Jerk Chicken Marinade

I got inspired watching Chef John Bull rock some delicious looking Jerk Chicken on Sunday. His recipe was a bit hard to follow, so I took one out of Chris Schlesinger’s License to Grill and adapted for what I had on hand.

  • juice from 2 limes
  • 3 scallions
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro
  • 1/3 cup honey mustard
  • 1/2 t cayenne
  • 1 T coriander seed
  • 1 T green peppercorns
  • 1 T ground allspice
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 1 t each dried basil, oregano and thyme
  • 1 t salt

Grind the spices your spare coffee grinder (you have one, right?), then blend everything in a food processor. Should make a saucey paste; enough for 6-8 split chicken breasts. Coat the chicken, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour, but not more than two or the lime juice will start “cooking” the chicken too much and toughen it. You want to grill the chicken slowly over indirect heat so the sugars in the marinade don’t burn, maybe 30-40 minutes.

Written on May 13, 2008