I’m not claiming this is the apotheosis of jerk chicken. The people of Jamaica have nothing to worry about. But it’s pretty tasty, is easy enough to do on a weeknight, and doesn’t require faffing around with briquets.
If you can find them, using burn-your-eyes-out Scotch Bonnet peppers add a nice zing to the marinade. Through the cooking and addition of other ingredients, they’re de-fanged and lend more of a floral complexity to the finished dish than anything that will cause serious pain. You can taste the heat, but it’s not even remotely overpowering.
Do take care when preparing the marinade, however. The Scotch Bonnets are very potent. I’d suggest making sure to wash your hands very thoroughly or using a pair of disposable gloves.
Ingredients
- 30 g soy sauce
- 30 g water
- 2 Scotch Bonnet chilies
- 3 green onions, roughly chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme leaves
- 2 g black pepper, ground
- 2 g allspice, ground
- 2 g ground cinnamon
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 10 g brown sugar
- 6 whole chicken thighs
- Lime
Method
Combine the spices, herbs, scallions, chilies, sugar, salt, and soy in a blender. Then process them into a smooth marinade. Pour the marinade over the chicken in a shallow dish, rubbing it into the meat. Cover the dish. Stash the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
Preheat the grill on an oven to its highest setting.
Wipe any excess marinade of the chicken and arrange it onto an oven-safe grill tray. Grill the chicken until lightly charred, flipping halfway through. This should take around 15 minutes total.
Finish the chicken with a squeeze of lime.