45 to 50 minutes.

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients except the water and chicken in a large bowl. Mix well and add the water to form a loose paste.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce for a later use. Marinate the chicken in the remaining sauce for at least 1 hour or as long as 24 hours (the longer, the better). Turn the meat several times, mixing the sauce.
• Prepare an outdoor barbecue using plenty of coals. Meanwhile, soak small sticks or hardwood chips in water (mesquite conflicts with jerk's own flavor). When the coals have become gray and well ashed over, add the soaked wood to the fire.
• Place the chicken on the grill and cover, leaving the vent holes open. Barbecue slowly --1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the pieces. Check the fire after 30 minutes, adding coal or wood as needed and being careful not to flame the fire. Baste every 30 minutes with the marinade. Turn the chicken several times as it cooks. The chicken is done when it is firm to the touch and slightly charred.
• Remove the chicken from the fire and let it sit on a cutting board for 15 minutes. If you have a sharp cleaver, chop the meat into small pieces (bone and all); otherwise, leave each piece whole. Serve on a large platter doused with the reserved jerk sauce.