Jerk Chicken Recipe [Video] (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret in jerk chicken? ›

The Real Deal: How Jerk Chicken Is Traditionally Prepared

The process starts with pieces of chicken that are soaked overnight in a heavily seasoned marinade flavored with fiery Scotch bonnet peppers and allspice—the dried berries native to Jamaica that give jerked foods their characteristic warm spice aroma.

With adding authentic jerk flavoring, neither dry rub nor wet marinade is really better than the other. Both types deserve a place in your pantry. For vegetables and other dishes where you want just a hint of spice, sprinkle on a little Booyah dry Jamaican seasoning.

The four key ingredients in jerk cooking are Scotch bonnet peppers, allspice berries, scallions and thyme. Scotch bonnet peppers are a variety of the habañero pepper. To capture true jerk flavor, use imported Jamaican Scotch bonnet.

If you're not a fan of the heat or kids are going to be eating this jerk spice blend, then you can make it less spicy. Just remove the cayenne and hot pepper flakes for a milder flavor.

Nutrient-Rich

Oxtail and jerk chicken are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, B vitamins, and potassium. These nutrients play crucial roles in maintaining overall health, supporting immune function, and promoting energy production.

Jerk chicken is believed to have been conceived when the Maroons introduced African meat cooking techniques to Jamaica which were combined with native Jamaican ingredients and seasonings used by the Arawak Indians.

Jerk Pork: Pork is a delicious and versatile meat that works well with the bold flavors of jerk seasoning. Pork can be roasted, grilled, or barbecued for a delicious, smoky flavor. Jerk Lamb: Lamb is another popular choice for jerk cooking.

No matter - the habanero mimicks the same heat and taste as the scotch bonnet - or at least the closest that I've found, so I use them (Habaneros, fresh, dried and jarred are somewhat available to me here in California, Scotch Bonnets are not).

Use fresh ingredients to make the jerk marinade for an authentic Caribbean taste. Skip the habanero peppers to make it more kid-friendly. Marinate your chicken for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours for the best-tasting jerk chicken.

Wet v dry: there's the rub

An article on jerk published in the New York Times explains, somewhat unappetisingly, that the dry rub makes for “a crustier jerk; a wet rub produces juicier meat”.

What culture eats jerk chicken? ›

In Jamaica, jerk chicken is famous for its pungent marinade, marked by allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers, which are similar to habanero chili peppers. (Holes are usually poked into the meat to enable the marinade to spread.)

Jerk seasoning principally consists of allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers. Other ingredients may include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt.

The chickens were rubbed with a jerk spice mixture of allspice berries and scotch bonnets (a relative of the habanero), among many other things, that turned the flesh a deep, dark brown, just one shade away from black.

If you can't find Scotch bonnets, substitute habanero peppers. In blender, combine marinade ingredients. Puree marinade, stopping to scrape down the inside of jar as needed and add a little water if it is too thick. Place cut-up chicken in a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

It was early 'fusion food'. Jamaican author, Carolyn Cooper, describes jerk as “one of the enduring legacies of the fusion of Taíno and African cultures,” referencing a period in the mid-seventeenth century where the indigenous island people and enslaved Africans came together, and cooked together.

Jerk refers to a style of cooking in which the main ingredient—which most often is chicken but may also be beef, pork, goat, boar, seafood, or vegetables—is coated in spices and slow-cooked over a fire or grill traditionally composed of green pimento wood positioned over burning coals; the resulting smoke is key to the ...

Jerk chicken gets its distinguishable flavor from spices that are native to the island of Jamaica. Spices like the scotch bonnet pepper give jerk chicken its spicy kick. Other spices that are incorporated into a jerk recipe are allspice, ginger, garlic and thyme.

For best results, marinate the chicken overnight. The marinade is also great on beef, pork, or shrimp (although for shrimp, marinate for only 30 minutes to 1 hour), so feel free to double and freeze it for other uses.

Jerk chicken is one of the healthier options if consumed in a balanced diet that consists of fibrous and complex carbohydrates. The chicken itself is a lean meat and is one of the healthiest options, especially if you opt for chicken breast.