Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1000 g chicken wings, split at the joint, wingtips discarded
Jerk Marinade and Glaze
- 4 scallions, roughly chopped
- 2 scotch bonnet peppers, stemmed and seeded
- 4 garlic, peeled
- 30 g ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 10 g fresh thyme, leaves only
- 10 g ground allspice
- 60 ml soy sauce
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 45 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 30 ml vegetable oil
- 15 g salt
- 5 g black pepper, freshly ground
Sugared Oranges
- 2 navel oranges, sliced into 1cm thick rounds
- 40 g turbinado sugar
Barbecued Chillies
- 6 mixed fresh chillies, whole
- 15 ml vegetable oil
- flaky sea salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 800 kcal
- Protein
- 47 g
- Carbohydrates
- 55 g
- Fat
- 44 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 43 g
- Sodium
- 2699 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 11 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 14 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Cholesterol
- 278 mg
- Potassium
- 947 mg
- Calcium
- 147 mg
- Iron
- 3.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 86 mg
- Phosphorus
- 388 mg
- Zinc
- 3.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 62 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 121 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 2.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 37 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 1.6 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.6 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.24 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.37 mg
- Niacin
- 15.5 mg
- Folate
- 65 mcg
- Water
- 306 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Combine scallions, scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, ginger, thyme, ground allspice, soy sauce, 50g of the dark brown sugar, lime juice, 30ml vegetable oil, salt, and black pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until you achieve a smooth, fragrant paste.
Place the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl. Pour three-quarters of the jerk marinade over the wings, tossing well to ensure every piece is coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Reserve the remaining quarter of the marinade in a separate clean container for the glaze. Follow proper sanitation practices when handling raw poultry to avoid cross-contamination.
Transfer the reserved, uncontaminated marinade to a small saucepan. Add the remaining 50g of dark brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the mixture reduces and thickens into a glossy, sticky glaze. Remove from heat and set aside.
Dip both sides of the orange slices into the turbinado sugar, pressing gently so the sugar adheres. In a separate small bowl, toss the whole chillies with 15ml of vegetable oil to coat them lightly.
Set up an outdoor grill for two-zone cooking, establishing a direct high-heat area at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and an indirect, cooler area.
Remove the wings from the marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Discard the raw marinade left in the bowl. Arrange the wings on the indirect heat side of the grill. Close the lid and cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74 degrees Celsius or 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part.
Move the cooked wings directly over the hot coals or active burners. Using a basting brush, coat the wings generously with the reduced sticky glaze. Turn them frequently, brushing with more glaze, until deeply caramelized and slightly charred at the edges.
Place the sugared orange slices and the oiled chillies onto the direct heat side of the grill. Grill the oranges until the sugar bubbles and creates a dark, brûléed crust. Grill the chillies, turning often, until the skins are blistered and charred all over.
Transfer the sticky jerk wings to a serving platter. Arrange the charred chillies over the wings and tuck the caramelized orange slices around the edges of the plate. Sprinkle the chillies with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve hot.
Chef's Notes
- To replicate authentic Jamaican flavor, soak pimento wood chips in water and add them to your coals right before grilling the wings. The smoke provides a crucial aromatic baseline.
- If you prefer milder heat without sacrificing the fruity floral notes of the scotch bonnet, leave the pepper completely whole and uncut when marinating, then remove it before cooking.
- Do not skip reducing the reserved marinade on the stove. Raw flour or thickeners aren't needed; the sugar and natural pectins from the aromatics will create a perfect glaze through reduction alone.
- The caramelized oranges are not just a garnish. Squeezing the warm, slightly bitter, burnt-sugar juice over the intensely spicy chicken provides necessary acid and sweetness to balance the dish.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store wings, oranges, and chillies in separate airtight containers.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze wings only. Sugared oranges and barbecued chillies do not freeze well.
Reheating: Reheat wings in a 180C/350F oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve oranges and chillies at room temperature.
Troubleshooting
The outside of the wings burn before the inside is fully cooked
Cause: Grilling the wings over direct heat from the beginning; the sugars in the marinade burn rapidly
Fix: Move the wings immediately to the cooler side of the grill, lower the lid, and finish cooking gently
Prevention: Always use a two-zone grill setup, cooking the meat gently over indirect heat first before searing over direct heat at the end
Glaze is too thin and slides right off the chicken
Cause: The reserved marinade was not reduced long enough on the stove
Fix: Return the glaze to the stove and boil for an additional 2-3 minutes before basting
Prevention: Simmer the glaze until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon
Sugared oranges stick entirely to the grill grates
Cause: Grates were not clean or properly oiled before adding the sugar-coated fruit
Fix: Use a stiff metal spatula to scrape underneath the oranges quickly; Cannot be fully fixed if completely stuck
Prevention: Brush the grill grates with a high-smoke-point oil right before placing the oranges down
Cultural Context
Jerk is a profoundly historical cooking method originating in Jamaica, born from the fusion of indigenous Taino techniques and the ingenuity of African Maroons who escaped enslavement. They preserved and cooked wild game over smoldering pits of native pimento wood, utilizing an intense paste of scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, and thyme. Today, jerk remains a cornerstone of Jamaican culinary identity.
