Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe (Overnight Marinade)
A homemade Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe with an easy overnight marinade inspired by the flavors of the Caribbean and grilled to perfection!
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 1 green onion both white and green part, roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon ginger puree or fresh ginger chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 Scotch Bonnet peppers seeded (or 3 Tablespoons crushed scotch bonnet pepper sauce or puree)
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil such as grapeseed oil or avocado oil
- 1 whole chicken broken down into hindquarters, breasts, and wings, bone-in and skin-on
Instructions
Blend the Marinade
- Add all of the ingredients, except the chicken, to the blender and blend until you have a smooth marinade.1 small onion, 1 green onion, 2 Tablespoons Kosher salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 2 Tablespoon light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground allspice, Pinch freshly ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, 1 Tablespoon ginger puree or fresh ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 Scotch Bonnet peppers, 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon neutral oil
Marinate the Chicken
- Add the wet marinade to a zip-top bag or large airtight container with the chicken pieces and refrigerate overnight.1 whole chicken
Grill the Chicken
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess marinade. Grill over medium high heat until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 180°F for thighs/hindquarters and 160°F for breast meat (approximately approximately 25 minutes for thighs/hindquarters, and 18-20 minutes for chicken breast meat, and. Let the chicken rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
- (optional) If you want extra jerk sauce on the side, add the remaining marinade to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Reduce to low and continue simmer until your chicken is ready, then serve alongside the grilled chicken.
Notes
Substitutions:
- Chicken: Pork is a great alternative to chicken and is common as well. You can also use the individual cuts of chicken (e.g., just thighs or breasts) if you don't want to do a whole broken down chicken.
- Scotch Bonnet Peppers: Although Scotch Bonnet peppers are the perfect pepper for this dish, other hot peppers can be used as well, such as serrano, habanero peppers, or jalapeños.
- If you can grill this over a combination of charcoal and wood, such as oak, you’ll get the best smoky flavor.
- You definitely want to cook the thighs to 180°F as chicken thighs can stand a higher temperature and the texture will be way better than if you were to cook to 165°F like breast m
- How to store leftover Jamaican Jerk Chicken: Keep leftover cooked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- How to reheat leftover Jamaican Jerk Chicken: Cover in an oven-safe dish and reheat in a 325°F oven until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Can you freeze leftover Jerk Chicken? Yes! You can freeze the leftover cooked chicken. Thaw and reheat as above when ready to use. You can also marinate the raw chicken in advance and freeze it for up to 3 months until ready to defrost and grill.
Nutrition
Calories: 497kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 38gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 4201mgPotassium: 536mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 404IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 3mg
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