Latin American & Caribbean · Lunch · Dinner
Jerk Chicken
Juicy skinless chicken thighs soaked in a fiery, fragrant marinade of allspice, scotch bonnet, thyme and lime, then grilled until smoky and charred at the edges. All the bold Jamaican flavour with a lot less fat than skin-on chicken.
- Prep
- 80 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 100 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 12% · Fat 35% · Protein 53%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 8 thighs800 gboneless skinless chicken thighs
- 690 gspring onions, roughly chopped
- 110 gscotch bonnet pepper, stem removed
- 412 ggarlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp6 gfresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbspfresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp6 gground allspice
- 1/2 tspground cinnamon
- 1/4 tspground nutmeg
- 1 tspground black pepper
- 3 tbsp (about 2 limes)45 glime juice
- 2 tbsp32 greduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp12 gbrown sugar
- 1 tbsp14 gvegetable oil
- 1/2 tspsalt
- 2 tbsp30 gwater
- 165 glime, cut into wedges, to serve (optional)
Steps
- 1
Put the spring onions, scotch bonnet, garlic, ginger and thyme into a blender (wear gloves when handling the scotch bonnet, and remove its seeds for less heat).
- 2
Add the allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, 2 tsp of the oil, the salt and the water.
- 3
Blend to a fairly smooth, thick paste.
- 4
Trim any visible fat from the chicken thighs and make two shallow slashes across each one.
- 5
Place the chicken in a bowl or container, pour over the marinade and rub it into the cuts.
- 6
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight for deeper flavour.
- 7
Heat a grill, barbecue or griddle pan to medium-high and brush the grates with the remaining 1 tsp oil.
- 8
Lift the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and discard the leftover marinade.
- 9
Grill the thighs for 6 to 8 minutes per side, until well charred and cooked through to 74 °C / 165 °F in the thickest part.
- 10
Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then serve with lime wedges if using.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- For a gluten-free version, use tamari labelled gluten-free instead of the reduced-sodium soy sauce.
- For milder heat, use half a scotch bonnet with the seeds removed, or swap it for a milder red chilli.
- Use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs for a leaner cut, grilling them a little less and checking they reach 74 °C / 165 °F.
- If you can't find scotch bonnets, a habanero pepper gives similar fruity heat.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover chicken in a covered container within 2 hours of cooking and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot. You can freeze the cooked chicken for up to about 3 months and thaw it in the fridge before reheating.
Make ahead
Blend the marinade up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, or marinate the chicken overnight so it's ready to go straight onto the grill.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: SoyGluten
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (267 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 313 kcal | 117 kcal |
| Protein | 41.1 g | 15.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9.4 g | 3.5 g |
| of which sugars | 3.9 g | 1.5 g |
| Fiber | 1.6 g | 0.6 g |
| Fat | 12.1 g | 4.5 g |
| of which saturated | 2.6 g | 1 g |
| Sodium | 776 mg | 291 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
