History

Jerk seasoning is Jamaican, built on allspice and scotch bonnet, and it has anchored Santa Monica's beachfront since Cha Cha Chicken opened its painted patio at Ocean and Pico in 1996. The family-run kitchen's jerk and coconut fried chicken plates, eaten outdoors with BYOB bottles, made the dish a local beach-day ritual.

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 4 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 8 chicken thighs, bone in
  • 4 spring onions
  • 2 scotch bonnet chillies, deseeded
  • 1 tbsp ground allspice
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • Thumb of ginger
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil, salt

Method

  1. Blend everything except the chicken into a rough paste.
  2. Score the thighs, massage in the marinade and refrigerate at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
  3. Grill over medium coals or roast at 200C, turning, for 35 to 40 minutes until charred at the edges and cooked through.
  4. Rest 5 minutes and serve with fried plantains and rice.

Tip from the editors. Allspice is not optional; without it the marinade is just hot sauce, so buy whole berries and grind them fresh if you can.

Where to eat jerk chicken

Jerk chicken in Santa Monica

Cha Cha Chicken ★ 4.2

Caribbean$ocean-avenueMon-Thu 11:00-21:00; Fri 11:00-21:30; Sat 10:00-21:30; Sun 10:00-21:00

Cha Cha Chicken has smoked jerk chicken under the palms on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica since 1996, a family-run Caribbean shack steps from the beach.

Try: Jerk chicken plates

Tip: It runs one of the most lenient BYOB policies in town; bring a bottle and eat coconut fried chicken outside.

1906 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405

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