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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Make delicious jerk chicken right in your own home! Adjust the spice level to your own liking and serve over some rice. Add a salad on the side to balance out the heat and you’ve got a perfect twist on a chicken dinner.
This rich and spicy chicken is surprisingly easy to make and easy to modify. But if jerk chicken doesn’t sound quite right for you, why not try some Lemon Garlic Chicken or learn How to Spatchcock a Chicken instead? Make a big salad and a pot of Dirty Rice or Mushroom Rice to serve with your chicken.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This recipe contains many ingredients but is very easy to make.
- Total time: Making this chicken will take about 35 minutes, plus 4-6 hours of marinating time.
- Variations: Adjust the spice to your own personal preferences! You can still get the rich flavours if you reduce the heat, or go ahead and crank the heat up another few levels if that’s what you like. Use different hot peppers and play with the exact amounts of the other seasonings.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a food processor or blender, measuring cups, a medium bowl, a grill, a cutting board, a knife, some tongs, a meat thermometer, and a basting brush.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Chicken: While this recipe calls for chicken breasts, you could also use chicken thighs or drumsticks. The marinade will ensure tender, juicy chicken no matter which cut you choose. Just adjust your cooking time accordingly.
Marinade: This marinade has many ingredients but don’t let that scare you. Every element has a purpose and you can play with the exact amounts that you use based on your own preferences.
Lime: The juice will add a pop of acidity to the marinade and the fruit itself will make a lovely garnish on the finished chicken. You could also try zesting your lime and adding zest to the marinade.
How To Make Jerk Chicken
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Blend marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender. Reserve 1/2 cup and set it aside in the fridge.
- Put chicken in a medium bowl, pour in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
- Cook chicken on a BBQ at high heat until internal temperature is 165°F (breasts) or 185°F (dark meat). Brush with reserved marinade while cooking. Garnish with lime wedges.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Jerk Chicken
Adjusting the Spice: A lot of the “spiciness” in this recipe is flavour rather than heat. Cloves, nutmeg, and allspice give warmth and depth to the marinade and will also make this chicken smell absolutely amazing as it cooks. If the actual heat is something you want to adjust, you can try whatever level of hot pepper you like. The classic type of pepper for this recipe is Scotch Bonnets, but you can try Jalapenos, Habaneros, or some sort of chilies.
For Tender Meat: While the marinade should tenderize the chicken quite a bit, you can keep breast meat moist by taking it off the grill when it hits a temperature of 160°F. It will get that last few degrees while it rests. For meat with bones, like thighs, you want to get the internal temperature a bit higher (185°) and give the meat more time to break down.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover chicken in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Discard unused marinade.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
Looking for more tasty ways to use chicken?
Try this easy Chicken Paprikash or some Cranberry Chicken.
Make some Basic Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken or a batch of Shredded Chicken Tacos for an easy weeknight dinner.
There you go, friends. Another easy way to prepare chicken. Try this out on your BBQ and let me know what you think.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
- 1 lime, cut into edges
Marinade
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3-4 habanero peppers, (or jalapeno if desired) seeds and membranes removed
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine the marinade ingredients. Pulse in the food processor until it is a chunky marinade. Reserve 1/2 cup aside and place in the fridge.
- Place the chicken breasts in a medium bowl and pour the marinade over top. Cover. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight for the best results.
- Lightly oil the grill grate on your grill or BBQ. Preheat to a high temperature. Place the chicken on the grill and cook until it reaches an internal temperature or 165°F for chicken breast or 185°F for dark meat.
- While grilling, brush with the extra marinade for extra flavor, cooking the chunks of peppers etc on top of the chicken like shown. Remove, plate, and serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina DeMarco says
This looks good, but I don’t have a grill or bbq (I live in an apartment complex who doesn’t allow it). Can this be made in the oven? If so, what temperature and how long do you cook it for?
Tom says
use the broiler to simulate the grill. get close
it should be fine