Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Photo: Frederick Shaw / Unsplash
Chicken marinated in a fiery, fragrant paste of Scotch bonnet chillies, allspice, thyme, spring onions, garlic, ginger and lime, then slow-grilled until charred, smoky and juicy. Serve with rice and peas and a cold drink.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Make the jerk paste
Before juicing, cut a few wedges from one lime half and set aside for serving. Blend the spring onions, Scotch bonnets, garlic, ginger, , thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, sugar, , the rest of the lime juice, oil and salt into a thick, spoonable paste. Wear gloves when handling the Scotch bonnets, as they are very hot and can irritate skin and eyes.
- 6 spring onions
- 1–3 chillies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3cm fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp ground
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp
- juice of the 2 limes, minus a few reserved wedges lime juice
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1½ tsp salt
✅ Done when: paste is thick, flecked green-yellow, and has no large chunks
Marinate
Cut 3–4 deep slits down to the bone in each piece of chicken. Rub the paste all over the chicken and into the cuts, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for the best flavor.
- 1.5kg chicken pieces
- all of it the paste from step 1
✅ Done when: every piece is evenly coated in paste, including inside the cuts
Heat the grill
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Cook slowly
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Char
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Rest and serve
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Make the jerk paste
Before juicing, cut a few wedges from one lime half and set aside for serving. Blend the spring onions, Scotch bonnets, garlic, ginger, , thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, sugar, , the rest of the lime juice, oil and salt into a thick, spoonable paste. Wear gloves when handling the Scotch bonnets, as they are very hot and can irritate skin and eyes.
- 6 spring onions
- 1–3 chillies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3cm fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp ground
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp
- juice of the 2 limes, minus a few reserved wedges lime juice
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1½ tsp salt
✅ Done when: paste is thick, flecked green-yellow, and has no large chunks
Marinate
Cut 3–4 deep slits down to the bone in each piece of chicken. Rub the paste all over the chicken and into the cuts, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for the best flavor.
- 1.5kg chicken pieces
- all of it the paste from step 1
✅ Done when: every piece is evenly coated in paste, including inside the cuts
Heat the grill
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Cook slowly
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Char
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Rest and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Jerk grew out of the cooking of the Taíno, Jamaica's first inhabitants, and of the Maroons — Africans who escaped slavery and formed free communities in the island's mountains from the 17th century. They seasoned meat with spices and slow-cooked it in covered pits, a technique that preserved it and left little smoke to give their camps away.
Today jerk is made with chicken, pork and fish, and roadside jerk stands with their smoking drum grills are found all over the island. Boston Bay in Portland parish is often called the birthplace of jerk.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Jerk is Jamaica's signature flavour: the warmth of allspice, the fruity fire of Scotch bonnets and the smoke of pimento wood.
💡 Fun Fact
Allspice, the heart of jerk, is native to Jamaica — and in Jamaica the spice and the tree are both called pimento.
Jamaica (Boston Bay, Portland)
18.17°N, -76.37°W
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