Grilled Chicken Recipes: How to Make

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

with Scotch Bonnet

Grilled chicken recipes are one of the most popular choices for those seeking healthy chicken dishes. And no, the chicken was not a jerk, jokes apart! And neither is the chicken jerked in the Jamaican jerk chicken recipe, as the name might suggest. ‘Jerk’ refers to a Jamaican cooking method that involves poking holes in the meat for the fiery marinade to penetrate deep into the meat. Over time, the term has broadened to include the marinades, rubs, and sauces associated with this style of cooking, but the basic idea of piercing the meat to let flavour penetrate is central to how this jerk chicken recipe is built. Scotch bonnet peppers are the heart and soul of the Jamaican jerk chicken recipe’s marinade, which is pureed along with red onion, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, olive oil, orange and lime juice, and a mix of spices, ginger, brown sugar, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and thyme. If it’s hard to find Scotch bonnet peppers, habanero peppers can stand in. This medley of citrus, vinegar, and chilli flavours is what makes jerk chicken so intense in flavour and perfect for barbecues. The marinating time makes a big difference in how this dish turns out, with the marinated chicken requiring at least 2 hours of rest. Refrigerating the chicken overnight will make the flavours deepen even more; as for the used marinade, it should always be discarded rather than reused as a sauce, since it has been in contact with raw chicken. If you want to make a finishing sauce, set aside a portion of the marinade before it coats the meat.