THE BEST JERK CHICKEN

I love Jerk chicken and have been making it for many years, however it never ended up tasting as good as what I had in the Caribbean or in an authentic Jamaican restaurant. After a ton of research and after my earlier successful Tandoori Chicken recipe, I decided to use brining and then marinating. This 2-step process created the juiciest and tastiest jerk chicken that I had ever grilled. This took 2 days of preparation but was not really that difficult and was worth all the trouble. I used skinless chicken breasts to make it healthier, but feel free to use skin-on chicken and thighs or drumsticks if you want (just make sure to grill on high till the skin is crispy).

Be sure to check out my YouTube videos to follow me step by step as I cook.

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs. ½ Chicken Breasts (bone-in), skinless

For the Brine:

1 gallon warm water

½ cup salt

¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp whole Allspice berries

2” piece of ginger

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 Habanero or Scotch Bonnet pepper (whole)

For the Marinade:

1 bunch scallions

2-3” piece of ginger

5-6 cloves of garlic

1-2 Habanero or Scotch Bonnet pepper

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp allspice (whole or ground)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1-2 tsp fresh thyme (can substitute dried)

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup fresh lime juice

¼ cup vegetable oil

Method:

Wash the chicken in cold water. With a sharp knife make multiple deep cuts in the meat.

Prepare the brine: In a large pot that can hold all the chicken, add the warm water, add salt, sugar, allspice, ginger, garlic and split habanero pepper and mix till all the salt and sugar dissolve. Add 2-3 cups of ice cubes to cool the mix and add the chicken.

Refrigerate overnight or at least for 4-6 hours.

Prepare the marinade by adding all the marinade ingredients including chopped scallions, ginger, garlic and habanero (wear gloves and avoid eye contact)  into a blender. Blend to a thick paste. Add water if too thick.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry.

Apply the marinade (wear gloves) all over the chicken, gently massaging it in.

Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.

Heat a grill to high (I used a gas grill). I do not have a smoker and so to get the smoky flavor, I added soaked wood chips in a smoker box inside the gas grill and waited till it started smoking.

Grill the chicken on high (450*F) turning every 5 minutes till it is well done with grill marks on the outside then let it cook on low heat (250-300*F) till well done but but juicy inside (check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the meat – it should be 170-180*F).

Take out of the grill and cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

Serve with Caribbean style rice and beans.

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