Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Make bold Jamaican jerk chicken with a simple overnight marinade. Works great for wings, fish, or any chicken cut.
Mix this Jamaican jerk marinade recipe up the night before your barbeque party, and you'll be ready to go straight to the grill.
Yield: 4 servings
- Mix the listed ingredients and marinate chicken at least 4 to 6 hours, ideally overnight; safe up to 48 hours.
- This blend works for any chicken cut and for fish if you cut marinating time to minutes instead of hours.
- Always discard used marinade or boil it before using as a sauce to avoid food-safety risks.
Spices
Featured in this Recipe
Preparation Instructions:
thespicehouse.com
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I marinate the chicken?
Marinate at least 4 to 6 hours and overnight for best flavor. You can marinate up to 48 hours. For fish, reduce marinating to 15 to 30 minutes.
How spicy is this marinade and can I make it milder?
Spice level depends on the amount of Jamaican jerk spice. The recipe calls for 5 to 8 tablespoons for 2 pounds of chicken, which is bold. Use 2 to 3 tablespoons for a milder result or rinse the chicken after a shorter soak.
Can I use this marinade on other meats or fish?
Yes. It is great on chicken and wings. For fish, marinate only 15 to 30 minutes. For pork or beef, you can use it too but consider longer marinating and adjust seasoning to taste.
Can I reuse the leftover marinade as a sauce?
Do not reuse raw marinade unless you boil it for several minutes to kill bacteria. A safer option is to set aside some of the marinade before adding raw chicken and use that for basting or serving.
What are safe marinating and storage practices?
Marinate in the refrigerator in a zip top bag or nonreactive container. Keep below 40 F and discard used marinade. Do not marinate at room temperature.
Can I bake or pan-cook the marinated chicken instead of grilling?
Yes. Bake bone-in chicken at about 375 to 400 F until the internal temperature reaches 165 F, typically 35 to 45 minutes depending on size. For pan-cooking, sear skin side first, then finish in the oven.
Can I prepare the marinade ahead of time or freeze it?
You can mix the marinade ahead and refrigerate for a day or freeze it for up to 3 months. You can also marinate chicken and freeze it; thaw in the fridge before cooking.
What ingredient swaps work if I do not have something on the list?
Use tamari or coconut aminos for soy sauce, white or apple cider vinegar for acidity, and any citrus juice instead of orange. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar or honey if you want more caramelization on the grill.
How long should I marinate the chicken?
Marinate at least 4 to 6 hours and overnight for best flavor. You can marinate up to 48 hours. For fish, reduce marinating to 15 to 30 minutes.
How spicy is this marinade and can I make it milder?
Spice level depends on the amount of Jamaican jerk spice. The recipe calls for 5 to 8 tablespoons for 2 pounds of chicken, which is bold. Use 2 to 3 tablespoons for a milder result or rinse the chicken after a shorter soak.
Can I use this marinade on other meats or fish?
Yes. It is great on chicken and wings. For fish, marinate only 15 to 30 minutes. For pork or beef, you can use it too but consider longer marinating and adjust seasoning to taste.
Can I reuse the leftover marinade as a sauce?
Do not reuse raw marinade unless you boil it for several minutes to kill bacteria. A safer option is to set aside some of the marinade before adding raw chicken and use that for basting or serving.
What are safe marinating and storage practices?
Marinate in the refrigerator in a zip top bag or nonreactive container. Keep below 40 F and discard used marinade. Do not marinate at room temperature.
Can I bake or pan-cook the marinated chicken instead of grilling?
Yes. Bake bone-in chicken at about 375 to 400 F until the internal temperature reaches 165 F, typically 35 to 45 minutes depending on size. For pan-cooking, sear skin side first, then finish in the oven.
Can I prepare the marinade ahead of time or freeze it?
You can mix the marinade ahead and refrigerate for a day or freeze it for up to 3 months. You can also marinate chicken and freeze it; thaw in the fridge before cooking.
What ingredient swaps work if I do not have something on the list?
