Soaked in robust Jamaican jerk spice to marinate overnight, these baby chickens will be one of the most flavourful chicken recipes you’ve ever tasted, much less made straight out from your kitchen. For a complete and luxurious finish, simply serve with grilled pineapple, topped with coriander and a few pieces of lime cheeks.
Food
Jerk Chickens
October 10, 2021
Yield
Serves 4
Prep Time
20mins
Cook Time
30mins
Difficulty Level
3 / 5
Ingredients
- ½ medium pineapple (600 g), cut into 1 cm slices
- 4 x 500 g small chickens
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves
- Lime cheeks, to serve
MARINADE
- 2 medium limes (180g)
- ¼ cup (60ml) white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsps dark soy sauce
- 1 small red onion (100 g), chopped coarsely
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
- 2 tbsps brown sugar
- 2 tbsps finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 tbsps coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1½ tbsps allspice
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 fresh long green chilli, chopped coarsely
Steps
01.
Make marinade. Finely grate rind from 1 lime. Squeeze juice from both limes; you will need 2 tbsps juice. Process rind and juice with remaining ingredients until smooth.
02.
Place pineapple and ½ cup of the marinade in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Cover; refrigerate overnight.
03.
Discard necks from chickens. Using kitchen scissors, cut along each side of backbones; discard backbones. Turn chickens skin-side up; press down on breastbone to flatten. Cut through breastbone to cut chickens in half. Rinse chickens; pat dry with paper towel. Cut two deep slashes into chicken breasts and thighs.
04.
Place chickens in a medium shallow dish with remaining marinade; turn to coat. Cover; refrigerate overnight.
05.
Preheat a barbecue (or grill plate) to medium heat. Cook chickens, turning and basting occasionally with marinade, for 15 mins or until cooked through. If chickens are browning too quickly before cooking through, close the lid of a covered barbecue or cover chickens with foil or upturned baking dishes. Remove from heat; rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 mins.
06.
Meanwhile, cook pineapple slices on barbecue until golden brown and heated through. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
07.
Serve chickens with pineapple, coriander and lime cheeks.