If you want to make one chicken wings recipe for the rest of your life then that has to be this classic jerk chicken wings! Yumminess redefined!
Jerk chicken wings, the native recipe of Jamaica has won the world over and you cannot miss to have its recipe in your repertoire at any cost!
If you happen to browse recipes on web, I am sure you have stumbled upon jerk chicken wings recipe multiple times; if you haven’t made it yet at home, then today is the right time to do so as I have the fail-proof recipe of jerk chicken wings to share with you all!
Jerk chicken wings are those epic grilled chicken wings where spices cast a magical spell on the wings turning them insanely mouth-watering!
I already have many, and I emphasize, many chicken wings recipe on our blog and each one of them has their specialty; but after tasting jerk chicken wings, I can safely say that these wings have won the race of taste with flying colors! You will only believe me after your taste it!
The name, jerk chicken wings, is quite intriguing which lead me to do some research about the origin of this dish.
Among various opinions about the inception of these fascinating jerk chicken wings, the most common belief is that when many Africans moved into Jamaica’s mountainous regions to escape from British slavery, they mixed in with the local Taínos.
Tainos used to use this jerk cooking method which they later taught to those migrated Africans, who in turn adapted it in creating jerk chicken.
Jerk refers to the style of cooking in which the main ingredient, which is most commonly any kind of meat, is coated in spices and slow-cooked over a fire or grill traditionally composed of green pimento wood positioned over burning coals; the resulting woody smoky flavor is key to these jerk chicken wings. [Source]
The dominant spice in the dry spicy rub of these jerk chicken wings is allspice. Allspice, which is also known as pimento or Jamaican pepper has a unique flavor of its own which cannot be described in a single word.
The name ‘allspice’ was coined by the English as they thought these pepper-like cute little spices carry the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves all combined together.
Kerala, the beautiful state of South India, produces allspice in large volume and I was introduced to this aromatic spice during one of my trips to “God’s own country” few years back.
Of course, I carried home a significant sized packet of allspice even without having faintest knowledge of jerk chicken wings and the involvement of allspice in it at that time.
I picked it simply because I am in love with spices and any new spice I discover, I cannot resist myself from owning it. Now I thank myself for doing so as those allspices came in really handy while making my jerk chicken wings!
Chicken wings are my all-time favorite finger food. I used to love chicken poppers a lot but that’s before I discovered this mischievous thing call chicken wings!
You will find ample evidence of my love towards chicken wings in so many chicken wings recipes available in our blog once you explore.
You have the spicy fried version; you have got crispy baked version as well as the Indian flavored grilled chicken wings. Each of the chicken wings recipe is unique in its own and none of their flavors are even remotely similar to each other.
If you too have fallen for this finger food recently, you will get endless inspirations & ideas here and today I added one more to the collection with these scrumptious jerk chicken wings!
Try making these chicken wings recipes one by one and decide which one you loved most; you are also free to add your own signature touch to make your own custom version of chicken wings, but don’t forget to let me know which one worked best for you! Enjoy!
- Chicken wings – 2 kg
- Onion – 1, small, finely chopped
- Garlic – 8 to 10 cloves, minced
- Green onions – 4, sliced
- Hot green chili – 4 to 5 or as per taste, chopped
- Dried thyme – 2 tsp (or 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves)
- Salt – 1 & ½ tsp
- Freshly crushed black pepper – 1 tsp
- Ground allspice – 2 tsp
- Cinnamon – ½ tsp
- Cumin – ½ tsp
- Freshly grated nutmeg – ¼ tsp
- Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
- Light soy sauce – 3 tbsp
- Brown sugar – 2 tbsp, packed
- Fresh lime juice – ⅓ cup, about 3 juicy limes
- Cut each chicken wings into drumette, winglet and wing tip. Discard or reserve the wing tips for making chicken stock and wash & pat dry the remaining pieces. Set them aside in a large bowl while you make the marinade.
- Add all the other listed ingredients into a blender and blend them to make a smooth and thick paste. This is the jerk marinade for your chicken wings.
- Pour the prepared marinate over the chicken wings and massage them well so that all nooks and crannies are covered well with the thick paste.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and for best result chill them in refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours. If you are pressed for time then let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 220 C / 425 F. Arrange the marinated chicken wings on a baking sheet in a single layer reserving the left-over marinade.
- Bake the chicken wings in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Then take them out and flip the wings over. Brush each wing with the reserved marinade and bake them again for another 20 minutes or until well-browned and cooked through.
- Serve the jerk chicken wings with mayo dip and tortilla chips on the side. Enjoy!
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