Jerk Chicken and Rice

Jerk chicken and rice is easily one of my favorite chicken and rice dishes ever. I have always thought it was very difficult to make, but the marinade actually uses quite common ingredients. I would highly recommend giving this a try if you love spice, chicken, and rice.

Vegetables and spices in jerk chicken

Scallions

• Scallions are one of my main flavors in the marinade. I used 3 large stalks but you can add more if you like.

Thyme

• Thyme adds so much aroma to the marinade and the chicken itself which is why you must add it. There is no real measurement, I just grabbed a bunch with my hands and added it to the blender.

Garlic

• Garlic, a very self explanatory aromatic that is added in 90% of my cooking.

Yellow onion

• Similar to the scallions, the onions add a lot of flavor to the marinade, but you don’t want it to overpower the rest of the ingredients. That is why I used a small yellow onion or half of a large one.

Scotch bonnet

• Scotch bonnet peppers originate from the Caribbean and are the ones you need to use in the jerk marinade. They can be found in pretty much any grocery store and I used 4-5 for a medium level of spice.

What is browning seasoning?

Browning seasoning or sauce is a dark brown liquid that is used to enhance the flavors of stews, gravies, and other things. It is another popular Caribbean ingredient and is used in the jerk seasoning. I found mine at my local Walmart, but if it is unavailable in your region, I would use dark soy sauce instead.

Cut of chicken for jerk chicken and rice

I would highly recommend using dark meat when making jerk chicken just because it is extremely flavorful. But if you are on a diet then chicken breast will work fine, I would suggest letting it marinate overnight to tenderize and soak in more flavor.

Rice ingredients in jerk chicken and rice

• Brown rice
• Chicken stock
• Coconut milk
• Jerk marinade
• Small red beans

To make the rice, I used the rice cooker because it is the easiest way to make it in my opinion. With 2 cups of brown rice, I added 1 cup of coconut milk, 3 cups of chicken stock, 2 tbsp of jerk marinade, and a handful of small red beans. My rice cooker has a setting for brown rice and this was the perfect water level on my rice cooker. Adjust according to your own rice cooker!

Jerk Chicken and Rice

Jerk chicken and rice is one of those dishes that just hit the spot every single time. Here is how to make it at home.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Marinate Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Jamaican

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

  

Chicken Marinade

• 5 chicken quarters
• 3 stalks scallions
• 1 bunch thyme
• 7 cloves garlic
• 1 small yellow onion (quartered)
• 4-5 scotch bonnet peppers
• ½ tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground allspice
• ½ tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp browning seasoning
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tbsp brown sugar
• 1 lime (juiced)
• ½ tbsp liquid smoke (optional)
• Oil as needed

Rice

• 2 cups brown rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp jerk marinade
• ½ cup small red beans

Jerk Gravy

• 2 tbsp jerk marinade
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ tbsp corn starch

Instructions

 

Chicken

• Into a blender add all our vegetables along with the seasonings. Blend until smooth.
  3 stalks scallions, 1 bunch thyme, 7 cloves garlic, 1 small yellow onion, 4-5 scotch bonnet peppers, ½ tbsp salt, 1 tbsp ground allspice, ½ tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp browning seasoning, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ½ tbsp brown sugar, 1 lime, ½ tbsp liquid smoke
  
• If it gets stuck and isn't blending, add some oil to loosen it up until you are able to blend it.
  Oil as needed
• Reserve 4 tbsp of the marinade and set aside for later.
• Add the remaining marinade to your washed chicken quarters. Make sure to rub in the marinade under the skin. Let this marinate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
  5 chicken quarters
  
• Air fry at 350F for 25 minutes, flipping half way through or bake in the oven at 400F over a wire rack for 30 minutes flipping halfway through. After the 20 minute mark I would recommend checking to make sure they aren't browning too much.

Rice

• Add washed rice along with the remaining ingredients into a rice cooker. Since I have a rice cooker with a brown rice setting, this was the amount of chicken stock that allowed me to reach the perfect setting. Adjust this according to your own rice cooker.
  2 cups brown rice, 3 cups chicken stock, 1 cup coconut milk, 2 tbsp jerk marinade, ½ cup small red beans

Jerk Gravy

• Add jerk marinade into a pan along with soy sauce and worcestershire sauce.
  2 tbsp jerk marinade, ½ tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• Make a corn starch slurry with the water and corn starch then add it to the pan over medium heat then stir until thickens. Pour this on top of the chicken when cooked.
  ½ tbsp corn starch, ⅓ cup water

Keyword chicken, Jamaican, jerk, peas, rice

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out some more chicken and rice here:

• Sticky rice stuffed chicken wings
• Chicken teriyaki rice bowl