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Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

Published: May 3, 2018 · Modified: Jul 10, 2022 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Jamaican Jerk Chicken (Grilling and Oven Methods)

Jump to Recipe

When the islands are calling, this flavorful, spicy Jamaican jerk chicken will make you think you're on a tropical vacation! In about 15 minutes, you can throw together this homemade jerk marinade and take care of most of the hands-on preparation ahead of time for easy entertaining. Grill or oven roast this chicken -- both methods are delicious and guaranteed crowd pleasers.

A plate of grilled Jamaican jerk chicken with peppers, rice and green onion all around it on a wooden board.
Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • How to Make in the Oven
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Expert Tips
  • Perfect Pairing
  • Get More Caribbean-Inspired Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Bring a taste of Jamaica to your own backyard: It hurts my soul to say this, but most of us can't spend all our days in Jamaica. When we can't get the real thing, one taste of this Jamaican jerk chicken will instantly whisk you away to the Caribbean. Who doesn't love a meal that can do that?

Simple but full of complex flavor: Making the marinade is as simple as blending together some ingredients, which are all bursting with rich flavor and spice that will make your taste buds sing. With very little effort, you can make an easy marinade that will make you look like an all-star chef.

Perfect for summer entertaining: Besides that tropical flavor, this is the perfect summer recipe because you make the marinade well before serving, let it work its magic on the chicken and then quickly grill. You deserve to sit back outside with a cocktail and good company during your summer parties. Don't spend it preparing overly complicated meals -- this is the time of year to relax.

Choose your favorite cooking method: Grilling is the preferred method for trying to replicate what you'd get in Jamaica, but sometimes you need a taste of the tropics to get you through the winter when it's too cold to grill. For those times, oven-roasted jerk chicken works well.

Bonus: If you can't get enough chicken recipes, I bet you'll also enjoy my easy whole smoked chicken!

Ingredients

The ingredients on a wooden board with white and black labels.

Before we jump into the cooking process, let's take a moment to chat about a few ingredient notes.

Chicken: For the chicken, you can cut up a whole chicken yourself or buy packages of split chicken breasts, chicken thighs and drumsticks to make a whole chicken. Or if you prefer only one type of chicken, feel free to use individual pieces of your favorite cut, such as only thighs.

Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers: These spicy peppers are one of the key components to our dish. Traditionally, jerk chicken uses scotch bonnet peppers, but I've struggled to find them at my local grocery stores. Fortunately, habanero peppers are widely available and close cousins to scotch bonnet peppers. This substitution works well in this recipe.

As a side note, I'm trying to grow scotch bonnet peppers in our garden here in Denver, and it looks like they will make it. Please drop me a line if you'd like to chat about growing your own scotch bonnet peppers!

Spice mixture: I like to use a blend of dark brown sugar, allspice, Chinese five-spice powder, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. The peppery Chinese five-spice powder may seem strange for a Jamaican-style recipe, but Chinese cooking has long influenced Caribbean cooking since colonization. That's why you also see soy sauce on here.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: We make our Jamaican jerk marinade by tossing our scotch bonnets or habaneros, yellow onion, green onion, ginger, garlic, dark brown sugar and spices into a food processor or blender and giving it a whirl until everything begins to roughly come together like so (photos 1 and photo 2).

A collage showing the process of processing the ingredients to make a chunky mixture.

Step 2: With the food processor running, we pour in our soy sauce, rum, lime juice and olive oil and blend to make a wet paste. The mixture won't be perfectly smooth. We'll still have a chunky texture, but that's OK (photo 3).

The jerk marinade in a food processor after it's been blended with the liquid ingredients.

Step 3: We pour the marinade over raw chicken pieces in a large bowl (photo 4) and let it sit in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours, though I highly recommend an overnight soak for the most flavor. Once the time passes, we're ready to cook our Jamaican jerk chicken.

The chicken in a large glass mixing bowl sitting in the marinade on a countertop.

