Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa

This spicy Jamaican jerk marinaded chicken was my first attempt at any Jamaican cooking.  The marinade comes together easily in the blender and you can easily increase (or decrease!) the heat level as much as you want to suit your pallet.

Traditionally, jerk seasoning or marinade is made using the habanero or scotch bonnet peppers.  If you are concerned about the level of heat these peppers pack - swap them out for less fiery jalapeno or serrano peppers!

The recipe makes enough marinade for 4 chicken breasts and would work well on pork tenderloin or chicken drumsticks as well (adjust time accordingly).  I chose to cook the chicken in a frying pan but I think this recipe would truly shine on the BBQ.

We served our chicken with a side of mango salsa.  The sweet salsa contrasted well with the spice of the marinade.  The recipe I used can be found here (I scaled it back to serve 2 people *see note below).

Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa
Serves 2-4 (recipe serves 1 chicken breast per person*)

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2-4 chicken breasts*
2 green onions
4 cloves garlic
2 chili peppers (habanero, jalapeno, serrano) or more to your liking - de-stemmed
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dry thyme
1 tsp dry ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Oil for cooking - about 1-2 tbsp

Directions

1. In the bowl of a blender or food processor combine all ingredients except chicken.  Blend until smooth.
2. Cut each chicken breast into 4 pieces lengthwise (like chicken fingers). Place chicken in a glass dish and cover with marinade.  Toss to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3. With a paper towel, dab excess marinade from chicken.  Heat a pan over medium high heat - add oil.  When pan is hot add chicken.  Cook until juices run clear - for small/medium chicken breasts cut in 4 - about 8 minutes total, flipping halfway.
4. Serve with mango salsa!

Mango Salsa
This is the recipe I used for mango salsa but I reduce the number of tomatoes from 4 to 1 to reduce the servings and increase the sweetness - more focus on the mango!  Its a great recipe - give it a try!