Jamaican Jerk Chicken Drumsticks
A delicious and spicy dish bringing Caribbean flavors to your kitchen, made with a zesty marinade featuring scotch bonnet pepper.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 8 pieces chicken drumsticks (about 2.5lb / 1.2kg)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 whole lime (or 1/2 lemon, juice only, about 2 tbsp)
- 1 piece onion (coarsely chopped, brown, yellow, or white)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger (chopped, or 1 tsp dried ginger powder)
- 1 or more piece scotch bonnet pepper (or substitute with other chili)
- 6 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tbsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tbsp allspice powder
- ½ tsp nutmeg powder (preferably freshly grated)
- ½ tsp dried thyme (or 1 sprig of fresh thyme)
- to garnish fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
Instructions
Preparation
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and place it in a large ziplock bag.
- Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Be careful not to touch the marinade with bare hands to avoid getting chili on your skin.
- Pour the marinade into the ziplock bag with the chicken. Close the bag tightly, pressing out excess air. Massage the bag from the outside to evenly coat the chicken with the marinade.
- Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Cooking
- When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade but reserve the marinade for later use.
- Grill, bake in the oven, or barbecue the chicken drumsticks as desired.
Notes
For extra flavor, consider adding some pineapple juice to the marinade. If you like it extra spicy, leave the seeds in the scotch bonnet pepper or add more than one. Letting the chicken marinate overnight will enhance the flavors even more.