Step 4: Now we're ready to grill our Jamaican jerk chicken. For this step, we create a hot zone and a cool zone. To do this, we heat one side of the grill over medium to medium-high heat and leave the other side of the grill on low. Once the grill is nice and hot, we place our chicken parts with the skin side down and close the lid (photo 5).

The chicken with the skin side down on a hot grill before closing the lid.

Tip: For best results, let the chicken sit in room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling to promote more even cooking.

Step 5: Once those beautiful char marks appear, we flip our chicken skin-side up and move it to the cool part of the grill (photo 6). We close the lid again and cook until the chicken reaches 165 degrees for white meat and 175 degrees for dark meat. To ensure an extra juicy chicken, we want to let the meat rest for about five to 10 minutes before serving.

The chicken on the grill after it's been flipped and has char marks all over the skin.

And that's it! Easy, huh? Serve this spicy chicken with some black beans, coconut rice and pineapple pico de gallo and you're in for the perfect tropical meal. You will love that spicy flavor of the most flavorful chicken.

How to Make in the Oven

While grilling is my favorite process of cooking jerk chicken, it also cooks nicely in the oven. This is perfect for those cold winter days when you're longing for an island-inspired meal but also don't want to freeze while standing over the grill.

The marinade steps are the same, but instead of grilling, we place our chicken in a cast-iron skillet or baking dish. I prefer the cast-iron skillet for its rustic presentation, but a baking dish works just fine.

Now we pop it in a hot oven and roast until the chicken cooks through. About 45 minutes or so should do it. We then allow a chicken to sit for a few minutes and then proceed to devour.

Recipe FAQs

Is jerk chicken very spicy?

Jerk chicken is spicy, but it's not set-your-tongue-on-fire spicy. It's more spice forward than heat forward. Scotch bonnets and habaneros are hot peppers, but once we add the other ingredients and brown sugar for a touch of sweetness, it makes for a marinade with just the right kick.

I've served this recipe many times over the years and have found my friends who love blazingly hot foods adore it just as much as my friends with milder palates.

How do you store leftovers?

To properly store any leftovers, keep your chicken in an airtight container for three to four days in the refrigerator. After that, you can move the chicken to the freezer for up to four months. I especially love to use any leftovers in my jerk chicken enchiladas.

How do you know when the chicken is done cooking?

I highly recommend using an instant-read meat thermometer to determine the internal temperature of the chicken. You don't want to play a guessing game with chicken. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat without touching the bone, and you'll cook your chicken safely and accurately.

An aerial view of a platter of Jamaican jerk chicken with peppers and green onions scattered around.

Expert Tips

Split the chicken breasts: Whole chicken breasts are much larger than thighs and will take long to cook than the other cuts. If carving the chicken yourself, cut each chicken breast into two pieces, giving you four smaller pieces. You can also buy split chicken breasts if you opt to buy butchered meat.

Watch the eyes: This is a peppery, fiery marinade. When you take the top off the food processor or blender, give your face a little distance, or you may have some watery eyes. Don't worry, though -- this chicken is spicy but not too spicy.

Remove any large chunks of marinade: This helps promote those char marks. You don't want to completely dry off the chicken because the marinade will help keep the skin from sticking. Just make sure you wipe off any big splotches.

Monitor the grill: Not every grill is the same, so you may need to adjust the heat up or down or let the chicken sit longer to get those grill marks. Grilling chicken is more of an art than a science.

Spice it up: I use two peppers for heat. This is enough to give the jerk sauce a lingering spice kick without overwhelming the other flavors. That said, if you like to get extra fiery, feel free to add more spicy peppers.

Give yourself time: Remember, the marinade needs time to infuse the chicken with that wonderful jerk chicken. If you can, I highly recommend marinading overnight.

Perfect Pairing

With this spicy Caribbean dish, I recommend a helles lager. With a helles, you get a malt-forward profile that tackles the heat as well as plenty of palate-refreshing bubbles for the spice. Plus, a nice helles lager has that crisp finish that makes it perfect for patio drinking. I also love a citrus-forward saison with this Jamaican jerk chicken.

Craving a glass of wine instead? Try this chicken with a riesling. The touch of sweet fruit helps balance the heat, and the zippy acidity helps brighten all those rich flavors.

