Jerk Chicken

I love jerk!

Wait…

What did he just say?

He loves jerks?

No silly… jerk, as in Jamaican jerk seasonings!

Jerk is basically a rub or sauce that has warmth from allspice, cinnamon & nutmeg and heat from habanero or scotch bonnet peppers

My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Jamaica (this was a long, long time ago) and we were blown away with the flavors of all the food we ate

We wanted to recreate the delicious flavors that we experienced in our own kitchen

Let’s start with a jerk sauce

I’m going to break this out into steps so let’s start with the dry ingredients

We will need 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of allspice berries (or ground allspice), 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg

20170816_151658

If using ground allspice you can move to the next step but since I have these beautiful allspice berries I’m going to grind them up

The difference is your going to get a lot more flavor from the whole spice

I have placed them in a spice grinder and gave them a whirl but you can crush them in a mortar and pestle as well

Place all the spices into a blender and then grate around 1/2 teaspoon of fresh nutmeg in there as well

20170816_152007

Next up are the vegetables

We will need 1 scallion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, 1 habanero pepper (or 2 depending on your heat tolerance) and fresh thyme

20170816_153051

Let’s discuss the habanero peppers

THEY ARE HOT!

So I recommend handling them with rubber gloves

Once you cut them up, wash everything (knives, cutting boards, etc)  and throw away the gloves

This will surely save your eyes as well as other areas

We are using only 1 here which will provide heat but not be overboard

20170816_153242

We are going to remove the seeds and ribs which hold most of the heat (we want some heat but more flavor)

20170816_153354

Chop the pepper, cut the garlic, peel and cut the ginger, cut the scallions and remove the thyme leaves from the stems

20170816_154115

Add these to the blender

20170816_154142

Next, let’s get together the wet ingredients

We will need 1/2 cup of canola oil, the juice and zest of 1 lime, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

20170816_152757

Add these to the blender

20170816_154228

Blend until smooth and set aside

20170816_155558

Time to talk chicken

We have 8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

20170816_160711

Trim any excess fat and skin off the chicken

20170816_160858

Place them back in the dish skin side down so we can flavor the bottom

20170816_161242

Put a tablespoon of jerk sauce on each thigh

20170816_161317

And brush it on

20170816_161350

Flip and repeat (you can add a bit more than a tablespoon if needed)

20170816_161521

Brush away!

20170816_161553

Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight (recommended)

Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature

20170817_163343

The burners on my grill run left to right

I decided to cook these low and slow so I turned the left burner on at medium and the middle and right burner off

I’m placing the chicken on the right side for slow and indirect cooking

Let this first pass go for 30 minutes

20170817_165542

Starting to look good

20170817_172619

Baste the chicken with some more jerk sauce

Cook for another 20 minutes

20170817_172745

We’re seeing some good color here now

20170817_175328

Time to flip

We want the bottom to get some air time and the top to get some crisp

Cook for 15 minutes

20170817_180848

Flip again and apply another baste of jerk sauce

Cook another 15 to 20 minutes

20170817_182705

Remove from the grill, sprinkle with kosher salt and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes

20170817_182929

Serve with some lime wedges and dig in!!!!

20170817_185402 (4)

Enjoy!!!

Simply Sundays! ~ Jerk Chicken

  • Servings: 4-8
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Print

Ingredients

For the jerk sauce

4 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of allspice berries (or ground allspice)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg

1 scallion

4 garlic cloves

1 – 2 habanero peppers

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger

1 tablespoon of fresh thyme

1/2 cup of canola oil

1 lime zested and juiced

4 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of cider vinegar

For the chicken

8 skin on bone in chicken thighs

kosher salt

Directions

For the sauce

In a blender combine 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of ground allspice berries, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg

Add in 1 chopped scallion, 4 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of peeled and chopped fresh ginger, 1 chopped habanero (seeds and ribs removed) and a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves

Add in 1/2 cup of canola oil, the juice and zest of 1 lime, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  Blend until smooth and set aside

For the chicken

Trim any excess fat and skin off the chicken thighs.  Place them in the dish skin side down so we can flavor the bottom.  Put a tablespoon of jerk sauce on each thigh and brush it in.  Flip and repeat (you can add a bit more than a tablespoon if needed).  Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight (recommended)

Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature.  Turn on 1 burner of your grill and heat to 300 F.  Place the chicken down over the burners that are not on for true indirect cooking.  Cook low and slow.  Let this first pass go for 30 minutes. Baste the chicken with some more jerk sauce.  Cook for another 20 minutes

Flip and cook for 15 minutes.  Flip again and apply another baste of jerk sauce.  Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from the grill, sprinkle with kosher salt and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.  Serve with some lime wedges

Wilton Recipe Right 3 Piece Cookie Pan Set

Architec Gripperwood Cutting Board

Nutri Ninja Mega 1500 Watts Kitchen System, Blending and Food Processing, Auto-iQ Technology

ZELITE INFINITY Santoku Knife

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

Pyrex Basics Clear Oblong Glass Baking Dishes

© Simply Sundays 2017
All rights reserved

 

Published by

3 thoughts on “Jerk Chicken

We love reader comments! Tell us what you think!