Oven Baked Jerk Chicken
Crispy, moist, flavorful chicken smothered in spicy jerk sauce is easy to make and a real taste bud explosion! Enjoy a Caribbean vacation right out of your oven.
- Prep time
- 2 hr
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 lime (or lemon)
- 8 chicken legs (or a 2½-3 pound (1-1.5k) chicken, cut up)
- 2 teaspoons (8-9g) jerk seasoning (replace with salt and pepper or chicken spice)
- 1 or more scotch bonnet (or habanero)
- 6 cloves garlic, (chopped)
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon allspice, (coarsely ground)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper, (coarsely ground )
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, (freshly grated )
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 medium onion, (coarsely chopped)
- 3 medium scallions, (chopped)
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼-½ cup pineapple juice (or water)
- 1 tablespoon bouillon powder ((optional))
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Trim chicken of excess fat and pat dry with a cloth or paper towel. Rub with lemon, 2 teaspoons jerk seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
- 2
Heat oil in a skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Then add scotch bonnet pepper and garlic, and sauté until browned, 2-3 minutes.
- 3
Add the nutmeg, brown sugar, allspice, and cinnamon, and continue stirring until the sugar melts and the mixture starts to clump together.
- 4
Remove from the heat and let it cool.
- 5
Place the mixture in a food processor or blender, add the thyme, white pepper, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, bouillon powder, onion, and pineapple juice, and pulse for about 30 seconds until well blended.
- 6
Drench the chicken with jerk marinate, place in a ziplock bag, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Avoid touching the jerk blend with your hands because it's extremely spicy hot (use gloves if possible).
- 7
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425℉ (220℃). Remove the chicken from the jerk marinade and drain the excess marinade. Reserve the marinade.
- 8
Line a baking pan with foil, and top with a wire rack. Arrange chicken legs in a single layer. While the chicken legs are baking, the fat will slowly drip to the bottom of the baking pan.
- 9
Bake chicken legs until cooked through and the skin is crispy, 45-50 minutes. Rotate the chicken halfway through, roughly 20 minutes.
- 10
In a small saucepan, simmer the remaining jerk marinade along with the extra from the chicken for about 7 minutes. Serve the chicken with the marinade on the side or drizzle it on the chicken, and serve with Caribbean rice and beans.