Or maybe you want a fun tiki cocktail to go with your tropical meal. You can't go wrong with a classic Painkiller cocktail. A nice rum cocktail also pairs beautifully -- try this mango mojito, rum sour or Barbados rum punch.

Transport yourself to the Caribbean today and try this Jamaican jerk chicken. It's the perfect tropical meal that's always a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Cheers!

A side view of the Jamaican jerk chicken with a side of coconut rice to the left.

Get More Caribbean-Inspired Recipes

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If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

A plate of grilled Jamaican jerk chicken with peppers, rice and green onion.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

When the islands are calling, this flavorful, spicy Jamaican jerk chicken will make you think you're on a tropical vacation! In about 15 minutes, you can throw together this homemade jerk marinade and take care of most of the hands-on preparation ahead of time for easy entertaining. Grill or oven roast this chicken -- both methods are delicious and guaranteed crowd pleasers. 
5 from 48 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Jamaican
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 261kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Food processor or blender
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Gas grill or charcoal grill

Ingredients

  • 2 habanero or scotch bonnet peppers sliced, leave in seeds and membrane but remove stems
  • 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
  • 6 green onions sliced
  • 1-inch knob of ginger peeled and sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves sliced
  • 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground allspice
  • 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg preferably freshly grated
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup spiced or dark rum
  • Juice of three limes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 bone-in chicken cut-up, with skin, about 4 pounds (see note)

Instructions

Grilling

  • Toss the peppers, onion, green onions, ginger, garlic, sugar and spices into a food processor. Blend until everything roughly combines.
  • As the machine runs, add soy sauce, rum, lime juice and olive oil. When you remove the lid from the food processor, it will smell intensely peppery so watch your eyes.
  • Pour over chicken and turn a few times to ensure it's well-coated. Refrigerate for at least four hours, preferably overnight. 
  • Before cooking, pull chicken from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Oil grates to grease grill. Heat one side of the grill over medium to medium-high heat. On the other side, heat over low. Place chicken skin-side down on the hot side of the grill, cover and cook until grill marks appear, about three to five minutes. 
  • Flip the chicken and move to the cooler side of the grill. Leave the burners as they are. Close the lid and cook for about 10 minutes. Check on the chicken. It's ready when it reaches 165 degrees F in the breast meat and 175 degrees F in the thigh meat. If the chicken hasn't reached that internal temperature yet, close the lid and check on the chicken in about five minutes. Repeat if necessary. The exact cooking time of the chicken depends on the size of your pieces.
  • When the chicken reaches the safe internal temperature, remove from the grill, tent with foil and let sit for about five to 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Oven Roasting

  • Follow steps 1-3 from the grilling method above and then proceed to step 4.
  • Before cooking, pull chicken from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place chicken skin-side up in a large cast-iron skillet or baking pan and roast until the temperature reaches 165 degrees F in the breast meat and 175 degrees F in the thigh meat. This should take about 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken.
  • Remove from oven, tent with foil to keep warm and let sit for 10 minutes before serving chicken. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Cut the chicken breasts in half, making four pieces of breast meat. Otherwise, the breast pieces tend to be huge and will take much longer to cook than the rest of the chicken. You could also simply pick up 4 pounds of your favorite cut of bone-in chicken, such as 4 pounds of thighs, drumsticks, breasts or a combination. Some grocery stores also sell whole chickens already cut up and packaged.
  • Remove any large chunks of marinade. This helps promote those char marks. You don't want to completely dry off the chicken because the marinade will help keep the skin from sticking. Just make sure you wipe off any big splotches.
  • Monitor the grill. Not every grill is the same, so you may need to adjust the heat up or down or let the chicken sit longer to get those grill marks. Grilling chicken is more of an art than a science.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece of chicken | Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1.502mg | Sugar: 5g
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Ann says

    July 08, 2022 at 10:30 am

    5 stars
    This chicken had my mouth watering! It was so delicious. Excited to make it again! Thanks for the share.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      July 12, 2022 at 9:27 am

      It really is the perfect summer dish -- happy you loved it!

