I’ve made jerk chicken before but always with chicken thighs or wings. Truth be told I think I prefer it that way but this is still delicious and bursting with Caribbean flavour.

The mango salsa gives a bit of welcome relief to the spiciness of the chicken.

Make sure you make the marinade the day before you serve the chicken and marinate overnight in the fridge. This is an absolute must for maximum flavour. If you are bbqing the chicken I recommend making double of the marinade so you have lots to baste the chicken with while it is sizzling away on the bbq.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts

Marinade

2 limes – juice of

1 onion – diced

5 spring onions – chopped

6-8 sprigs of thyme – remove the stalk so leaves only

3 scotch bonnet chillis – no others as only these will do

Heaped teaspoon of all purpose seasoning

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

3-4 dessert spoons honey

1 dessert spoon grated ginger

4 tablespoons light brown soft sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil – to pan fry

Method

You must without fail marinade the chicken the night before you cook it or else it won’t be how it should be. Scotch bonnet chillis are also a must for the most authentic flavour.

Put the chicken in a large bowl, score with a knife and squeeze over the juice of 2 limes. Obviously wash your hands after you’ve handled raw chicken and all that.

Roughly chop your onion and spring onions, thyme, chillis, chopped garlic and all the spices and other ingredients for the sauce and blend so it is a bit of a gritty consistency, basically not too smooth. It will smell wonderful.

Now pour this all over the chicken and rub in. I put sandwich bags on my hands and do this. Give it a little massage in to lock in the flavour!

Cover, refrigerate and leave overnight!

If you are going to cook on the hob heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil over a medium to high heat and once hot add your chicken breasts. Continue to pan fry turning every couple of minutes until the chicken is bronzed and crisp. Baste all the while with the marinade, there should be plenty for this.

Alternatively if you are bbqing the chicken simply place on the bbq grill until full cooked through basting and turning all the time.

Serve with my coleslaw and rice and peas recipes under my sides section or with this delicious mango salsa recipe below which you simply mix together and serve alongside the jerk chicken.

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango

1 small onion diced

Handful coriander – chopped

1/2 red pepper diced