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Jamaican Jerk Chicken was probably one of the first recipes that I cooked with my husband when we were newly married! It was an adaptation of one of Bobby Flay's recipe. I remember that I made the spice rub from scratch, marinated the meat overnight, and we grilled it on a charcoal grill. It was juicy, spicy, sweet and simply amazing!

Traditional Marinade for Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe

In the traditional recipe for Jamaican Jerk Chicken, a wet marinade is prepared with fresh thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, ginger, garlic, spring onions, oil, soy sauce, orange juice, red wine vinegar, brown sugar and a unique spice-rub that includes cinnamon, cloves, all-spice, nutmeg, black pepper and salt. Everything is blended together in a food processor and the chicken is marinated in it for 30 mins-12 hours.

Whenever I have time, I like to make this marinade from scratch, but on busy days, I love to take a shortcut and use a dry pre-mixed Caribbean Jerk Seasoning . I combine a few tablespoons of the pre-mix with orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, red wine vinegar and brown sugar, and marinade is done.

Cooking methods: Oven/Skillet/Grill/Instant Pot:

I have cooked Jerk Chicken in the oven, in a skillet, on an outdoor grill, and now, in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot

. It takes about 15-20 minutes to grill it on the stove, outdoor grill or under the broiler (oven).

With an Instant Pot

Serving suggestion for this Jerk Chicken Recipe

, it takes about 30 minutes, BUT, that's hands-free time. You don't have to monitor it, or flip it half way through. You just dump it in and walk away for the next 30 minutes. However, after cooking it in the pressure cooker, I do like to do anextra step. I heat a grill pan on medium-high heat, and then sear the cooked chicken for 30 secs-1 minute on one side, to get the nice grill marks on the chicken. By doing that, the sugars in the marinade caramelize and create a nice char on the chicken, that tastes heavenly and looks phenomenal.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken goes really well with a simple mango salsa, or my favorite, Kale & Mango Salad with Chickpeas. The crunchy slaw and the sweetness of the ripe and juicy mangoes compliments the spicy chicken really well.

Here's how easy it is to put Jamaican Jerk Chicken together:

Prepare the marinade Pour it in a resealable bag Add scored chicken, marinate 30 mins-12 hours Pressure cook for 6-8 mins Remove chicken, rest 10 mins before slicing Thicken sauce on SAUTE for 3-5 mins

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