Native to Jamaica, the tradition began with the indigenous Taíno people who would cook their meat over fires made from the aromatic wood of the island's allspice trees in pits. Pits were traditionally used for jerk until the oil drum took its place.
If you don't have an oil drum or BBQ to hand then this is still worth creating in your oven, just be sure to get a crispy skin!
When I have a little more time to make my Jerk chicken I use a dry spice blend and a wet mix too. Since I haven't got round to creating the wet mix for you yet and I'm also insistent that you give Caribbean cooking at home a go, this recipe is the easy version whilst still being flavoursome & absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
1 whole chicken quartered or 1kg of chicken drumsticks
4 tablespoons of Myristica's Caribbean Jerk Spice Mix
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of picked thyme leaves
2 limes
Olive oil
Method
1. Wash the chicken in water and the juice from one of the limes before patting dry with a paper towel.
2. Drizzle some of the olive oil onto the chicken pieces and mix. This will help the seasoning stick onto the meat.
3. Add to the chicken; Myristica's Caribbean Jerk Spice Mix, the dark soy sauce, the salt, the picked thyme leaves and a good squeeze of lime juice before giving it a good mix!
4. Leave to marinade. Ideally marinade overnight but if you are short on time then leave it to marinade for at least 2 hours before cooking on the BBQ.
5. If you are using an oven then preheat your oven to 190c.
6. Place your chicken legs/drumsticks skin side up on a greaseproof lined tray and put in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes. Chicken breasts will take about 15 - 20 minutes at 180c.
7. Don't forget to save those cooking juices! That extra delicious flavour is the perfect natural gravy!
8. Serve with rice and peas, corn and salad!
Enjoy!
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