Caribbean style Jerk Chicken

If you’ve never made a Caribbean style jerk chicken, but have only seen it, smelled the aroma, or had some in a restaurant, this dish can seem magical!

How in the world did they get those amazing flavors all over that chicken!?

But for all the subtle sweet spiciness of this dish, it’s actually pretty simple to throw together.

Basically:

1. Make the marinade
2. Rub it all over the bird
3. Let it sit over night to think about itself
4. Singe it up on the barbie!

You’ll Need:

For the Marinade

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium scallions, chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp five-spice powder
• 1 tsp allspice,
• 1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

For the Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts; 4 leg-thighs

What You’ll Do:

First of all, start the night before (or if you have an evening picnic, at least get this part started first thing, so it has time to incorporate these flavors!)

Put all but the last 2 marinade ingredients into a food processor (or if using an immersion blender, into its cup).

Process this into a paste and, with the machine still on, drizzle in the soy sauce and the oil.

Put the chicken into a large sealable zip loc bag. Add the marinade, and squidge all around until completely covered.

Set this into the refrigerator over night. About two hours before you want to eat, pull out the chicken and allow it to come back to room temp.

When you’re ready, light the grill and bring it up over a medium-high flame. Get your tongs and set the chicken on the grill, turning frequently enough to prevent over burning.

You’ll need 30+ minutes to cook these through (remember the leg-thighs are bone-in, so they’ll take a bit longer), so take your time when charring the skin because you can overdo that if you hit it too hard, too soon.

Serve this right away, and enjoy!