Jamaican oven-baked jerk chicken is spicy, hot, mildly sweet, tender, juicy with crispy skin and packed full of flavour. Jerk chicken is traditionally Jamaican, there is also jerk pork, jerk burger, jerk shrimp, jerk cauliflower etc.

Authentic Jamaican jerk chicken made in jerk joints use a jerk grill made out of old oil drums or barbecue grills, they use pimento wood to fire it up. The wood adds to the flavour of the jerk chicken but the pimento (allspice) seeds used in the marinade mimic this very well.

If you don’t have a barbecue grill or you don’t have the will to fire one up, it should not be a reason not to enjoy scrumptious jerk chicken whenever you want to. This oven-baked jerk chicken is just as delicious and hits all the right notes and the aroma that envelopes your kitchen will get your juices pumping anytime you remember it.

I have a recipe for authentic Jamaican jerk seasoning which I have used to prepare this chicken.

You can give the chicken a rinse in a vinegar-water mix like the Jamaicans do before marinating. Leave the skin on the chicken it will crisp up and add to your eating pleasure.

Spicy, hot, tender, juicy oven baked jerk chicken

Do line your baking sheet with aluminium foil before placing the chicken on it, it makes cleaning up a breeze. You can use a well-oiled wire rack over your baking sheet if you have one.

Go ahead impress your family and friends.

To make Jamaican oven baked jerk chicken

1.5 kg Chicken
2 tablespoons chicken seasoning or any seasoning powder or cubes
1 cup Jerk marinade (sauce)

Cut chicken to the desired size, wash and pat dry.

Use a paring knife or fork to pierce the chicken pieces.

Place chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle chicken seasoning all over.

Pour 1 cup of jerk marinade all over the chicken, stir the chicken around to coat it well. Get the marinade into all the nooks and crannies of the chicken pieces and under the skin, best to use your hands.

Cover with plastic wrap or the bowl cover. You can also use a large freezer bag or put it directly on your baking sheet.

Place in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 3 hours but best left overnight.

keep the remaining jerk marinade in the fridge for use in basting chicken halfway through.

Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg. C

Place chicken pieces skin side up on the lined baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, turn chicken pieces spread some jerk marinade on them.

Bake for a further 30 minutes until chicken is cooked.

The chicken juices should run clear when a knife tip is inserted into the flesh of the chicken and the meat is not pink or an internal temperature of 75 deg. C if using a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken.

Boil down the remaining jerk marinade and serve as a dip.

Serve your delicious Jamaican oven-baked Jerk chicken with a sweet Beetroot coleslaw, it goes well with the spicy heat of the meat, Jamaican rice and peas, Johnny cakes, festival, cornbread etc. or serve with a drink like my Carrot-Orange drink, Virgin Pina Colada, Beetroot juice mocktail or Mango Lassi to help calm the heat.

Notes

Lining a baking sheet with aluminium foil makes cleaning up easy.

If you enjoyed my Jamaican oven baked jerk chicken, you will also enjoy my Fried barbecued turkey wing, Peppered Gizzard, Asun, spicy goatmeat, Peppered Ponmo (cowskin) and Peppered snail.