Scotch-bonnet-hot, allspice-deep chicken from Bristol's Caribbean kitchens, a legacy of the Windrush generation that settled St Pauls and made jerk part of the city's flavour.

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.

Where to eat Jerk chicken in Bristol

2 editor picks for Jerk chicken in Bristol, ranked by editorial score. All Bristol signature dishes · Jerk chicken across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves Serves 413 hrIntermediate

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.

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