🍗 Jerk chicken

Name: Jerk chicken
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Jamaica · Caribbean
Ingredients: 1.2 kg chicken legs and thighs; 1–2 scotch bonnet chillies, seeded; 6 scallions, chopped; 4 garlic cloves and a 3 cm piece of ginger; 1 tbsp ground allspice and 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves; Juice of 1 lime, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt

Origin: Jamaica · Caribbean

425kcal

per serving · 250 g

170kcal

per 100 g

55 gProtein22 g / 100 g

20 gFat8 g / 100 g

8 gCarbs3 g / 100 g

Jerk chicken is Jamaica's famous smoky, fiery grilled chicken. The meat is marinated in a paste of scotch bonnet chillies, allspice, thyme, scallions, garlic and ginger, then cooked slowly over a grill until charred outside and juicy inside. The heat is strong but fragrant, balanced by the warm, clove-like taste of allspice. It is sold from roadside drum grills and served with rice and peas or festival dumplings.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly3 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein22 g protein per 100 g — 52% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

chickenscotch bonnet pepperallspicethymescalliongarlicginger

Recipe

4 servings60 min

Ingredients

1.2 kg chicken legs and thighs
1–2 scotch bonnet chillies, seeded
6 scallions, chopped
4 garlic cloves and a 3 cm piece of ginger
1 tbsp ground allspice and 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of 1 lime, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt

Method

Blend the chillies, scallions, garlic, ginger, allspice, thyme, lime juice, oil and salt into a paste. Wear gloves when handling scotch bonnets.
Cut slashes in the chicken, rub in the paste and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Grill over medium indirect heat, turning occasionally, for 35–45 minutes until cooked through and charred at the edges. Or roast at 200 °C for 40 minutes.
Rest for 5 minutes and serve with lime wedges.

How to make it lighter

Remove the skin before marinating for a leaner piece.
Serve with a big salad or grilled vegetables and a small portion of rice.
The marinade needs only a little oil; most of the flavour comes from the spices and herbs.

History

Jerk cooking is usually traced to the Maroons, Africans who escaped slavery and lived in Jamaica's mountains, and to earlier Taíno methods of slow-smoking meat. Boston Bay in Portland parish is often named as the home of jerk, and today it is cooked across Jamaica and its diaspora.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →