Jamaican Jerked Chicken
Submitted by littlehitch
Jamaican jerk chicken rubbed with a fiery homemade paste of toasted allspice, scallions, garlic, and warm spice, then grilled low and slow over indirect heat. Serve with Pickapeppa sauce for the real deal.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
150 minCOOK
60 minREADY
3 hrsReal jerk starts with allspice, what Jamaicans call pimento, and this rub leans on it hard. Toasting the whole allspice berries and crushing them fresh in a mortar releases a warmth and depth that pre-ground powder just can’t touch.
That toasted spice gets pounded into a paste with scallions, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, and fiery pepper, then rubbed all over the chicken and pork. Let it sit at least a couple of hours, or overnight, so the seasoning works its way deep into the meat.
The grilling is where patience pays off. You cook it low and slow, set well away from the coals with the lid down, turning every ten minutes for about an hour. That gentle, smoky heat is what gives jerk its tender inside and lacquered, spice-crusted outside.
For an authentic touch, toss a handful of whole allspice berries onto the fire halfway through. Serve with tangy Pickapeppa sauce on the side.
Chef Tips
- Toast the allspice berries just until fragrant, then grind them fresh; this one step makes the biggest flavor difference.
- Keep the meat far from direct flame; jerk is about slow smoking, not charring, so the spices don’t scorch.
- Marinate overnight when you can; the longer rub time drives flavor right to the bone.
Variations
- Add a Scotch bonnet pepper to the paste for traditional fire (wear gloves; it’s seriously hot).
- Cook it in a 350°F (175°C) oven if you can’t grill, though you’ll miss the smoke.
- Use all chicken thighs and legs, which stay juicier than breasts over the long cook.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut away rind and most fat from pork; remove all meat from bones, cut into pieces about 1½ inch; thick and 3 inches to 4 inches long.
Put pork pieces and chicken in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed.
To prepare seasoning, heat the allspice berries over medium heat in small saucepan 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often; 2 tablespoons at a time, crush berries in mortar and pestle.
In medium bowl, combine berries, nutmeg, cinnamon, scallions, garlic, pepper and 1 tablespoon vinegar; crush into pasty mixture.
Add rest of vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and bay leaves.
Turn mixture over pork and chicken and rub meat with seasoning, coating evenly.
Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Cook jerked pork and chicken on grill over hot coals or on gas barbecue as far from heat as possible (6 inches or more); cover with lid; turn meat every 10 minutes for about 1 hour, until done.
If desired, halfway through cooking time toss 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries into fire.
Cut cooked pork into ⅓ inch slices and serve with chicken.
Accompany with Pickapeppa sauce.
Serves 6 to 8.
(Note: Can also be cooked in preheated 350℉ (180℃) F oven on rack in roasting pan about 1 hour, turning once, but you won’t have the grill flavor.)
(Pickapeppa sauce is a bottled Jamaican condiment available in better supermarkets and gourmet stores.)
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