Jerk chicken
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Caribbean families arriving in Bristol from the late 1940s made St Pauls and Easton the heart of the city's Jamaican food culture, cooking jerk at home, at community halls and on carnival day. St Pauls Carnival, first held in 1968, turned the neighbourhood into an open-air jerk kitchen each July, and that tradition feeds today's restaurants and market stalls, from Stokes Croft rum bars to the wrap counter at St Nicholas Market.

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Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 13 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 8 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
  • 2 scotch bonnet chillies, deseeded
  • 6 spring onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 thumb of fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon ground allspice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Blitz everything except the chicken into a rough, dark marinade.
  2. Slash the chicken thighs to the bone, massage in the marinade and refrigerate overnight, or 12 hours minimum.
  3. Cook over medium charcoal or at 190C in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, until the skin chars at the edges and the juices run clear.
  4. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve with rice and peas and any leftover marinade boiled hard into a sauce.

Tip from the editors. Keep one scotch bonnet whole in the marinade instead of blending both if you want the perfume without the full blaze.

Where to eat jerk chicken

Jerk chicken in Bristol

Caribbean Croft ★ 4.1

££ CaribbeanStokes Croft

Caribbean Croft cooks Ms Cat's family recipes on Stokes Croft in Bristol, matching jerk and curry goat with one of the city's longest rum lists.

OrderCurry goat with rice and peas, and a rum punch from the long list.

TipThe kitchen closes well before the bar every night, so order food early and stay on for the rum.

Directions

Caribbean Wrap ★ 4.0

£ CaribbeanOld City

Caribbean Wrap rolls jerk chicken and curry goat into lunch at St Nicholas Market, Bristol's quick daytime fix of the city's Caribbean kitchens.

TryJerk chicken wrap

TipAsk for extra scotch bonnet sauce only if you mean it; curried goat with rice beats the wrap on cold days.

Directions

All Bristol signature dishes →

Jerk chicken in Santa Monica

Cha Cha Chicken ★ 4.2

$ CaribbeanOcean Avenue

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.

TryJerk chicken plates

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

Directions

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