How to make Jerk Chicken Skewers
First, remember to soak wood skewers.
Then Marinate the chicken. To make the marinade, blend everything in the blender. Don’t neglect the spices, they really add the depth and intrigue needed to balance out the flavors. Allspice is especially important.
Adjusting Heat level
I could not find scotch bonnet peppers so I subbed 1 habanero and 1 jalapeño. The chicken was *2 stars in spiciness.
The next time I used 2 habaneros, and it bumped it up to *3 stars, perfect for us.
To mellow out the heat a bit- I’d use 2 jalapeños.
What Chicken to use?
I recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. They are more tender and juicy than breasts which tend to dry out. Cut thin into ¾ to 1-inch chunks, pour the marinade over, and let sit at least 30 min, but preferably longer, 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
Slice the peaches into wedges, about ¾ an inch thick.
Using gloves (the marinade is spicy) thread chicken and peaches onto soaked skewers.
You could do this all head and refrigerate for up to two days.
Grill the Jerk Chicken Skewers!
Serve on a platter and enjoy outside!!!
More Grilled Chicken Recipes
Grilled Jerk Chicken and Peach Skewers
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 12 skewers- serves 6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Description
Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Peach Skewers, a delicious summertime meal that is full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken (boneless, skinless breast or thigh)
- 3 peaches, sliced into wedges
- 1 red onion, sliced into wedges
- a handful of cilantro for garnish
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice, more for squeezing
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, thinly sliced across the grain
- 1– 2 Scotch bonnet peppers, habaneros, or jalapeños , chopped in half
- 1 shallot, chopped ( or sub 3 scallions, or 1/4 cup red onion)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves ( or 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Soak the skewers. Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks and place in a bowl.
- Place all the marinade ingredients in the blender, and blend until relatively smooth. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Let sit for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. ( The longer you marinate, the spicier they will become.)
- Pre-heat the grill to medium-high.
- Slice the peaches, and onions into ¾-inch thick wedges.
- Using gloves, (the marinade is spicy and may sting) skewer the chicken, peaches and onion. The marinade will naturally get on the peaches which is a good thing.
- Grill until all sides are nicely seared with grill marks. Turn heat down to LOW, place on a piece of heavy-duty foil, folding up the edges to catch the drippings, and close the lid, letting the chicken cook all the way through until done.
- Place on a platter, squeeze with lime, and garnish with lime or orange slices and sprinkle with cilantro. Enjoy with a big salad.
Notes
You may need a pair of kitchen gloves ( marinade is spicy) for sensitive hands
12 pre-soaked wood skewers
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Two skewers
- Calories: 343
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 602.3 mg
- Fat: 9.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.1 g
- Fiber: 3.5 g
- Protein: 36.5 g
- Cholesterol: 110.3 mg
Keywords: jerk chicken skewers, chicken and peach skewers, jerk chicken recipe, the best jerk chicken, jamaican jerk chicken marinade,
I have bottled Jerk Sauce that I bought when I was in Jamaica. It would save me a lot of time if I use that. How close is your sauce to the bottled stuff?
I actually have no idea Allison- what if you compared the ingredients?
OMG, duh… sorry, my tired brain didn’t even think of that lol.
Thanks for all of your amazing recipes!
This is fantastic! Can’t wait to share it with friends. I marinated the chicken overnight and the chicken was so flavorful and tender. It’s my new favorite!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed this!
Curious about the recipe as it looks like you don’t have red onion in the marinade list but it looks to be in the blender when processing. Are you including onion in the marinade?
Hi Jedidiah! Nice observation! I think what happened here is the first time I made this I used red onion (like 1/4 cup) then the second time I used a shallot in the marinade. Either will work here!
Bravo Sylvia! Another out of the park delicious recipe. Thank you.
★★★★★
Delicious! After finding your blog in January, I use your recipes weekly. I’ve never enjoyed cooking more! Thank you so much 💘 much love from Norway
★★★★★
Thank you so much- very kind of you!
Made this last summer for a friend’s going-away party. It was extraordinarily good and got rave reviews. Might also be the perfect antidote for the winter blahs. Can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, so happy you enjoyed this Desiree!
These turned out so good. Served it with a cabbage slaw. Delicious!
★★★★★
Any ideas for sides to serve alongside this?
This Cabbage Mango Slaw or this Jicama mango Slaw would be good, and maybe some rice.
Could you add shrimp to this too or does that not work well with the jerk flavor?
Yes…I think that would taste great!!!
Those skewers are just gorgeous! The combination of spicy jerk seasoning and those sweet peaches sounds just to die for, too. Will definitely have to give this a go this summer!
Geez what’s not to like abut grilled fruit. It makes such a wonderful complement to the meat. This is the perfect example.
Wow, these look really, really good! The first thing I thought was how great those peaches will go with it. And those spices really take it up a notch. Love it!
Yes,I agree…. the peaches make the dish 🙂
What a perfect combination of summer flavors. I love jerk chicken!
Thanks Matt, I do as well!