Hot, succulent Jamaican Jerk Chicken is a tropical treat. You'll love the heat and flavor of this fiery marinade.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

chicken breast

limes, juiced

water

allspice

nutmeg

salt

brown sugar

thyme

ginger

black pepper

vegetable oil

onions, chopped

green onions

garlic, chopped

habanero peppers, chopped

Place chicken in a medium bowl. Cover with lime juice and water. Set aside.


In a blender or food processor, place allspice, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, thyme, ginger, black pepper and vegetable oil. Blend well, then mix in onions, green onions, garlic and habanero peppers until almost smooth.


Pour most of the blended marinade mixture into bowl with chicken, reserving a small amount to use as a basting sauce while cooking. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.


Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.


Brush grill grate with oil. Cook chicken slowly on the preheated grill. Turn frequently, basting often with remaining marinade mixture. Cook to desired doneness.


I found this recipe to be very good used in the crock pot.  Instead of using the mixture as a marinade, just put it in the crock pot with either the chicken as indicated or with a good pork shoulder.  The flavors REALLY come out in the slow cooking process and gives a very aromatic and great tasting jerk flavor.  Note though, I used one habanero pepper.  If you really like it hot, add more, but know that you get the full effect from the pepper in the crock pot!

POOR TASTE; LONG TIME TO MAKE. VERY POOR COMPARED TO AUTHENTIC JAMAICAN CHICKEN.

Excellent recipe for traditional jerk seasoning. The most important step is to marinate. The longer the better! Dont forget to get the jerk effect slow roast over coals and hardwood such as pimento or hickory.

This is possibly the best recipe I've ever found on allrecipes.  I make it with the barbequed pineapple recipe and the calypso beans and rice recipe both found on this site.  Don't overcook the meat--and the longer you marinate, the better it is!

Very good!  I omitted the water and just marinated it in the paste with the juice of only one lime.  I also only used one habanero and it was plenty spicy.  I served it with the calypso beans and rice like everyone suggested...what a winning recipe!

very good jerk recipe, especially for beginers.....very spicy which is good, not as many flavors as in a more traditional jamaican jerk recipe....maybe substitute a bit of the water with soy sauce or woestschire sauce

This is so good.  I used canned jalepeno pepper instead because habanero is not available here.  Instead of a whole cup of water, I only used a bit to dilute the paste so it's easier to marinade the chicken.  I also threaded the chicken pieces on skewers to make grilling easier.  Went really well on a bed of white rice.

this is a favorite of myself and my boyfriend.  i have used the marinade/paste in many ways.  chicken in a pan, roasted chicken thighs, ect.  this recipe compares to one at my favorite restaurant.  i love it!!!  i usually serve plantains and rice with this meal.

This recipe simply did not fit my taste.  It was tasty, but ended up tasting too much like ginger, and not much like jerk chicken.  It might be better fitting for the right taste buds.

While the preparation for this one is longer than most I tend to make it is well worth it.  My husband and I love it!  I used several small jalepenos instead of habanero becuase the local store was out of them and they worked fine.

THE KEY IS IN THE MARINADE! I LOVE THIS, I DID GO TO MY COOKBOOK OF CARRIBEAN FOOD TO SEE IF ANYTHING WAS MISSING FROM THIS JERK SEASONING AND I SAW THERE WAS NO VINEGAR IN THIS RECIPE FOR JERK SEASONING SO I ADDED TWO TABLESPOONS AND A SCOTCH BONNET PEPPER WITH STEMS &amp; SEEDS REMOVED OF COURSE. I ALSO COOKED THIS ON TOP OF THE STOVE ADDING THE RESERVED MARINADE WHEN CHICKEN WAS CLOSE TO DONE. I WILL USE THIS RECIPE AGAIN, THANKS I ALSO MADE THE SALSA I FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE TO GO WITH THIS RECIPE

as a Jamaican, this recipe, umm no, i guess E for effort but no. first off our peppers are scotch bonnets, not habaneros, maybe this would be good for people that never had jerk chicken &amp; they think this is what it tastes like but for those who have, no this will not do

This recipe was very easy and very good.  To give it some added flavor I made a Mango Relish to put on top of it.  I will post the recipe soon.  My boyfriend absolutely loved.  Definately a recipe to make when the kids are away.

I combine this recipe with Jay's Jerk Chicken" by KIBADA22.

Very good. I couldn't find habanero peppers so went with jalapeno peppers. I want to try it again with more heat!

Not much flavor, not was I was hoping for.

Delicious!  Make sure to wear gloves when seeding and cutting the habanero.  My fingers were burning for hours!

Delicious!!! Boyfriend and I modified it a bit. We zested the limes, squeezed, and threw those in to marinate first. Followed the marinade exactly except I only used one habenero and it was plenty hot for my family. Oh and I used chicken wings and grilled them till they were all crispy and brown.  Oh my god they were so good. Would be great with pork as well I think, if not authentic.

This is authentic as you can get!!!  Just visited Jamaica and this recipe hit it to the T.    

