I was inspired to make this recipe after eating a Jerk Chicken dish at a local Jamaican restaurant. The chicken was superb, tender, juicy and spicy. I wanted to capture the spiciness and tenderness of the chicken without over cooking and drying out the meat. I accomplished this by letting my chicken have proper rest time in the marinade. You can let the chicken marinate for a couple of hours, however, I like to leave my chicken sit in the marinade for at least 18 hours.
Marinade:
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar (packed)
- 1 ½ tbsp. salt
- 2 tsp. allspice
- 2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 6-8 fresh thyme sprigs- roughly chopped
- 5 habanero or scotch bonnet peppers- seeded and chopped
- 1 yellow onion – chopped
- 1 carrot – chopped
- 1 mango- chopped
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup Jamaican rum
Prep Time: 2 Hours, 40 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes Yield: 8 Servings
Chicken
2- 5lb Chicken fryers – Each cut into 8 pieces (breasts, thighs, wings and legs)
For the marinade, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until fully incorporated. To save more time, you can make the marinade a day in advance and store in the refrigerator.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let it out at room temperature. While your chicken is getting acclimated start your grill. Let the charcoal burn for at least 30-40 minutes before you place the chicken on the grill.
Cook until the chicken on the grill until it is nice and charred, but not over cooked. Place a thermometer into the deepest part of the chicken. When you get an internal temperature of 165°f your chicken is done!