Name: Recipe for Roasted Jamaican Jerk Seasoned Chicken
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 (4 oz.) portions
Cuisine: Entrees
Ingredients: 8 (4 ounce) chicken breasts; 2 habanero or jalapeno peppers, chopped; 1 ground allspice; 1/8 ground nutmeg; 1/2 brown sugar; 1 fresh thyme; 1/2 ground ginger; 3/4 ground black pepper; 1/2 canola oil; 3/4 red onions, chopped; 1 chopped green onions; 6 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 limes, juiced

Sliced jerk chicken filet with veggie and lime garnishes

Entrees Woodsy, Spicy, and Sweet

Don’t be alarmed by the word “jerk”, used throughout the Caribbean to describe both a dark and spicy herb rub and the charcoal smoking method of cooking. With influences from Africa, Jamaica and Spain, this woodsy, spicy and sweet style of cooking lends itself to almost any meat or fowl. Absorbed into chicken, the multi-leveled tastes of allspice, nutmeg and thyme, a combination rich in healthy essential oils, enhance the bird, and grilling the final result develops a dark crust that is as close as one can get to real “jerk” without a steel drum.

Roasted Jamaican Jerk Seasoned Chicken

Recipe courtesy of

Chef Edwin Cabrera

Prep Instructions

Yield: 8 (4 oz.) portions
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

8 (4 ounce) chicken breasts
2 habanero or jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup red onions, chopped
1 cup chopped green onions
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 limes, juiced

Place chicken in a bowl with lime juice. Set aside. In a food processor combine the rest of the ingredients and blend until almost smooth.
Pour ¾ of the marinade with the chicken, reserving the rest for basting if desired or use the whole mixture all at once if roasting chicken in the oven.
Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
If using the grill coat with oil or cooking spray. Cook chicken slowly on the pre heated grill. Baste frequently with the remaining marinade.