This is my streamlined, home-kitchen version of Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s jerk chicken, and it’s one of the boldest, most flavorful things you can pull off a grill.

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Jerk Chicken?

• Soy Sauce
• Fresh Thyme
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Lime Juice
• Allspice
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Garlic
• Bay Leaves
• Scallions
• Scotch Bonnet Peppers (or Habaneros)
• Ginger
• Liquid Smoke (optional)
• Chicken

How Do You Make Jerk Chicken?

Start by breaking down the chicken. Remove the spine and cut it into two breasts, two whole wings, and two whole legs, leaving everything on the bone. The bones keep the meat juicy and add flavor, and if you’d rather skip the knife work, your butcher will happily do it for you, or you can just use chicken leg quarters.

Next comes the marinade, and this is where the magic happens. Toss everything into a food processor (soy sauce, Worcestershire, lime juice, scallions, ginger, garlic, thyme, warm spices, and the peppers) and blend it into a thick paste. A paste clings to the chicken in a way a thin liquid marinade never will. Use one pepper for a solid kick or two if you like real heat, and wear gloves when you handle them.

Coat the chicken completely with about ¾ cup of the paste, then press plastic wrap directly onto the surface so every inch stays in contact with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight, or for a full 24 hours if you can wait. The longer it sits, the deeper that flavor goes.

When you’re ready to cook, grill the chicken until the breasts hit 165 degrees and the legs and wings reach 185 at the joints. Dark meat benefits from the higher temperature, since that’s when the connective tissue breaks down and it turns truly tender.

No grill? Sear the pieces on a grill pan for those charred marks, then finish in a 400-degree oven. Finishing in the oven gives the chicken time to cook through before that sugary marinade burns.