Super Simple Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings – Spicy & Hot

Super Simple Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings – Spicy & Hot

Super Simple Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings – Spicy & Hot

WHAT'S SPECIAL!

Homemade authentic spicy Jerk marinade!

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Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings! It’s spicy, smoky, fragrant and sweet! When it comes to chicken you just can’t beat it! And it all comes down to the super delicious and easy to make marinade. The jerk marinade is packed full of vitamin and mineral packed fruits and vegetables. This dish is the perfect crowd pleaser its spicy, tropical and finger licking good. These wings can be air fried, baked or grilled.

jerk chicken flat wing up close

Wing Wednesday!

Welcome to this new and ongoing Wing Wednesday series! I am a huge chicken wing fan and have so many flavours to share with you. I will be posting a new wing recipe every other Wednesday until further notice! Yep, you heard that right – I will be posting WINGS EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE 😉

If you are a wing lover too, be sure to check out my other chicken wing recipes!

Lemon Pepper Wings! Are one of my favourites, my recipe includes a homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning!!!

What wings do you want to see next time? Let me know in the comments 🙂

What is Jerk Chicken?

Jerk Chicken is considered by some the national dish of Jamaica. The popular chicken recipe is a dish of grilled or barbecued chicken that has been marinated in lots of fresh herbs and spices and grilled on wood for a smoky flavour!

The fragrant marinade traditionally includes pimento also known as all spice, scotch bonnet, onion, spring onion, ginger, brown sugar, thyme and vinegar. The best thing about making your own marinade is you can simply adjust the ratios or add ingredients to suit your palate! I love spicy food so of course my marinade is packed full of scotch bonnet chillies for some fiery heat!

Jerk chicken when cooked right is the perfect combination of spicy and sweet and should be juicy and moist! It is often served with another classic Caribbean dish Rice and peas. Try my quick and easy Lazy Rice and Peas recipe for the perfect meal!

What do I Need?

  • Chicken Wings – The only ingredient needed separate to the marinade. You should use washed and dried wings that have removed the wing tip and you have separated into drums and flats.
  • Food Processor – The other key item needed is a food processor. This is what is going to process and ‘blend’ the marinade ingredients to a a fragrant combined marinade. My current blender I have had for 4 years is the Ninja Foodie 3 in 1. I love this blender! It looks great on the kitchen counter and it works great too. You dont need to break the bank with a vitamix. This 3 in 1 blender comes with a processing cup, blending cup and 3 different smoothie style cups! Check them out!

The Marinade –

  • Scotch Bonnet – This fiery chilli pepper is not for the faint hearted. This Caribbean chilli is super hot and the authentic Caribbean chilli used for this recipe. I used 4 but suggest using only 1 if you cannot handle very spicy food!
  • Pimento or All Spice – This ingredient is essential to jerk marinade. It’s where the jerk chicken gets its unique smoky and sweet flavour from. Allspice is a very fragrant dried brown berry related to the clove family. It’s flavour is like a combination of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • Spring Onion or Scallion – Another key ingredient is spring onion. This fragrant onion is popular in the West Indies and are packed with essential nutrients like Vitamins A, C, B2 or thymin!
  • Red onion and Yellow Onion – You will also need a small yellow onion and half a red onion for added sweetness and depth of flavour.
  • Ginger and Garlic – These 2 besties are definitely included in this tasty marinade.
  • Brown Sugar – The brown sugar is going to sweeten up the marinade and and help the marinade caramelise while cooking.
  • Soy Sauce – This is a bit of a salt replacement but also adds an umami flavour to the marinade.
  • Fresh Thyme – Fresh is best for this recipe. You can use dry but it will provide a stronger and slightly different flavour to your marinade if you use dry.
  • Vinegar – I like to use white wine vinegar for my jerk marinade and sometimes use red wine just to mix it up.
  • Oil – Your marinade will need some oil content too. I tend to use a neutral oil like sunflower oil as you don’t want to mask the flavour of any of the ingredients in the marinade.

This vitamin packed marinade will last up to 1 week in the fridge in an airtight container. What I do is portion the marinade out into Ziplock bags and freeze!

FlavOil – High Oleic Sunflower Oil

This oil is the perfect oil for Jerk Marinade! Flavoil is a high oleic sunflower oil perfect for cooking and marinades.

Flavoil provides the perfect marinade oil. A less calorific and much lighter oil which is odourless and almost tasteless.

Flavoil are currently doing a buy one get one free deal and you can use my code to get yourself 10% off on top!

Use my special code “HOSO29” using this link to order your first bottle today with a 10% discount. If you are looking for a lighter all in one great cooking oil you will love Flavoil! I for one will be buying their amazing cooking oil for all my frying recipes.

