BEST JERK MARINADE RECIPES

The best Jerk Chicken recipe with a well seasoned and flavorful Jerk Chicken Marinade. This Jerk Chicken marinade loads chicken with ton of flavor in just 30 minutes. 

Three reasons: 1) Marinade has consistency of paste that sticks to chicken making a flavorful seasoned skin. 2) Marinade ingredients tenderize chicken with lot of flavor from inside. 3) I pound chicken (jerk) slightly with meat-ponder to allow marination sink-in deep. Result?  In 30 minutes, chicken is bursting with aroma of herbs, garlic, ginger and spices. Ready to join grill and become the ultimate "Jerk Chicken"!

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Jerk Chicken tends to be bit spicy. But don't worry if you are not a heat-seaker. I'm sharing details to control the heat in marinade with easy-to-find local grocery ingredients. Don't miss to read. It is you passport to Caribbean flavors from your own backyard.

So, let's grill some Jerk Chicken today!

Jerk Chicken

Jerk literally means "poke". I like to use this technique to let marinade sink deep into the chicken. Specially if you using bone-in chicken, I highly recommend slightly poking the chicken with knife at few places or use a meat-pounder to beat it slightly. This creates pockets in  chicken which soak the flavor from jerk marinade deep into thickest parts of the chicken. The resulting, just short marinated grilled Jerk Chicken is so well seasoned and delicious.. you will love the flavors. 

Jerk Chicken Marinade:

Jerk chicken is all about the marinade. A good jerk marinade will make this Jamaican chicken recipe sing with flavors.  

Authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken marinade has signature flavor of two ingredients: All-Spice (it is one spice, not many spices together), and Scotch Bonnet peppers. SO, no matter what else you use, a best jerk chicken recipe starts with two ingredients: all-spice and bonnet peppers. Other Jerk chicken marinade ingredients are : thyme, ginger, garlic, scallion, lime juice, sugar, salt and black pepper. 

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All-Spice is all you need: When making wet marinade for Jerk Chicken, I don't use other warm spices such as - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. All-Spice does all the work. True to it's name, it is very flavorful and has aroma of all these spices. That said, if I'm making a dry jerk spiced-rub chicken, I add more for additional depth of flavor. But that is whole new post. I hope to share in future.

Scotch Bonnet is NOT Habanero:

When I was working on this recipe, I was surprised to notice how every online recipe is replacing Scotch Bonnet peppers with Hebaneros. Where second is far more hot than first. A marinade with 4 habneros will be super hot. So, I use these peppers based on their heat level. Idea is to add pepper flavor yet keep the heat to medium. We eat pretty spicy food. If you don't. Don't worry! Use following chat to adjust the heat of marinade based on your preference and availability.

Traditional Jerk Chicken Marinade gets heat and flavor of chilies from Scotch Bonnet Pepper. However, I seldom find Scotch Bonnet peppers in my grocery store. So, either I order online or use following substitute for bonnet pepper based on desired heat preference. Use peppers in Jerk Marinade as per the desired heat.  
Mild Hot: Use one jalapeno. Remove seeds and inner membrane. 
Medium: Use only one serrano. Remove seeds and inner membrane.
Medium-high Hot: Use one serrano and 1 Habanero.
Hot: Well, you don't want to go there.

What to serve with Jerk Chicken?

Traditionally Jerk Chicken is served with side of rice and peas. I also serve few other sides which balances the flavor of spices in Jerk Chicken. Like today I served it with rice and peas, and mango strawberry salsa. 

I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Happy Cooking!

-Savita

Provided by Savita

Total Time 30 minutes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Yield 6-8 Servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

• Ingredients

Give chicken a Caribbean twist with a marinade of punchy jerk seasoning. Jerk chicken is delicious when roasted and served with rice and peas, or barbecued as kebabs.

Provided by Good Food team

Number Of Ingredients 1

• Ingredients