Jamaican Jerk Chicken

 

Some time ago I ordered pimento wood (allspice) wood chips to make some authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Folks rave about jerk chicken; I thought I'd bring the island to us instead of traveling to the island. I'm using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Thighs have more fat and don't dry out as much as breasts. Soak pimento (allspice) wood chips submerged in water for one hour, then drain. 

Marinade: 1/2 cup olive oil, juice of two limes, 2 tb soy sauce or aminos, 2 tb apple cider vinegar, 2 tb dried thyme, 4 tb brown sugar, 4 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp dried coriander, 3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, 4 garlic cloves chopped, 2-inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped, 1 shallot chopped, 2 jalapenos seeded and chopped, (you can substitute serrano or habanero but I didn't want to burn out my taste buds). I don't add any salt because the soy or aminos are quite salty, but you can use your judgement on this. Submerge chicken thighs in marinade and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Drain chicken thighs on a rack at room temperature for one hour, turning over after 1/2 an hour. Reserve marinade.

My Anuka smoker says to smoke the chicken for 45 minutes which I did. Meanwhile I cooked some rice while I reduced the marinade to assure its safe eating since the chicken was in the marinade. The reduced marinade is the green condiment to the side. I thought it might be too spicy, but it was not spliy at all, just very flavorful.