Use tamari or coconut aminos for soy sauce, white or apple cider vinegar for acidity, and any citrus juice instead of orange. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar or honey if you want more caramelization on the grill.
We use 10 or so bone in/skin on thighs and smoke them on our Weber charcoal grill and everyone is hooked!! This seasoning is amazing. We have tried some of the popular jarred brands of jerk and they don’t even compare. Everything we have gotten from The Spice House has been excellent. But this Jerk seasoning is the best!
Would that be okay to inject into a turkey? And what’s the vinegar for? Thanks,
Years ago, maybe 13-14 years ago (maybe even more) I worked on a Jerk recipe after reading a story in the Sunday Magazine in the good old Journal Sentinel newspaper. Having never been to Jamaica (at that time) is was a bit of trial & error on my part and the recipe called for something like 8-10 different spices. So I loaded up and walked down to the local Spice House and started assembling the spices I would need to replicate the recipe in the paper. A few weeks later I would come back and add something here, take something away. During this time I got to know one of the clerks in the store and shared my story as to what I was up to. Let me just say I’m extremely happy with what came of it and I’m glad everyone has enjoyed it!
We substituted fresh smoked chipotle pepper for the scotch bonnet peppers traditionally used in Jamaica. We also added about 2 Tbs. of Jamaican honey, fresh basil, parsley and rosemary from our herb garden and Vidalia onions minced fine. We increased the measurements by 6 all around to accommodate a larger volume needed and put the marinade into empty Walkerwood jerk marinade bottles which we obtained in our last trip to Jamaica. This recipe is not as hot as the Walkerwood, but to us that is great. The balance is better tasting to us and we used the recipe for a glaze which we applied to the jerk chicken during the last stages of the smoking process. The hundreds who ate it, loved the results, as did we.
I took the marinade and brought it to a boil and then added 1 TBSP of starch to it after it simmered for a couple of minutes. This makes a thick sauce that is exploding with flavor to pour over the chicken. The wife is already begging me to make it again.
I’ve used this marinade on chicken wings, breasts, & thighs, burgers, turkey ribs, I’ve even made a jerk turkey breast. Whether grilled, broiled, or baked, it"s always a great entree. The marinade definitely is worth the effort, but when you don’t have time or are missing an ingredient, the seasoning is excellent as a rub also. Another creative spin on it is to use the seasoning with maple sugar and smoked paprika…Magnificent!
The recipe was a piece of cake to make and absolutely delicious. I marinated four chicken breasts in a bag overnight and grilled them the next. Absolutely delicious, tender, juicy chicken was the result. My girlfriend and I love this stuff and are going to make some tomorrow night for a few guests. Can’t wait!
I’ve never had jerk chicken before, but I can guarantee I’ll have it again and again now. I halved the recipe on the bottle, and just used a couple chicken breasts. Patty recommended I reserve a little of the marinade ahead of time for dipping after the chicken was cooked, and that was a fabulous thing. This was so good I want to do it again tomorrow. The marinade really isn’t hard to make, and it imparts such wonderful flavor.
A big bag of this will definitely be in my next order. This is going to make summer grilling extra delicious.
Great seasoning! I’ve used on boneless pork loin and chicken and love the spicy aroma of the marinade, not to mention the great flavor!
I doubled up on the Marinade but I like it hotter and more like the Jerk Chicken at Boston Beach, Jamaica so I add a teaspoon of Habanero powder. Then let 2 packages of Chicken thighs Marinade for 2 days. On the second day I put all of the chicken and marinade in a 6qt Pressure cooker and cooked it all on high pressure for 20 minutes. Use natural release. While it’s in the pressure cooker get a charcoal grill real hot. Take the chicken out of the pressure cooker with tongs being careful not to pull the skin off.
Coat the chicken with dry Jamaican rub and put on the grill long enough to char the skin.
This has to be the best Jerk Chicken ever. The meat falls off of the bone and has a great smokey flavor.
My friends devoured the chicken like they were starving.