This recipe tasted nothing like the jerk chicken I have previously eaten.  The marinade wasn't really a marinade, more of a paste that just sat on top of the chicken.  I used a food processor to make the marinade, but no matter how long I mixed it, the marinade remained chunky and unusable.  This recipe isn't bad, it just isn't jerk chicken, and not worth the time and effort required.  

Great Recipe. Easy to make. Love the heat. Instead of grilling the chicken, I will cook  in a skillet.

The flavor was good, but overall I couldn't give this a five star as I just felt it was missing something.  It was worth making and I may make it again.  In the reviews I read it's not as good as true Jamaican Jerk and I have to agree.

After coming back from Jamaica, we were looking for something that was similar to what we had over there.  This was good, but it was not true Jamacian Jerk chicken, at least not what we had.  All in all, it was edible, and ill make again, just not what were expecting.

try this recipe you won't be sorry.  didn't have any limes so used it without and was still made an amazing rub...also, used it with pork which was wonderful.  this is going in my regular cycle of recipes!! thanks

amazing!!! I use the beer can chicken technique with this, very flavourful and not too spicy for my children!!!

Loved this recipe.  Went easy on the habanero peppers so the kids would enjoy too.  Served with saffron rice in pita bread.

A nice meal that my young kids and husband loved, Add some simple yellow rice and a small salad

We all loved this!  We used only 1 onion and no green onion. And we used chicken on the bone - 2 breasts and 5 legs.  It was awesome!!  Even my picky 4 and 7 year olds loved it!

This recipe is delicious. I added a 1/3 cup more brown sugur and used only one pepper so it was not as spicy but delicious. I marinated the chicken over night and grilled it. Excellent.Depending on your taste buds you may want to add seasoning to the chicken before you marinate it.

This is completely par for a good jerk seasoning, and it could be put on chicken, pork, beef, goat, lamb, fish, shrimp, it doesn't matter, it'd still be good. However, those that don't like too much spice (first of all stay out of the caribbean/latin america, but if not then...) don't marinade this for so long. Instead, stab your meat with a fork a bunch of times and add the paste only just before cooking and use the excess to baste it. If you do like the spice (meaning "heat") to be strong, do this and marinade, and add like 4 extra peppers because 2 over 6 chicken breasts is just silly. Also, this recipe needs rum. I prefer spiced but white is fine. It tenderizes your meat. Good additives: (fresh, cubed) ginger, rosemary (don't ask why, it's just good), amchoor (indian grocery stores-- not traditional but great, it's powdered green mango, very tart), cloves, mine usually has cumin and cilantro, but I learned it from a trinidadian... Serve with black beans and coconut rice. Very authentic recipe : )

Tasted very good, everyone loved it. I didn't find the habenero's at my store but had some jalapeno's from the garden and used them instead and it came out just fine. Will try this seasoning to stuff pork chops next time too.

Just ok, although I didn't follow the recipe exactly. It was too cold to grill out so I ended up baking the chicken in the juices instead (also didn't have time to marinate). No one complained about it, but no one seemed to love it either. Probably won't make again unless I have time to grill and marinate.

although not as spicy as I would have liked, this chicken did not disappoint and was satisfying!

I guess Im the odd man out on this one. It was alright but didnt fit my idea of jerk chicken.  It is a personal thing obviously. It has good flavor and I will make it again just not very often.  It was nice and hot though!

A group of friends and I take turns cooking meals for each other.  Tonight was my night and I wanted something new and interesting.  I found this recipe and decided to give it a try.  At first glance, I was unsure of it being anything good, but then as it cooked on the grill and I pulled off a small piece to try I was instantly convinced.  Served it with Jasmine rice and grilled asparagus.  Wow was it great and all that tried it wanted to know where I got the recipe.  This is a winner.

good but very hot! warning to to people who can't wait spicy food

Seemed like quite a lot of trouble for just an okay chicken.

So delicious!!!! I marinated some chicken thighs in the sauce, froze it, and took it camping this year. It was amazing - tender, juicy, and flavourful. We even used the marinade on salmon, which was equally delicious. This recipe's a keeper!

One of my favorite chicken recipes!  Lots of spice and flavor.  Love the heat!

This was an amazing dish!  I didnt have long enough for it to sit in the marinate but it was still awesome!!

I had to tone down (eliminate) the heat due to the Irish palettes I cook for in my house, and even though it may not be "authentic", it was delicious none the less.

This was really good, its a mouthful of flavor! I didn't even marinade the chicken or grill it. This is a great, but not as great as real jamaican chicken cooking. (If that makes since) lol

This is excellent!  I make this quite often now.

As close to the jamaican recipe i got when I was in Kingston!
So  good!

Has a nice flavor, I enjoy the citrus from the lime. Could be a little spicier, but maybe my jalapenos weren't that hot...

I was so dissapointed, it took me a long time to make (squeezing the juice from the limes was a nightmare).. It tasted bitter and overpowering, very much unlike the jerk chicken I had while in Jamaica. I'm dissapointed and I don't plan on making this again.

