Description
This jerk chicken is flavourful, perfectly spiced, and smokey all at once. Jerk chicken is a popular dish in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean. This easy and authentic homemade jerk chicken is perfect for a backyard barbecue.
Ingredients
For The Chicken
- 1.650 Kgs Chicken, legs & thighs
For the Marinade
- ½ Medium Onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 Medium Scallions, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup Fresh Parsley, coarsely chopped
- 2 Scotch Bonnets, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, crumbled
- 1” piece Ginger, coarsely chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves, coarsely chopped
- 6 Cloves
- 2 Star Anise
- ½ tbsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 tbsp Allspice
- ½ tbsp Black Pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Lemon, juice
- 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- Salt to taste
Method
- Wash and pat dry the chicken, place it in a big bowl.
- Add all the ingredients for the marinade into a mixer jar or food processor and grind to a coarse paste.
- Sprinkle salt to taste on the chicken.
- Pour three fourths of the marinade on the chicken and keep turning it around in the marinade so that the chicken gets well coated.
- Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate the chicken for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight for best results.
- Now bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking it.
- Heat up the barbecue to 425F and place the chicken legs and thighs on it, skin side down and allow it to sear on one side, then flip them over and sear on the other side.
- Lower the heat and allow the chicken to cook while occasionally basting the chicken with the marinade and flipping the chicken.
- Cook the chicken till the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest portion reaches 165F (this should take about 30-40 minutes).
- Once the chicken has cooked, remove and place it in a dish and cover loosely with a foil for about 5-10 minutes.
- Plate the chicken in your favourite dish with some lemon wedges and enjoy!