Jamaican Jerk Chicken 🇯🇲 

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Created By: OyerePa 

Kitchen Tools: Utensil Set, Knives Set 

It is the first hot day of spring! For this reason Vanessa thought it would be great to start the season with some Jamaican jerk chicken. Vanessa lives in New Jersey, grew up in Haiti 🇭🇹 and loves to experiment in the kitchen. She is what we would describe as a true foodie! With the option to grill or bake jerk chicken it started off to be the perfect day. Thoughts of jerk chicken seasoning on top of rice and peas and a side of festival would be amazing!  

Vanessa completes her morning routine and jumps in the car. To her disappointment, her car will not start, but no need to worry! 😠

History of Jamaican Jerk Chicken 

With a minor setback she decides to call a Lyft. As she waited for her ride Vanessa looked up the recipe for Caribbean jerk chicken! To her amazement she found a ton of Caribbean jerk chicken recipes. Despite the abundance of recipes, Vanessa was more interested in the rich history of Jamaican jerk chicken. For example, it is believed that Maroons and Arawak Indians are responsible to have created jerk chicken in Jamaica 🇯🇲. For instance, Maroons brought their African culture along with cooking techniques. Ultimately the combination of Jamaican ingredients used by Arawak Indians created Jamaican Jerk Chicken. 

Caribbean Jerk Chicken 

As Vanessa’s Lyft arrived, she wanted to learn more about the wonderful meal she was going to prepare! Furthermore she continues her search as she is driven to the market. Jerk chicken is mostly known in Jamaica, but it is popular throughout the Caribbean. As Vanessa continues to enlighten herself, she asks why is it called jerk chicken? Soon enough she finds out it is called jerk chicken, because of the Spanish word charqui. Charqui means dried meat, which translate to Jerky in English. Vanessa is excited with all that she has learned and is eager to cook her own jerk chicken. On a beautiful day like today, she is excited to throw some chicken on the grill. 

Grill or Bake Jerk Chicken 

As she enters the market, she hits every aisle with great tenacity! Gathering every ingredient that will make her Jamaican jerk chicken special. Garlic, dark sauce, chives, and thyme all needed to make jerk marinade. 😊 As Vanessa check out at the register and calls another Lyft to head home, it begins to rain. With disappointment showing on her face, the driver asks what’s wrong? She explains her journey to create her version of Jamaican jerk chicken and the obstacles she faced for the day. As the rain falls heavier, she feels that her day was wasted because she will not have her private BBQ. The driver laughs and explains to her that you can bake jerk chicken and recommended Karibe’s Jamaican jerk chicken recipe! To her delight, she was happy she could grill or bake jerk chicken. 

Wrap It Up 

As Vanessa arrives home, she tips the driver, preheats the oven and the rest is history! 🔥 If you want to see our jerk chicken in action, please head over to KaribeTV. If you enjoyed Vanessa’s journey to jerk chicken or have any tips on how she can improve her recipe, please leave your comments below. We would like to see your recipe, so please tag @karibecompany for us to review!