Don't worry! Use following chat to adjust the heat of marinade based on your preference and availability.Traditional Jerk Chicken Marinade gets heat and flavor of chilies from Scotch Bonnet Pepper. Idea is to add pepper flavor yet keep the heat to medium. So, I use these peppers based on their heat level. A marinade with 4 habneros will be super hot. When I was working on this recipe, I was surprised to notice how every online recipe is replacing Scotch Bonnet peppers with Hebaneros. That said, if I'm making a dry jerk spiced-rub chicken, I add more for additional depth of flavor. True to it's name, it is very flavorful and has aroma of all these spices. SO, no matter what else you use, a best jerk chicken recipe starts with two ingredients: all-spice and bonnet peppers. Other Jerk chicken marinade ingredients are : thyme, ginger, garlic, scallion, lime juice, sugar, salt and black pepper.Īll-Spice is all you need: When making wet marinade for Jerk Chicken, I don't use other warm spices such as - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. A good jerk marinade will make this Jamaican chicken recipe sing with flavors.Īuthentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken marinade has signature flavor of two ingredients: All-Spice (it is one spice, not many spices together), and Scotch Bonnet peppers. The resulting, just short marinated grilled Jerk Chicken is so well seasoned and delicious. This creates pockets in chicken which soak the flavor from jerk marinade deep into thickest parts of the chicken. Specially if you using bone-in chicken, I highly recommend slightly poking the chicken with knife at few places or use a meat-pounder to beat it slightly. I like to use this technique to let marinade sink deep into the chicken. It is you passport to Caribbean flavors from your own backyard. I'm sharing details to control the heat in marinade with easy-to-find local grocery ingredients. But don't worry if you are not a heat-seaker. Ready to join grill and become the ultimate 'Jerk Chicken'! Result? In 30 minutes, chicken is bursting with aroma of herbs, garlic, ginger and spices.

3) I pound chicken (jerk) slightly with meat-ponder to allow marination sink-in deep. 2) Marinade ingredients tenderize chicken with lot of flavor from inside. Three reasons: 1) Marinade has consistency of paste that sticks to chicken making a flavorful seasoned skin. This Jerk Chicken marinade loads chicken with ton of flavor in just 30 minutes. The best Jerk Chicken recipe with a well seasoned and flavorful Jerk Chicken Marinade.

Caribbean jerk chicken