How To Cook Jerk Chicken In The Oven

No barbecue? No problem! This oven Caribbean jerk style chicken is smokey, fragrant, and tangy.

Done in 1 hour

Serves 4

Dish by Seren Davies-Jenkins

Ingredients

for the jerk paste

6spring onions

2scotch bonnets, whole

6 sprigsfresh thyme

8 clovesgarlic

1 small thumbginger

1/4 tspcinnamon

4allspice berries

4 tbspdark brown sugar

1 tbsphoney

2 tbspdark soy sauce

1 tspbrowning

4 tbsplime juice

for the chicken

8chicken thighs

4 tbspneutral oil

4 tbspketchup

2limes, in wedges

1 tbspliquid smoke

Jerk chicken is a popular Jamaican dish made by marinating pieces of chicken in a mixture of hot spices including allspice berries, scotch bonnet peppers, and thyme, and cooking it on a grill over charcoal or in a smoker. But how do you cook jerk chicken in the oven? This recipe replicates the original as closely as possible in the oven, resulting in delicious, moist, crispy chicken.

Method

To a blender, add spring onions, scotch bonnets, fresh thyme, garlic, fresh ginger, cinnamon, allspice berries, dark brown sugar, honey, dark soy sauce, browning, and the lime juice. Blend until smooth and season with salt. Taste and adjust where needed with more salt, sugar or lime juice.

Using half of your jerk marinade, add to a large bowl with chicken thighs, oil, ketchup lime wedges and liquid smoke. With gloves, rub the marinade well into the chicken and place in the fridge for at least 12 hours or overnight.

Once the chicken has marinated, place it on a large baking tray and heat your oven to 200 degrees. You're looking to slightly char the chicken skin to replicate the bbq.

Bake for 20 mins and then remove from the oven basting the skin in its marinade. Cook for another 20 mins until the chicken is tender and cooked through.