I like spicy but this was extremely hot. I recommend using 1 habanero pepper instead of 2, the spice was so overwhelming that we could hardly taste any flavor.  Definitely good if you want to clear your sinuses. ;)

This was a tasty marinade. I used boneless chicken thighs, and baked them in the oven for 45 minutes at 375. Served it with rice and butter beans, and poured the sauce over the rice. I followed the recipe exactly except for leaving out the green onions, because I forgot to buy them. My boyfriend said that it didn't really taste like jerk chicken (I had never had it before so I have nothing to compare it to), but it was really good! 

I used most all the ingredients except the onions. I used pobalano peppers instead of habanero &amp; added some McCormick Mesquite marinade with lime. Cooked on the lowest temperature on the grill. Served this with brown rice &amp; golden hominy. It was a great meal. Thanks for the recipe!

I went with one pepper and it was still a bit hot for me.  Other than that it was great.  My guests like it a bit spicier than me and they all asked for the recipe.

I made this mind you I was missing a few ingredients and it was great!  My kids ate it all up.  Will make it again but may try it with ALL the ingredients. (I was missing the nutmeg and ground all spice)  I used instead some jamacian seasoning we purchased on our last trip. :)

I like the way the flavours infuse together - it made an interesting (and delicious) rub. I made a few alterations as I didn't have a few ingredients at hand and was marinating fewer pieces of chicken. I reduced the salt to half a teaspoon (as I thought a full teaspoon was a bit excessive), and I think I'll even add a little less next time. I put in about 3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, as I can't handle eating a lot of ginger. I didn't have the peppers so I put in about half a teaspoon of peri-peri chilli spice. I added just a dash of water to the chicken and lime mixture as I wanted more of a dry rub. Marinated overnight, the chicken was delicious! I served this up with a bed of chicory salad and apricot and ginger cous cous.

Flavors were way too overpowering.  I'll eat anything-- but not this!

This is such an awesome recipe,I love trying new things and I'm so glad I found this recipe and tried it,I ate it with Jamaican rice and peas such a good combination,my boyfriend can't get enough of it...

This was very good.  My only issue and it could very well be me, is that the sauce or marinade turned more like salsa.  Next time I will add more lime juice to make it spread better.

Added dried habaneros and worked fine.  One word...Yum!

Alright taste.  Not the Jamaican Jerk Chicken I was used to.

This was good.  I agree with someone else that the marinade was more like a salsa.  I used Jalepenos rather than Habaneros.  I grilled in a grill basket along with onions &amp; sliced carrots.

Oh, so good! I didn't have the Habeneros and used a couple of Jalepenos from the garden (seeded to tame it a bit). I added another tablespoon of oil to the basting jerk mix and cooked the chicken on the charcoal grill.....tasty!!

I let the chicken sit overnight to absorb more flavor before grilling

I used bone in, skin on chicken, substituted scotch bonnet peppers for habaneros, and baked it in the oven on a cookie sheet (use aluminum foil underneath to minimize cleanup) for 45 minutes at 400 then put it on broil to crisp up the skin.  Worked well, but needed more spice.  Also recommend putting the chicken and marinade in a freezer bag, squeezing out the air, to get better coverage.

i  loved it so much that it hopped out my mouth and went to jamaica and singed

Really did not taste like jerk chicken to me...

Next time I will reduce the amount of Lime juice/water and increase the heat a little.  We did not use habanero peppers we used a milder pepper.  Out side of that, we really enjoyed this dish.

There are a lot of Jam. Jerk recipes available, this one is as good as any (a little dark rum is a nice addition).  But don't add the water, there is plenty in the onions...and it makes no sense at all diluting any rub with water.

A lot of work for little flavor. Yes, it was completely edible. Time return on investment was a disappointment. I’ll keep searching for a reliable recipe.

Sounds wonderful, but those habanero peppers scare me!  I'll use jalapeno peppers.

This was a great recipe.  I usually use a commercial Jerk Paste/Marinade which is quite expensive.  This was the first time that I made the marinade from scratch.  Using freshly ground allspice and ginger made this recipe so much better than the store-bought paste. I made the following changes: added a tablespoon of rum, used 1/2 cup of water, substituted the habanero for jalepeno pepper, added a teaspoon of ground clove and bone-in chicken breasts.

Finally got a chance to make it . Didn't  have enough limes, so substituted bottled lemon juice to dilute and soak chicken.  I skinned thighs. Added more white onions, I  didn't have  scallions. Used 2 scotch bonnet peppers Followed recipe to a T. Baked covered for 1 1/2 hrs at 350°. Yummy! Family already wants me to make it again ASAP! I will double the marinade to save for next time. Thank you for such a  yummilicious recipe

Very disappointing. The lime was overpowering, to the point that no spices could come through. However, there was the perfect amount of heat from the habaneros, even though it had no effect on the taste. Marinated for 9 hours, but all I could taste was lime, lime, lime. Doubt I'll try again; I've made jerk chicken using other recipes that tasted far more authentic to the chicken I tasted in Jamaica than this citrus showcase.

I put all the marinade ingredients into the food processor and blended it away vs folding it in.  This was just spicy enough and I was told it was a make again.

I didn't have all the ingredients so I added some bourbon. It made the chicken sweet and juicy!

jamaican jerk chicken

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours

Total: 3 hours, 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Author : Allrecipes Member

Ingredients

Instructions

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