This Jamaican Jerk Chicken is oven baked to perfection. Served alongside a delicious pineapple avocado salsa and rice it will take your tastebuds straight to Jamaica! Yeah Mon!
Think that to experience the culinary delight that is – jerk chicken – you have to get takeout or travel to Jamaica?
Nope!
Stick with me as I show you to make an authentic, real food, from scratch Jamaican Jerk Chicken at home in your oven.
How do you make Jamaican jerk chicken in the oven?
Jamaican jerk chicken is traditionally made on the grill but really it could not be simpler to make in the oven.
The ingredients
- chicken
- dry jerk seasoning rub
- orange juice or stock
The Equipment
- cast iron skillet – cooking the jerk chicken in a cast iron skillet makes this a one pan dish and gives the chicken a nice crispy exterior.
The method
- Season the chicken with the jerk seasoning mix
- Sear the chicken on high heat
- Add the orange juice and place the skillet in the oven to finish off cooking
Did you know?
The ‘Jerk’ in Jamaican Jerk Chicken refers to the seasoning used to marinate the chicken. Not the individual preparing it … lol
So let’s put the jerk in jerk chicken and learn how to make an authentic jerk seasoning rub.
Jerk seasoning rub from scratch
I choose to make my jerk seasoning rub from scratch because that way I can control the ingredients. Store-bought mixes often contain MSG and tons of other additives which I avoid at all costs.
The ground spices needed
- Jamaican all spice – This is the key to an authentic Jerk seasoning.
- Cinnamon
- Cayenne pepper or smoked paprika for less heat
- Clove
- Nutmeg
- Ginger
- Salt
The method
Add all the dried spices in a bowl and mix until combined. Store in an airtight glass jar.
This is the jerk seasoning rub recipe I have been using since the very first time I made jerk chicken and it’s the same mix I use in my Jerk Pork shanks recipe. The flavour is perfect for my family but you can turn down the heat by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper or by using smoked paprika instead. Make sure you get real Jamaican allspice it’s the key to an authentic Jerk seasoning.
What to serve with Jamaican Jerk Chicken
1)Pineapple Avocado Salsa
The sweet and tart flavours in the pineapple salsa perfectly complement the spicy chicken. This salsa is a real no brainer, just chop up the ingredients and put in a bowl.
2)Wild Rice
I served this jamaican jerk chicken alongside wild rice. It’s a favorite of mine but traditionally jerk chicken is served with rice and peas.
3)Baked Plantain Fries
We love this dish in our home. Sometimes we even put on some reggae music as we eat for a real Jamaican experience and because we’re a bit corny..lol
I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you know a friend who would enjoy a taste of the islands please share it with them.
Get my cookbook!
Your cooking manual for better more peaceful menses
Baked Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
Ingredients for jerk chicken
- 1 whole butterflied chicken or 8 chicken pieces bone in
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice or stock
Jerk seasoning rub
- 1 tablespoon ground Jamaican allspice
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground clove
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Ingredients for pineapple salsa
- 1 cup pineapple
- 1 avocado
- cilantro
- lime juice infused with jalapeno
- zest of 1 lime
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Method for chicken
- Preheat oven to 400ºF / 200ºC
- Coat chicken completely with Jerk seasoning rub. Lay it on thick.
- Sear the chicken, skin side down very high heat. About 3 -5 minutes should suffice.
- Turn chicken over, add the orange juice or stock and place your skillet in the oven.
- Set the timer for 45 minutes. Add a bit more water or stock if needed during the cooking time.
Method for pineapple salsa
- Chop all ingredients and mix in a bowl.
- Give the salsa about one hour for all the ingredients to mingle and become BFFs. I chose to infuse the lime juice with a few slices of jalapeno. You can skip that step if you like.
This sounds SO good!!! My husband would love this! Can’t wait to try it. Pinning it.
Thank you Emily! I hope you can make it for him one day. .:)
That salsa looks amazing!! I bet you can make a wonderful finishing salt to go with it…oh the ideas!
Oh yes! Sounds like a great idea..:)
Cilantro, pineapple and jalapeno are some of my favorite things, so that salsa needs to be in my life!
Go get it girl!!
This looks AMAZING!!! Pinning it!
This looks so delicious. I love chicken, these spices and fresh pineapple– all favorites!
Thanks Megan! They really do combine well.
Yummy and healthy!!!!!
what more can u ask for? Thanks Krys
Thank you Kirtz!!
Yum! This jamaican chicken and salsa looks so delicious. I definitely will be making a batch of that jerk seasoning – I think not only would it work with meat but also fish too.
Oh yes Thalia, it’s awesome with fish..:)
This looks great! I think I may make it for dinner tomorrow with coconut rice! Yum! Thanks 🙂
Sounds like a perfectly delicious combination Sabrina!
I’ve been wanting to try Jamaican jerk chicken, so the timing of this is perfect! I’ll have to keep an eye out for Jamaican allspice, but I’m glad to know I can get it from Amazon if I can’t find it in stores.
Glad to hear! Let me know how you like it!
I love Jerk Chicken but never quite got it right, but will put this into the rotation, it sounds fantastic… Will have to change up the salsa though, avocado is on my dreaded food list 😉
Give it a try Brian and let me know what you think. Avocado on your dreaded food list .. why pray tell?
I certainly will… We all have stuff we don’t like and on the food front the foods I don’t like are all about texture and avocado and banana are right at the top of that list, I guess I am just odd 😉
Oh my goodness Brian those are probably my top two foods I could not live without!! I’m curious now what’s the one food you absolutely adore ,I bet it’s something I hate … LOL
Ha ha, it is a long list but I definitely have a cauliflower thing going on at the moment, all though the season is coming to an end now so no doubt that will be replaced by something else.
I also have a great fondness for offal which most people don’t understand but it works for me 😉
I have no problems with cauliflower but offal?? You don’t like bananas but you’ll eat offal?! Brian you are one strange dude! LOL