Mix together rum, pumpkin spice and Pickapeppa sauce with ginger, allspice, Scotch bonnet pepper and scallions for a chunky, jerk-inspired chicken marinade. Pickapeppa is a celebrated Jamaican condiment that adds a distinct punch to the perfectly charred, juicy grilled chicken.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 3 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 2 hr |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 bunch scallions (white and green parts), roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 Scotch bonnet chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 2 tablespoons Pickapeppa sauce (see Cook’s Note)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated peeled ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 chicken halves (about 6 pounds)
Instructions
- Pulse the vinegar, rum, brown sugar, scallions, garlic, chile, Pickapeppa sauce, ginger, allspice and pumpkin pie spice in a food processor to make a slightly chunky sauce. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring, until the oil is absorbed and the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Cool.
- Rub the jerk paste all over the chicken halves, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
- Prepare an outdoor grill with a medium-high fire for both direct and indirect grilling. Position a drip pan under the grate on indirect side. Place the chicken, skin side down, over direct heat and cook until skin crisps and has definite grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Move to indirect heat over the drip pan and cook skin side up, covered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let the chicken rest about 5 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 791 |
| Total Fat | 54 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Carbohydrates | 11 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 58 g |
| Cholesterol | 231 mg |
| Sodium | 224 mg |
Reviews
Where’s the use of pimento wood? You can’t make authentic jerk chicken without smoking it over pimento wood.
This recipe is missing juice. Authentic Jerk asks for orange juice for the marinade. I use orange/mango. I have heard people use apple juice.
I have been making Jerk Seasoning for over twenty one years, that is used to make the best jerk chicken for the top jerk pits here in Jamaica. The recipe lacks the authentic Jamaica ingredients, hence it would taste much different from the world famous Jamaican jerk chicken.
This was really good considering how little prep time it took. I don’t know how authentic it is because I have never tried the real thing though. If you like it spicier don’t seed the pepper. I also don’t know if the people who have written poor reviews are trustworthy, as most of them are close to their 80s. If your 80 years old probably every recipe is a hassle to you and your taste-buds are deadened when you’re that old.
good recipe for jerk chicken, just needs a little salt to bring out the flavors……
I’ve had the real thing in Jamaica, and it was always quite salty as well as hot and spicy
I’ve had the real thing in Jamaica, and it was always quite salty as well as hot and spicy
This recipe is ok but there is no depth of flavor. Something is definitely missing and for the life of me I can’t figure out what. I love the list of ingredients, they just don’t come together as you would expect them to.
I had Jerk Chicken in the Cayman Islands and was expecting more flavor. The prep time in shopping for and preparing the marinade was not worth it. I expected much more bang in the taste. Well, on to the next recipe.
you have left out a cple of ingredients but the worst omission is not telling people that some of your ingredients are just replacement of the real ingredient and the taste maybe different in the end
This recipe had some good flavor, but mostly sweet, and not the jerk flavor I am looking for. It wasn’t bad, just not great. Also takes quite a bit of prep time.
This is a wonderful recipe! The combination of flavors makes for one of the most flavorful chicken recipes I’ve found. My husband and I have found chicken thighs to be our favorite so that’s what I use. I’ve been waiting all winter for the weather to break so I could pull out the grill. This weekend is it and I can’t wait!