The best jerk recipe we've ever tasted, which we first published in 1995, is fragrant, fiery hot and smoky all at once. It's from our former colleague Paul Chung, an adventurous self-taught cook who grew up in Jamaica and has sampled jerk from just about every corner of the island. For maximum flavor, let the chicken marinate overnight.

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: There are as many takes on jerk chicken in Jamaica as there are cooks on the island, but most share the same method: Chicken is coated in a seasoning mixture dominated by spices and chiles, then grilled. This version comes from Paul Chung, a self-taught cook of Chinese-Jamaican descent who worked in the mail room at Food & Wine. It’s wonderfully spicy, smoky, and fragrant—everything you want jerk chicken to be. But what puts this one above all others? The key is including Chinese five-spice in the marinade: “This spark of cinnamon enhances the rich clove flavor imparted by the allspice berries,” Marcia Kiesel wrote. For best results, let the chicken marinate overnight, so the seasoning has time to thoroughly penetrate the meat. The chicken can also be roasted in the oven if desired.

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Jamaican Jerk Chicken

onion,

scallions,

Scotch bonnet chiles, chopped

garlic cloves, chopped

five-spice powder

allspice berries,

pepper

thyme,

nutmeg

salt

soy sauce

vegetable oil

chickens,

Just copied this recipe exactly and it’s far too salty! If you’re adding that much soy sauce you don’t need the salt too!!!

I have a very different recipe published in Food and Wine in August of 1993 which calls for brown sugar, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, soy, onion, garlic, ground pepper, and either 2 serrano or 1 scotch bonnet chile.  I've been using it for years.  I can't wait to try this recipe.

This recipe is so easy and absolutely the best

I sub Habanero for the Scotch Bonnet's and it was fantastic.  I thought it might might be too salty but with the unseasoned large chicken legs I had it worked perfectly.  I'll probably stick to this recipe &amp; i'm not missing the brown sugar.

I can't find any fresh scotch bonnet chilis besides, only dried ones, can I use those instead?

EITHER use Low-sodium soy sauce, or nix the added salt. I found this out to late and added 1.5 TB Brown Sugar to balance the salty-ness. Still turned out really good, but wish I would have read the comments first RE: how salty it is!

Not quite Jamaican jerk.  As a Jamaican, I use thyme, scotch bonnet, all spice berries, scallion, garlic and nothing else.  Mash everything using a mortar and pestle, not used for everything else, and rub it on my chicken and let it marinate overnight or a few hours.  This is more a combination of jerk and Chinese Jamaican roast chicken, which is another treat in and of it self.

I want to try this recipe.  I don't have a grill.  What is the next best option?

no green onions or ginger?  weird, i thought those were essential.

I've used this recipe since I found it in the very 1995 magazine described here! I make some modifications to the marinade, but always get rave reviews. When asked about it, I always say "i got it from my main mon, Shaggy down Montego Bay, mon"

Closest I've ever come to The Jerk Shack at the Holiday inn in Montego Bay. Every taxi driver we asked about jerk chicken said " You're staying at the Holoday Inn? The Jerk Shack has the best jerk on the island"

It was amazing! Cooked it on indirect heat in the Big green egg for 10 mins per side at 450F. Everyone loved it, and there was just enough heat!!

Too bad there is no Pinterest button to add this to my recipes. Hint. Hint.

I use real wood and slow the fire down for m-o-r-e smoke!

Just made this is was a great hit!  I cooked it in the oven for an hour with the marinade and then blackened it on the grill... huge hit!

The best jerk recipe we've ever tasted is fragrant, fiery hot and smoky all at once. It's from our former colleague Paul Chung, an adventurous self-taught cook who grew up in Jamaica and has sampled jerk from just about every corner of the island.

jamaican jerk chicken

Total: 540 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Instructions

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