Jerk chicken recipe

Jamaican chicken buried in allspice and scotch bonnet paste for a day, then smoked slowly over pimento wood rather than grilled fast.

1 day and 2 hourshard12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ground allspice
• 4 scotch bonnet peppers
• 6 scallions
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1500 g chicken legs
• 30 g ginger
• 4 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 60 ml lime juice

How to make Jerk chicken

1. Blend 6 scallions, 4 scotch bonnets with their seeds, 4 garlic cloves, 30 g of ginger, 2 tbsp of thyme leaves, 2 tbsp of ground allspice, 1 tsp of grated nutmeg, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 60 ml of soy sauce and 60 ml of lime juice into a thick dark paste.
2. Score 1.5 kg of chicken legs down to the bone and rub the paste in with gloved hands, into the cuts and under the skin.
3. Marinate covered in the fridge for 24 hours; two hours is not jerk, the allspice needs the time to reach the bone.
4. Real jerk is smoked on a steel drum pan over pimento wood and leaves. If you can buy pimento wood chips, soak them and use them, because that smoke is half the flavour and nothing else reproduces it.
5. Set a charcoal grill for indirect heat at around 150 °C and add the soaked pimento or allspice wood chips to the coals.
6. Lay the chicken skin side up on the cool side, cover, and smoke for 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30, topping up the chips as they burn down.
7. Move the pieces over the coals for the last 5 minutes a side to char the skin; the centre should reach 75 °C.
8. Chop through the bone with a cleaver and serve with festival or rice and peas.

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