Jerk Chicken
This Jerk Chicken recipe uses Bluewater Pepper Farm Jerk Chipotle spice blend made with a generous shot of my Hot Smokey Chipotle combined with fresh Jamaican spices. You'll get an authentic smoked flavour from this oven-baked version. Use 3 to 4 lbs of chicken. I like leg quarters cut up, but you can cut up a whole chicken or use breasts instead.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 lb chicken pieces approx size of a whole chicken or buy pre-cut pieces.
Jerk Marinade
- 1 to 2 tbsp Bluewater Pepper Farm Jerk Chipotle Seasoning use more or less to taste
- 1 to 2 tsp Salt to taste My Jerk Seasoning contains no salt. I find 2 tsp is about right for a whole chicken, but adjust to suit your taste.
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce For gluten free, use Tamari instead (soy sauce is traditionally made from a blend of soy and wheat)
- 2 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 Juice of a lime
- 2 or 3 Crushed green onions Give them a good whack with the flat of your knife
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Chicken bullion cube Optional
- 1 tbsp Browning sauce You can find browning sauce in any Jamaican food shop and many grocery stores. Substitute 1 tsp of molasses if you don't have a bottle on hand.
- 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper Optional - my seasoning mix is mildly hot. The scotch bonnet adds heat and a nice flavour. It's the favourite of my Jamaican friends. Remove the seeds for less heat.
Instructions
Marinate the chicken pieces
- Prepare the chicken pieces. Leave the skin on, trimming off excess fat. (You can remove some or all of the skin but remember, fat adds flavour!) I like to score the meat deeply using a sharp knife to let the marinade do it's work.
- Bluewater Pepper Farm Chipotle Jerk Seasoning
- Whisk the marinade ingredients in a measuring cup or large bowl, keeping aside the onion and scotch bonnet.
- Add the chicken pieces, coating them thoroughly with the marinade. Add the crushed onions and scotch bonnet (if you're using one)
- Cover and store refrigerated for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight
Cooking instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- (optional) Brown chicken pieces before baking
- Place the chicken pieces skin side up in baking dish in a single layer
- Pour all of the marinade over top of the chicken
- Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes
- Remove foil, spoon some marinade on top and bake for another 15 minutes
- Remove from oven and place chicken on serving platter
- Skim fat off and pour the gravy into a small saucepan
- Reduce over medium heat to desired consistency and pour some over the chicken. I like the gravy to be fairly liquid so you might add some liquid at this point too. It's going to be spicy, so taste a sample before you add too much!
Notes
Serve over rice and peas or plain white rice with a generous serving of delicious gravy.
You can also make this recipe with pork in place of chicken. Use a relatively fatty cut like a shoulder. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
You can also make this recipe gluten-free. Use a Tamari sauce instead of Soy sauce. Check the ingredients if using a bullion cube or browning sauce. The Bluewater seasoning mix contains no gluten.