Grilled Jerk Chicken Recipes

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Place chicken in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Combine green onions, habanero peppers, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg, and thyme in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Pour mixture over chicken in the bag, seal, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove chicken from the bag and discard marinade. Grill chicken until it is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 16 minutes, turning chicken about halfway. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

Steps:

• Combine the chile, scallions, thyme, vegetable oil, brown sugar, vinegar, allspice and cloves in a large bowl and mix until the sugar dissolves. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the chicken and massage the marinade into the meat, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Preheat a grill to medium. Oil the grates. Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any large pieces of chile or scallion. Season all over with salt and pepper. Grill, covered, turning often, until the chicken is browned and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make marinade:
• Blend all marinade ingredients in a blender until smooth.
• Marinate and grill chicken:
• Divide chicken pieces and marinade between 2 sealable plastic bags. Seal bags, pressing out excess air, then turn bags over several times to distribute marinade. Put bags of chicken in a shallow pan and marinate, chilled, turning once or twice, 1 day.
• Let chicken stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking.
• To cook chicken using a charcoal grill:
• Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Light a large chimney of charcoal briquettes (about 100) and pour them evenly over 1 side of bottom rack (you will have a double or triple layer of charcoal).
• When charcoal turns grayish white and you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds, sear chicken in batches on lightly oiled rack over coals until well browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per batch. Move chicken as seared to side of grill with no coals underneath, then cook, covered with lid, until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes more.
• To cook chicken using a gas grill:
• Preheat burners on high, then adjust heat to moderate. Cook chicken until well browned on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Adjust heat to low and cook chicken, covered with lid, until cooked through, about 25 minutes more.
• Serve chicken with salsa.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine salt, garlic powder, sugar, allspice, thyme, cayenne, black pepper, sage, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. While beating with a wire whisk, slowly add vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, and lime juice. Add onion, green onions, and chile pepper and mix well. Add chicken breasts, cover, and marinate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Remove the chicken from the marinade; reserve.
• Cook chicken on the preheated grill, basting with the reserved marinade frequently, until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, 6 to 8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN SKEWERS

Steps:

• Combine the oil, thyme, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, allspice, scallions, garlic, chiles, ginger, shallot, lime juice, 2 teaspoons salt and several grinds of black pepper in a food processor and pulse until you have a coarse paste; this is the marinade. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade and refrigerate, covered, for later use. Combine the remaining marinade with the chicken in a medium bowl and massage it into the meat, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
• Prepare a grill for medium-high indirect heat (for a gas grill, leave one or two burners on low or off; for a charcoal grill, bank the coals on one side of the grill). Lightly brush the grill grates with oil.
• Combine the sweet potatoes with the reserved 1/4 cup marinade in a medium bowl, tossing to coat; set aside. Thread a piece of chicken, pineapple and then mango onto one of four 10- to 12-inch metal skewers. Continue threading the ingredients in an alternating pattern until you have 4 pieces of each ingredient on the skewer. Repeat with the remaining skewers.
• Grill the sweet potatoes over direct heat, turning once, until lightly charred on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Move them to the indirect side of the grill and place the skewers over the direct heat. Cook, turning the skewers occasionally, until they are dark golden all over, about 10 minutes.
• Cover the grill and close the air vents halfway so the temperature remains around 350 degrees F. Cook until the sweet potatoes are soft and the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Transfer the skewers and sweet potatoes to a large platter and serve with a green salad.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; rub over chicken pieces. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Grill the chicken, covered, over indirect medium heat for 30-40 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 165° for chicken breasts and 170°-175° for thighs.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN WINGS

Steps:

