Jerk Chicken

Having tasted the delicious Jerk Chicken in London (during Notting Hill Carnival), I had to try making this at home. Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica. Jerk seasoning principally relies upon two ingredients: allspice (dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica plant) and Scotch bonnet peppers (extra hot chilli). Not a fan of super hot chilli, so I used the milder bell chilli instead. The end result - did my Jerk Chicken taste as good as the Jerk Chicken in London? Close but probably still require some fine tuning. What does it taste like? Jerk Chicken are spicy, very aromatic, quite chilli hot and full of barbecue flavour.

INGREDIENTS

• 500 gm chicken thighs (skin on) or wings or legs

• 1 teaspoon All Spice

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3 cm ginger (grated)

• 2 cloves garlic (smashed)

• 2 small ball chillis (chopped)

• 2 teaspoons Canola oil (if you leave skin on, otherwise, add 1 tablespoon oil)

METHOD

1. Marinade the chicken with all other ingredients overnight.

2. Place the chicken on a wire rack over a roasting pan and roast in a 180C oven for 20 minutes. Add 1/2 an inch of water to the roasting pan to catch any oil drips.

3. Remove from oven, flip chicken over to the other side and continue roasting for another 20 minutes. The spice turn the chicken rather dark, so keep  checking the oven to avoid charring.