"Waiting In Vain" Smoked Jerk Chicken Leg Quarters

As part of this year’s Black History Month celebration, I’ve collaborated with several other amazing black food bloggers for our 2021 Black History Month Virtual Potluck Takeover. 

Not only do we celebrate and honor the culinary traditions of people across the African diaspora, but also share historical context behind many of the dishes.

My contribution is this smoky and aromatic grilled Jamaican jerk chicken that is full of flavor with mild heat levels.

Chicken leg quarters are brined, then marinated overnight, and finally slow-smoked on the grill for a main dish test of classic Jamaican food.

Jerk chicken is as flavorful a dish as they come. The intense deep flavor is accomplished in steps. There is the complex flavor and aroma in the actual jerk marinade, plus the slow smoking over wood coals or pimento wood if you have that luxury.

I feel like I should have jerk chicken at least once a month. If not chicken, then something jerked whether it's ribs, lamb chops, or fish. These jerk chicken leg quarters met this month's fix and the wait was definitely not in vain.

MOOD MUSIC

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Ingredients

You can use store-bought jerk marinade or make your own using my jerk sauce recipe. I don't have access to pimento, the wood that gives jerk chicken that flavor and fragrance you find at a curbside shack in Jamaica. But I have the ingredients to make a proper brine and marinade. The brine and marinade add flavor to the outer surface as well as infuse the interior with all those wonderful jerk spices and seasonings like the fresh ginger, allspice, cinnamon, thyme, and garlic.

I like my jerk with some serious heat check, but feel free to remove the seeds from the habanero/scotch bonnet peppers if you prefer a milder profile.

I chose leg quarters for this recipe, but feel free to use chicken breasts as I've done in other recipes or use the whole chicken for that matter. Dark meat takes longer to cook, but it's also harder to mess up as chicken breasts can easily dry out if you're not careful.

How To Make Jamaican Jerk Chicken (see recipe video at end of post)

Step 1: Brine the Chicken

Combine brine ingredients, place and seal chicken plus brine in ziplock bag, and refrigerate overnight.

Step 2: Blend marinade ingredients into smooth paste

Step 3: Marinate chicken refrigerated 4-24 hours

Step 4: Smoke the chicken at 250 degrees

Serving Suggestions

I like to chop my jerk chicken up into chunks like it's served in Jamaica. Serve with a nice cabbage recipe or slaw along with Jamaican rice and peas.

Other ideas include:

Collard Greens Slaw

Grilled Vegetables Salad

Air Fryer Corn

Jerk Chicken Cooking Considerations Key Tips

• Wear gloves when handling the peppers as they are super hot
• Wash knife, cutting board, and any other surface the peppers may have come into contact with
• Cut slits into the chicken before marinating. This will help the chicken absorb more of the flavors
• Adjust heat levels up or down by the amount of peppers used as well as seeds and veins. Heat comes from the seeds and veins of chili peppers.
• Let chicken reach room temperature before cooking
• Allspice berries and bay leaves can help replicate flavor from pimento wood. Smolder them with your heat source when grilling
• This recipe can easily be converted to an oven bake if you don't have access to a grill or prefer to use your oven.
• If you have leftovers make this jerk chicken and dumplings recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can you make jerk chicken in an oven?

Pan-Roasted Jerk Chicken Thighs is one of my favorite recipes. The recipe calls for a dry jerk rub and the chicken is roasted in a cast-iron skillet for a quick weeknight dinner.

To roast chicken in traditional way: Place chicken skin sides up, in large baking pan on middle of a preheated 450°F oven, until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and broil chicken, about 4 inches from heat, until skin is browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.

What are good store bought marinades?

I prefer homemade for a lot of reasons, but Walkerswood and Grace brands both make solid jerk marinades.

Is jerk chicken spicy?

Jerk chicken can be as spicy or not as you want it. It all depends on whether you remove the seeds and veins from the chilis. Habanero or Scotch Bonnets pack some serious heat, so unless you want that fire of Jubilee, you might want to remove most if not all the seeds.

Can jerk chicken be fried?

Jerk Fried Chicken is actually a thing and one of my most popular recipes. The chicken is marinated in a buttermilk-jerk brine and dredged in jerk seasoned flour base before being deep fried and seasoned again with more of the dry jerk spice.

Can jerk chicken be cooked in instant pot?

Instant Pot Jerk Chicken can be tricky but definitely doable and worth a try. I created a recipe that's pretty fool proof.

MORE JAMAICAN JERK BASED RECIPES

Jerk Baby Back Ribs

Jerk Salmon

Dry Jerk Seasoning

Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

Jerk Compound Butter

For contributions by some of the other brilliant bloggers checkout any of the following links:

Sweet & Tangy Collards | FoodLoveTog

Jerk Shrimp Cakes and Grits | Geo's Table

Gluten-Free Chicken and Waffles with Maple Bourbon Glaze | Good Food Baddie

Tropical Candied Yams | Handy Chef

Trinidadian Beef Stew | Heal Me Delicious

Cornmeal Coo Coo Recipe | HomeMadeZagat

Caribbean Oxtail | Just Add Hot Sauce

Creole Oxtails Stew | Kenneth Temple

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake | Lenox Bakery

Brown Sugar Cornmeal Waffles w/ Sweet Tea Maple Syrup | Margaritas On The Rocks

Make this recipe

If you make these Jamaican jerk chicken quarters, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. Definitely take a photo of the dish and be sure to tag #foodfidelity so that I can see them.

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