• Combine the scallions, oil, soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, thyme leaves, allspice, cinnamon, garlic, Scotch bonnet peppers, lime zest and juice and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup marinade for basting later. Put the chicken wings and remaining marinade in a large resealable plastic bag. Rub the thyme sprigs between your hands and add to the bag. Seal the bag and massage to distribute the marinade evenly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Remove to room temperature 30 minutes before grilling.
• Preheat a grill for indirect and direct grilling over medium heat. For gas grills (with 3 or more burners), turn all the burners to medium-high heat; after about 15 minutes turn off one of the middle burners and turn the remaining burners down to medium. For charcoal grills, bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer's guide for best results.)
• Lightly oil the grill grates. Remove the wings from the bag and season all over with salt. Add the wings to the indirect-heat side. Cover and cook, flipping halfway through, about 20 minutes (the wings will be almost completely cooked at this point). Uncover the grill and baste the wings with some of the reserved marinade. Flip the wings onto the hot side of the grill to crisp up and cook, about 3 minutes, then baste, flip and cook until the wings are cooked all the way through, about 4 minutes more.
• Sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve with lime wedges.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make the marinade: In the bowl of a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except for the chicken. Process until the vegetables are finely puréed and the mixture is relatively smooth (the texture will be slightly gritty). Place the chicken pieces and the marinade in a large Ziploc bag; squeeze air out and seal tightly. Mash the chicken around to coat evenly with the marinade. Place the bag in a bowl (in case of leakage) and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature before grilling.
• Preheat the grill to medium heat (about 350-375°F). Clean and oil the cooking grate. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the cooler side of the grill and cook, covered, turning and moving occasionally to prevent burning and flare-ups, for 35 to 40 minutes. If the skin is not yet crispy, move the chicken, skin side down, to the hotter side of the grill; cook, keeping a close watch to prevent burning, until the skin is rendered and crisp, a few minutes. Transfer the chicken to serving platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.
• Note: Be very careful when working with Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers. They are extremely hot, and if you touch your eyes while handling them, it will be very painful. It's a good idea to wear disposable gloves or wash your hands very well when done. The heat comes from the seeds and membranes, so throw in the whole peppers for spicy jerk chicken. For a milder dish, remove the seeds and membranes from one or both of the peppers.
• Note: If you don't have a grill (or grilling weather) the chicken can be roasted in the oven instead. Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up, and set an oven-proof rack on top. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. Place the chicken on the rack, skin side up, and roast until lightly browned and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn on broiler (leave the pan on the middle rack), and cook 1 to 3 minutes more, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make marinade:
• Blend all marinade ingredients in a blender until smooth.
• Marinate and grill chicken:
• Divide chicken pieces and marinade between 2 sealable plastic bags.
• Seal bags, pressing out excess air, then turn bags over several times to distribute marinade.
• Put bags of chicken in a shallow pan and marinate, chilled, turning once or twice, 1 day (24 hours).
• Let chicken stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking.
• To cook chicken using a charcoal grill:
• Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Light a large chimney of charcoal briquettes (about 100) and pour them evenly over 1 side of bottom rack (you will have a double or triple layer of charcoal).
• When charcoal turns grayish white and you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds, sear chicken in batches on lightly oiled rack over coals until well browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per batch.
• Move chicken as seared to side of grill with no coals underneath, then cook, covered with lid, until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes more.
• To cook chicken using a gas grill:
• Preheat burners on high, then adjust heat to moderate.
• Cook chicken until well browned on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Adjust heat to low and cook chicken, covered with lid, until cooked through, about 25 minutes more.
• Serve chicken with salsa.
• Cooks' note:
• • If you can't grill, you can roast chicken in 2 large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans in upper and lower thirds of a 400°F oven, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, 40 to 45 minutes total.
• **Cook time does not include marinating the chicken for 24 hours.

MISS OLLIE'S JERK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Blend chives, chiles, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, rum, salt, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves in a blender until smooth. Place chicken in a large bowl and pour jerk marinade over. Turn thighs and drumsticks several times to coat. Cover and chill, turning chicken pieces once, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Remove chicken from marinade, wiping off any excess, and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Discard marinade.
• Prepare grill for 2-zone heat (for a charcoal grill, bank two-thirds of coals on one half of grill and scatter remaining coals over other side; for a gas grill, set one burner to high heat and the remaining burners to medium-low heat). Lightly brush grate with oil. Arrange chicken drumsticks and thighs, skin side down, on grate over hottest part of grill and grill, turning halfway through, until lightly charred, 5-10 minutes. Move chicken to cooler part of grill and continue to grill, turning several times, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, 20-25 minutes longer.
• Transfer chicken to a platter and let rest 10 minutes before serving.