How to Make Homemade Jerk Seasoning

Making this homemade marinade could not be easier. All you need is a good blender or food processing whatever you prefer. If you like a smoother paste/marinade definitely go for a blender or if you want it chunkier stick to a food processor.

I currently use the Ninja 3 in 1 blender which has cups for blending, processing and even small cups for things like smoothies! I seriously love this brand and their kitchen appliances because not only do they look great they work great too. They also provide really good customer service if you have anything wrong with your product.

  1. Wash the chillies, spring onion and fresh thyme and add to your blender cup.
  2. Peel and chop the onion into quarters and add to the blender.
  3. Peel the garlic and ginger and add to the cup.
  4. Add all the liquid components to the blender cup and the seasoning and simply blend until you have your desired consistency!

Tips & Tricks

  • Please Wash your chicken and dry thoroughly before adding the marinade.
  • The longer you marinate the chicken, the more flavoursome your chicken will be. I always try to marinate for at least 1 hour but most of the time I get myself organised and marinade overnight.
  • Bake your wings on a rack over a baking tray lined with baking paper to catch the oil/juices. This also helps the wings crisp up properly all over and not just on the top.
  • For the oil content in the marinade avoid using a strong oil like olive oil. It is simply unnecessary considering the price. It does tend to overpower some of the flavours in the marinade.
  • The main spice used is all spice or pimento. Be sure to buy whole seeds if you can and grind them fresh, using a spice grinder. I highly recommend investing in a spice grinder if you don’t already have one; if you want to, or already love making homemade spice mixes and marinades! I got mine for a bargain in the Middle of Lidl for just £9.99 but can recommend this alternative from Krups!
jerk chicken wings

Baked Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings

The beauty of this recipe is its versatility. The wings can be made in the oven, a grill or even an air fryer!

To bake the wings simply add the marinated wings to a rack sitting in a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C/356°F for about 40-45 minutes.

Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings

For grilled Jerk Chicken Wings heat your grill or barbecue to a medium/high, add the wings to the grates and cook for about 7 minutes each side.

If grilling I highly recommend using a meat thermometer like this one from Therm Pro or Meater. This way you can be sure your chicken is done and you don’t have to worry about poisoning anyone at the barbecue!

Everyones grill/barbecue is different so be sure the internal temperature of the jerk chicken wings is 175°F/79°C.

jerk chicken wings

Looking for more Chicken Wing Recipes?

Here in the Chilli & Life kitchen we love chicken wings and I make them at least twice a month. If you love wings be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest wing recipes. I post new wing recipes every other week!

Check out my other wing recipes:

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings

These chicken wings are spicy, sweet and full of tropical flavour!
Servings 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Marinade Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 55 minutes

Equipment

  • Blender or food processor
  • Chopping board
  • Sharp knife
  • Baking tray and rack
  • Spice grinder

Ingredients

  • 20 chicken wings drums and flats

The Marinade

  • 4 scotch bonnet
  • 5 spring onion
  • 1 yellow onion
  • ½ red onion
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • 1 thumb size piece of ginger
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup sunflower oil
  • 2 tbsp pimento seeds ground
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp all purpose seasoning
  • 7 sprigs fresh thyme leaves only

Instructions

The Jerk Marinade

  • Grind the pimento berries to a smooth powder and set aside.
  • Wash the spring onion, chillies and fresh thyme and remove the stalk and ends and add to the blender or food processor.
  • Peel and chop the onion into quarters and add to the blender or food processor. Also peel the garlic and ginger and add to the cup.
  • Add all the liquid components to the blender cup and the ground all spice and the seasoning and simply blend until you have your desired consistency.

Jerk Chicken Wings

  • Wash and dry your chicken wings. Remove the wing tip and use a meat cleaver to separate the drums from the flats.
  • Add the wings to a bowl or ziplock bag and add a generous amount of marinade. Wearing gloves combine the marinade with the wings and ensure they are well coated. Put in the fridge and leave to marinate for 1-48 hours.
  • Remove the marinating wings from the fridge about 20 minutes before baking. Lay the wings out on a rack over a baking paper lined baking tray.
  • Bake the wings in a pre-heated 180°C oven for 40-45 minutes.

Notes

TIPS – 
  • Keep an eye on your wings and place them on the middle shelf of your oven if baking. 
  • The marinade will darken/blacken due to the sugar content. 
  • If using a grill ensure you stay with your wings as they can burn/cook quickly.
Author: Daniel Devereux
Cost: £7
Course: Side Dish, Snack, Starter
Cuisine: Caribbean, Jamaican
Keyword: Cheap, Chicken, Party food, Spicy, Summer, Tropical, Wings

Did you try these Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings?

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m here to help! If you loved this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment and rating below! Let me know how it turned out for you and share it on social media – I would love to see your creations! Don’t forget to tag us at @chilliandlife and hashtag it #chilliandlife ! I’ll be sure to share it!

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