Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

How to Make Miss Lily’s Jerk Chicken Recipe

Sam Slaughter
By

Jamaica and its people have contributed innumerable things to global culture over the centuries. There are the reggae and ska genres, of course, and sugar, rum, and coffee too. Bauxite is one of the country’s biggest exports, and while we don’t know what exactly it’s used for, it sounds pretty important. On the culinary side, Jamaicans have contributed jerk spice and jerk cooking, the spicy, sweet style that we know and love.

Jerk cooking was developed by African slaves that escaped when the British took over Jamaica in the mid-to-late-1600s. They used what was available to them in the deep jungles, cooking meat slowly over a smoking fire.

Recommended Videos

Related Reading

Miss Lilys jerk chicken
Michael Condran

The word itself (for those who might think that the person who invented the style was just a dick) comes from a Spanish, charqui, which was adopted from the Quechua word for dried meat. The term is also where we get jerky in English. However, others argue that the term comes from the act of poking holes in the meat to let the flavors get deeper into what was being cooked.

Related

Both are great origins, but really, when it comes down to it, we’d be happy calling it anything as long as it’s delicious (and it is). That is why we had to figure out how to make delicious jerk chicken at home. To do that, we went to the source of some of the best — if not the best — jerk chicken in New York City.

The following recipe comes to us from Miss Lily’s, which has two spots in New York as well an outpost in Dubai. In addition to delicious Caribbean fare, Miss Lily’s East Village 7A has a rum collection with over 150 bottles. (Read: Go there the next time you’re in New York.)

If you’re not headed to the Big Apple anytime soon, bide your time by making this amazing jerk chicken. You won’t be disappointed. And make sure to check out our live cooking show for more inspiration.

Miss Lily’s Jerk Chicken

Miss Lilys jerk chicken
Michael Condran

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken, split into two halves
  • 8 cups chicken brine*
  • .5 cup jerk marinade**
  • 2 cups jerk barbecue sauce***
  • Oil, for oiling grill grates
  • Latex or vinyl gloves

Method:

  1. Place the chicken in a large bowl or baking dish and pour the brine over it, making sure the chicken is fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  2. Rinse the chicken well. Wearing latex or vinyl gloves (Scotch bonnet chiles can remain on the skin for 24 hours!), rub the jerk marinade all over the chicken.
  3. Place in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  4. Preheat a grill for cooking over indirect medium heat. Lightly oil the grill grates, then place the chicken skin-side down over indirect heat.
  5. Grill, uncovered, turning the chicken every 5 to 6 minutes until the juices run clear when the thighs are pricked with a fork, 40 to 50 minutes.
  6. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes to allow the juices to distribute equally.
  7. Cut the chicken into quarters, separating the leg portions from the breast portions, and serve with jerk barbecue sauce.

Chicken Brine

Ingredients:

  • .5 cup kosher salt
  • .25 cup light brown sugar

Method:

  1. Stir the salt and light brown sugar into 8 cups water in a pot and bring to a simmer, stirring to ensure that the salt and sugar completely dissolve.
  2. Let cool to 38 degrees Fahrenheit before using.

Jerk Marinade

Ingredients:

  • .5 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more as needed
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 20 whole allspice berries
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems and stems discarded
  • 2 bunches green onions, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 Scotch bonnet chiles
  • 1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

Method:

  1. Put the soy sauce, oil, salt, allspice, thyme, green onions, garlic, chiles, ginger, and onion in a food processor and puree until a smooth paste is formed, adding more oil if necessary. Set aside.

Jerk Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

  • .5 cup tomato paste
  • .5 cup jerk marinade
  • .25 cup molasses
  • .25 cup white vinegar
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp dry mustard powder
  • 2 tsp tamarind puree
  • 1 tsp celery salt
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • .5 tsp ground black pepper
  • .5 tsp liquid smoke
  • .5 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • Juice of 1 lime

Method:

  1. In a nonreactive heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the tomato paste and 2 cups water and heat slowly, stirring, until well incorporated.
  2. Add in the Jerk Marinade, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard powder, tamarind, celery salt, cumin, pepper, liquid smoke, thyme, and lime juice.
  3. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reached the desired consistency.
  4. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Editors' Recommendations

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
We know the most popular cocktails — Try these underrated drinks instead
Try some alternatives to the most popular cocktails
Cocktails

Recently, we wrote an article about the 10 most popular cocktails in the US. Not surprisingly, it was littered with classic drinks like the Mojito, Margarita, Old Fashioned, and Moscow Mule. But drinking cocktails isn’t a popularity contest. Just because many people seem to enjoy Espresso Martinis doesn’t mean you have to stop drinking your classic Dirty Martini.