      Reply
  2. Savita says

    July 07, 2022 at 6:45 am

    5 stars
    The chicken skin was crisp from the outside and juicy inside. Loved how easy the recipe was too.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      July 12, 2022 at 9:25 am

      Thank you, Savita!

      Reply
  3. Luke says

    July 06, 2022 at 2:13 am

    5 stars
    A go-to recipe for jerk chicken! We had this for a family bbq, and it was superb 🙂

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      July 12, 2022 at 9:25 am

      I'm glad the whole family enjoyed!

      Reply
  4. Ashley Lecker says

    June 15, 2022 at 7:16 am

    5 stars
    I adore jerk chicken and have tried a lot of recipes. This one is delicious and really easy to put together. The spice blend is great!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 15, 2022 at 8:58 pm

      So glad you love it!

      Reply
  5. Cam McFarlane says

    May 21, 2022 at 12:01 pm

    5 stars
    This is my go to Jerk Chicken recipe. My family loves it! To add to the wonderful complexity of the marinade, I've taken to adding a couple generous sprigs of fresh thyme. This recipe is fantastic with cubed chicken breasts, threaded onto skewers and BBQed. Big flavour in every bite. This method cooks quite quickly so paying attention is key. Served with a fresh cut mango or pineapple salsa this is magic! My bevy of choice (since I now have spiced rum) is a Dark & Stormy. Perfection!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      May 21, 2022 at 12:57 pm

      Hey, Cam! You just made my day with this comment. Thank you! I’m so, so glad you love it. Now I want some jerk chicken and a dark and stormy! Cheers!

      Reply
  6. Toni says

    August 05, 2021 at 5:33 am

    5 stars
    Perfectly seasoned chicken! My family loved it!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 05, 2021 at 5:59 pm

      That makes me so happy, Toni!

      Reply
  7. Kristina says

    August 04, 2021 at 12:52 pm

    5 stars
    Jerk chicken is one of my favorites and this was so close to the jerk chicken I had while in Jamaica. I added a dash of scotch bonnet powder and used habaneros, since scotch bonnet peppers are not easy to find around me.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 3:28 pm

      That's such a great idea! Thanks for sharing this tip, Kristina!

      Reply
  8. Nora says

    August 04, 2021 at 11:50 am

    5 stars
    Yum! This was so delicious! I prefer the grilled version, since I am such a grill-fan! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  9. Gloria says

    August 04, 2021 at 6:32 am

    5 stars
    I love jerk chicken. We love cooking on the grill, so this is the method I will try first. This is going to be a hit with the family.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 3:27 pm

      I bet it will! Everyone always loves it.

      Reply
  10. Freya says

    August 04, 2021 at 2:33 am

    5 stars
    Wow! This was packed full of flavour! Jerk seasoning is one of my favourites but this recipe is now up there along with my fav!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 3:16 pm

      Same! I just love the spice blend.

      Reply
  11. Anjali says

    August 03, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    5 stars
    This chicken was so flavorful!! I love all of the spices you added to the recipe - it really elevated this dish!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 3:16 pm

      Thanks, Anjali! Happy that you loved it.

      Reply
  12. Sara Welch says

    August 03, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    5 stars
    This was everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some! Easily, a new favorite recipe; my whole family loved it!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 2:59 pm

      That's awesome! It's always nice when the whole family can enjoy a meal!

      Reply
  13. Elizabeth says

    August 03, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    5 stars
    This chicken is so flavorful! Absolutely delicious!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      Thanks, Elizabeth! It's always a hit for us.

      Reply
  14. jack says

    August 03, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    5 stars
    This jerk chicken recipe has tons of delicious spice to it, highly recommended!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 04, 2021 at 2:50 pm

      It makes me happy you love it as much as I do!

      Reply
  15. Stephanie Simmons says

    August 14, 2019 at 3:32 pm

    5 stars
    I LOVE using jamican jerk seasoning on chicken - it's so easy and SO flavorful!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 15, 2019 at 12:01 am

      For sure! ?

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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