Name: Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 Whole chicken, broken down into 6 parts; 4 cup Water; 1 piece Ginger, halved, unpeeled; 1 tbsp Allspice berries; 1 Garlic, head, halved; 1/2 cup Kosher salt; 1/2 cup Granulated sugar; 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, halved; 4 cup Ice; 1/2 cup Soy sauce; 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce; 1 bunch Fresh thyme; 1 tsp Kosher salt; 1 tsp Ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp Ground cloves; 2 tbsp Tamarind paste; 2 Fresh bay leaves; 1/4 cup Brown sugar; 2-3 Scotch bonnet peppers, halved; 5 clove Garlic, peeled; 1 bunch Green onions, roughly chopped; 2 inch Ginger, peeled and chopped; 1 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 Yellow onion, diced; 3 clove Garlic, chopped; a pinch Kosher salt, to taste; 1 inch Ginger, chopped; 1/2 cup Brown sugar; 1 cup Ketchup; 1 handful Wood chips, preferably pimento, soaked

Method

7 steps. Tap one to mark it done.

Combine the water, halved ginger, allspice berries, halved head of garlic, salt, sugar, and halved scotch bonnet pepper in a pot. Bring the liquid to a simmer, heating it just until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
Pour the warm liquid into a large pot or bowl containing the ice to cool it rapidly. Submerge the chicken pieces in the mixture, then cover and chill in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
In a food processor, blend the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt, cinnamon, clove, tamarind paste, bay leaves, brown sugar, scotch bonnet peppers, garlic cloves, chopped green onions, and chopped ginger to create a textured, chunky paste. Reserve a portion of this mixture to use for basting and making the barbecue sauce.
Take the chicken out of the brine and drain it well. Coat all sides of the meat thoroughly with the jerk paste. Press plastic wrap directly onto the meat's surface, cover, and keep chilled for 24 hours.
Warm the oil in a pot set over medium-high heat. Toss in the diced yellow onion, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, and a pinch of salt, cooking to draw out moisture. Sauté until the aromatics soften and release moisture without browning, which should take about 5 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup of the set-aside jerk paste, brown sugar, and ketchup. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 30 minutes until the sauce turns dark brown and caramelized, then pour the mixture into a blender and process until perfectly smooth.
Set up a grill for smoking. Toss a handful of soaked wood chips straight onto the glowing coals to generate smoke. Sear the chicken by placing it skin-side down on the hot grill grates to keep it from sticking. Brush the meat with additional jerk paste, close the lid, and cook, turning the pieces every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking, for a duration of 30 to 40 minutes.
Brush the chicken with a coating of the jerk barbecue sauce during the final minutes of cooking on the grill so the sugars can caramelize. Take the meat off the heat, portion it into pieces using a heavy cleaver, and serve hot accompanied by white bread, additional jerk paste, and the jerk barbecue sauce.