AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 7LET ME START by asking three
questions: How spicy is too spicy?
When does “smoky” cross the line
into “campfire”? And finally, when
is it considered a compliment to be
called “a master of jerk”?
These were all things I needed to
consider in my quest to develop a recipe
for bold, spicy, and nuanced grilled jerk
chicken. Jerk seasoning is Jamaican
in origin; the spice paste is based on
Scotch bonnet chiles, thyme, warm
spices, garlic, and scallions. Variations
abound, and most traditional versions
are smoked over pimento wood (from
the tree that gives us allspice berries).
I selected five promising recipes to
try. I made the jerk pastes; slathered
them on bone-in, skin-on chicken
pieces; fired up the grills; and got cook-
ing. The good: The smell of smoke,
chicken, and spices was amazing. The
bad: None of the recipes turned out
great. Some were overpoweringly spicy,
some were bitter and acrid from too
much smoke, and some tasted awk-
wardly out of balance. What’s more, the
wet jerk pastes made it hard to render
the chicken’s fat, which resulted in
flabby skin. I knew I could do better.
My first step was to perfect my ver-
sion of jerk paste. Since Scotch bonnet
peppers can be hard to find, I decided
to use habaneros, their similarly fiery
cousins, instead. To the blender I added
a couple of habaneros, four scallions,
a good handful of fresh thyme leaves,
garlic, brown sugar for sweetness and
depth, salt, and some vegetable oil and
buzzed everything to a paste. This first
stab was decent, but the paste definitely
needed more seasoning and complexity.
I considered adding more salt until a
colleague suggested soy sauce instead;
just ¼ cup worked great, contribut-
ing salty, savory depth to the paste.
A bit of ground allspice, ginger, and
cinnamon brought the requisite warm
spice profile, and a little vinegar helped
balance the brown sugar. In subsequent
tests, my tasters kept asking for more
thyme, and as I increased the amount, I
grew more and more frustrated with the
laborious task of pulling the tiny leaves
from the stems. On a whim, I tossed a
whole bunch of fresh thyme—stems and
all—into the blender; my tasters loved
the big herby punch and had no idea
there were stems in the paste. Win.
Determining the best grilling
method took a bit of trial and error, but
I finally landed on a foolproof method.
After marinating the chicken in the jerk
paste, I set up the grill with a cooler side
and a hotter side. I grilled the chicken
pieces on the cooler side until they were
cooked through before brushing them
with a little reserved marinade (for a
fresh burst of jerk flavor) and searing
them on the hotter side of the grill. As
for the smoke, my tasters surprisingly
preferred the chicken without it. The
jerk flavor came through more clearly,
and the chicken was picking up plenty
of char and grill flavor anyway.
This chicken is bold, but it’s bal-
anced. And this recipe will help you,
too, become a master of jerk.GRILLED JERK CHICKEN
Serves 4
Plan ahead: The chicken needs to mari-
nate for at least 1 hour before cooking.
Use more or fewer habaneros depend-
ing on your desired level of spiciness.
You can also remove the seeds and
ribs from the habaneros or substitute
jalapeños for less heat. We recom-
mend wearing rubber gloves or plastic
bags on your hands when handling the
chiles. Use thyme sprigs with a gener-
ous amount of leaves; there’s no need
to separate the leaves from the stems.
Keep a close eye on the chicken in
step 5 since it can char quickly.4 scallions
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1–2 habanero chiles, stemmed
10 sprigs fresh thyme
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2½ teaspoons ground allspice
1½ teaspoons table salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces
(split breasts cut in half crosswise,
drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed
Lime wedges- Process scallions, oil, soy sauce,
vinegar, sugar, habanero(s), thyme
sprigs, garlic, allspice, salt, cinnamon,
and ginger in blender until smooth,
about 30 seconds, scraping down sides
of blender jar as needed. Measure out
¼ cup marinade and refrigerate until
ready to use. - Place chicken and remaining
marinade in 1-gallon zipper-lock bag.
Press out air, seal bag, and turn to
coat chicken in marinade. Refrigerate
for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours,
turning occasionally.
3A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light
large chimney starter mounded with
charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When
top coals are partially covered with ash,
pour evenly over half of grill. Set cook-
ing grate in place, cover, and open lid
vent completely. Heat grill until hot,
about 5 minutes.
3B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all
burners to high, cover, and heat grill
until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave pri-
mary burner on high and turn off other
burner(s). (Adjust primary burner [or,
if using 3-burner grill, primary burner
and second burner] as needed to main-
tain grill temperature between 450 and
500 degrees.)- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place
chicken skin side up on cooler side
of grill, with breast pieces farthest
away from heat. Cover and cook until
breasts register 160 degrees and drum-
sticks/thighs register 175 degrees,
22 to 30 minutes, transferring pieces
to plate, skin side up, as they come
to temperature. (Re-cover grill after
checking pieces for doneness.) - Brush skin side of chicken with half
of reserved marinade. Place chicken
skin side down on hotter side of grill.
(Turn all burners to high if using gas.)
Brush with remaining reserved mari-
nade and cook until lightly charred,
1 to 3 minutes per side. Check brown-
ing often and move pieces as needed to
avoid flare-ups. - Transfer chicken to platter, tent
with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to
10 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.
Grilled
Jerk Chicken
For a dish that packs such a powerful punch, it took
some finesse to bring jerk chicken into balance.
by Cecelia Jenkins
Herbs, spices, and a
touch of brown sugar
balance the chile heat.