Karen’s Amazing Jerk Chicken – from Marinating to Grilling
Jun 29, 2017, Updated Jun 30, 2025
This Jerk Marinade EXPLODES with Flavor! A spicy Jamaican mixture including hot chili peppers, allspice, cinnamon, and thyme. Adds a boost of enormous flavor, while keeping the chicken tender. Enjoy this Amazing Jerk Chicken!
The Essence of Caribbean Flavor!
Jerk Chicken is easily Jamaica’s best-known culinary export, and is truly one of the great culinary delights of the world. You’ll LOVE this Amazing Jerk Chicken!!
Jerk Recipes are like Curry Recipes ~ no two recipes are alike:
Yet the effort is so worth it!
Lots of Marinade Ingredients – YEP!
- Ok – lots of ingredients, many you have in your pantry – but the process is so simple… Purée and Marinade!
- Each ingredient adds a nuance of flavor.
- A healthy & hearty recipe: an explosion of zesty flavors with very little fat and salt – don’t leave out the allspice, it is an essential ingredient.
- In addition to the typical spices such as allspice, garlic and thyme, as well as the additional ingredients in the marinade, Authentic Jerk Chicken is supposed to have an extra dimension of heat. Spicy Scotch bonnet peppers are traditionally used for their intense heat and fruity flavor, although you can tame the heat with a less spicy one.
- Jamaican jerk chicken is always well seasoned and cooked on a charcoal grill
The Key Taste Components:
SPICES, HEAT, SAVORY & SMOKY & SWEETNESS
Overall, jerk chicken is a delicious combination of these components ~
making it a unique and flavorful authentic dish.
More about “Jerk” Chicken:
- Jerk cooking refers to a way that a meat, be it chicken, beef, pork, goat, fish, vegetables or fruit is seasoned and cooked.
- Just about any meat can be “jerked,” but the real secret is in the marinade, a truly Jamaican blend of spices and seasonings.
Yes – you can add the marinade to vegetables, and tofu – for extra flavor you might want to add a Jerk Seasoning in the finishing for an extra boost of flavor. - “Jerk” is derived from the action of jerking, which referred to poking meat with holes so that flavor could more easily be absorbed. The term jerk spice (also commonly known as Jamaican jerk spice) refers to a spice rub. The word jerk refers to the spice rub, wet marinade, and to the particular cooking technique.
- Jamaicans cook it like this: logs of fresh (pimento) green wood are placed on grates over the charcoal, and the meat is cooked directly on top of the wood, absorbing oils and fragrance that significantly affect the flavor of the finished product. This imparts a smoky flavor while producing crispy, blackened bits of meat. Most jerk in Jamaica is no longer cooked in the traditional method, it is mostly grilled over hardwood charcoal in a steel drum.
Generally, jerk chicken tastes the best if it marinates overnight:
You definitely want the chicken to marinate for at least three hours before cooking.
A little Jerk History:
The process of jerk was made famous by the Maroons, but originates from the Taino Indians who utilised a seasoning and cooking technique called charqui. It has been speculated that the term jerk originates from the Spanish word charqui, which loosely translates into old English as ‘jirk’. Charqui is described as seasoned dried pieces of meat and the verb “jerking” evolved from the practice of poking holes into the meat to allow for the spices to soak in.
It is said that the art of jerking meat developed under the Tainos as a means of preservation; meat would be seasoned and allowed to dry over a low fire in order to preserve it for long journeys (think of the familiar beef jerky.)
You won’t go back to the bottled stuff you get in the grocery store once you make your own. Great for company too.
Enjoy!!
Karen
Karen’s Amazing Jerk Chicken – from Marinating to Grilling
Ingredients
- 4 medium chicken breasts* about 1 3/4 pounds
Marinade Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, (extra wedges for serving)
- 1 tablespoon tamari sauce, can use soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ⅓ cup scallions, cleaned, chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, plus 1 t. (or coconut palm sugar)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, cleaned, dried
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice, ground
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, finely grated, ground
- 1/2 medium medium fresh hot chili pepper, classicaly scotch bonnet peppers or habaneros ~ this recipe is mildly-spicy
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil, or extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Wash and dry chicken. Cut chicken breasts into 2″ chunks – each breast yields about 7 pieces. Place in a large bowl to hold.
Make the Jerk Marinade:
- Combine 16 marinade ingredients in a small food processor or blender. (Hint: Rough chop larger ingredients and place in the food processor to make it easier to puree.)
- Run until smooth, pulsing at the end. Pour HALF over the chicken, mix in well with a rubber spatula. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, or up to one day. Reserve remaining marinade**
To Cook:
- Heat grill to medium-high heat. (I like to heat one side to medium-low too!) Brush the grill with a little neutral oil. Skewer the chicken on metal skewers (or soaked bamboo ones.) For four servings, skewer 7 pieces on each of 4 skewers. SAVE the marinade for basting.
- When grill is very hot, add skewers. Close the grill hood. Cook until very strong grill marks, then turn. Brush with a little marinade from the bowl. Cook, turning until strong grill marks all over. Move chicken to a cooler part of the grill, turn heat down to low, close the hood and leave to cook throughly, but do not overcook. An instant read thermometer to 160 – 165 degrees. The marinade will keep the chicken tender.
- * Can marinade a whole chicken or parts – this recipe makes enough for 3 1/2 pounds of chicken.
- ** Place remaining marinade in a clean glass jar in the refrigerator and use within the week, or freeze for a later another time. Serve the Jerk Chicken Skewers with plenty of lime wedges and garnish with fresh thyme.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