But, if you take a moment to peruse the list of the 10 most popular drinks, you might see a few you like and others you aren’t sure about. That’s okay. Lucky for you, we’re here to help. That’s why today we’re all about the underdogs.

Read more
How to start your own home bar: the tools and mixers
the best home bar glassware version 1612854960 for your 2021

So you're building up your home bar. You've got the essential spirits in. You've added a selection of liqueurs and bitters to combine them with. Now, it's time to add the finishing touches. From mixers to tools to glasswear, we're rounding up everything else you'll need to turn a corner of your kitchen into a great home bar.
Speaking of the kitchen – this is, in my experience, the absolute best place for a home bar. While I love a good bar cart for a living room (or even an office, if you have that kind of job!) these are really more decorative than a practical place to mix drinks. The problem with using bar carts for serious cocktail making is twofold: One, the surfaces are usually too low, at below hip height, so you'll be bending over uncomfortably while you try to make your drinks. That's not chic, and it's hard on your back too. Instead you want something that's counter level, hence opting for the kitchen. The second issue is access to ice and a sink. Mixing serious cocktails requires a large amount of ice and frequent washing of glasses and tools. Sure, you can get an attractive ice bucket for your bar cart, and that certainly makes a fun decorative accessory. But you'll still be running back and forth to the kitchen to use the sink all the time anyway.
If you love the style of a bar cart, I certainly wouldn't want to stop you having one. They are great fun, and stylish to boot. I have a bar cart myself in my living room, which I love and use for very simple mixed drinks like negronis (though even then, you still have to go and fetch ice every time you want a drink). It's a great place for occasional special bottles, particularly beautiful glasswear, cocktail books, and other decorative accessories.
But for serious cocktail making, you want an area of clear counter space, near to a sink and to a freezer full of ice, and with easy access to all your bottles and tools. I find a small kitchen island perfect for this purpose, tucked into a corner of the kitchen near the appliances. Store bottles and equipment on the lower shelves of the island or on wall-mounted shelves to save space, and make sure you have a lamp or decent overhead lighting so you can see what you're doing while you mix. You'll want a small chopping board as well for slicing citrus and other fruit, and a small, sharp knife that you can borrow from your kitchen equipment.
Then it's time to turn your attention to home bar tools.

Essential home bar tools

Read more
Big Green Egg brings back a fan-favorite item for a limited time
However spend your evenings outdoors, the Big Green Egg Chiminea is there to help keep things warm
The Big Green Egg Chiminea.

Love good times by the fire on a chilly night? Want to enjoy a few drinks in a toasty spot after a long day at work? Of course, we all do. But throwing some logs in a pit in the ground doesn't quite do it. If you want a cozy evening, Big Green Egg brings the wow with the release of a special Chiminea to celebrate 50 years in business, and it will take your gathering around the fire to a whole new level.
The Big Green Egg update

Big Green Egg has been the go-to for outdoor grillers and smokers looking for an outdoor cooker for decades. But if you want to hang out in the fresh air without cooking, the Chiminea is what you need. Freestanding fireplaces aren't new, and Big Green Egg isn't trying to reinvent them. The vintage version from 1999 is the starting point, with upgrades worthy of a 50th anniversary.
What's cracking with this egg
If it's not broken, don't fix it, right? But even the littlest changes will make something feel fresh. For those who aren't the best at starting a fire and keeping it going, the Chiminea comes with Lava Rocks to keep the flames roaring more evenly and for longer. Made from NASA-grade ceramic, the quality isn't something to worry about, either. And, yes, it's still in that gorgeous, signature deep green color. 

Read more