There should be a primer for those of us who've never handled a fresh pepper ending with the letter "o". I used BOTH hands to wipe my face after deseeding the habaner"o"s and all hell broke loose. My face and eyes felt like they went up in flames. I wailed and wailed so that my family called poison control in a desperate attempt to bring me some relief. During the ruckus, I lost the fresh thyme. Without it, the wings were smashing, but there was a hint of something missing. The fresh thyme would have likely made the wings stunning. I was concerned that three habaneros would be too hot, but the lime juice does a wonderful job of soothing the habaneros to just the right amount of heat (after cooking). I used 4.5 pounds of mostly flats and some drumettes. There was enough marinade to cover each piece of chicken well without doubling. The flats were better tasting because the coating over the smaller pieces allowed for more flavor per bite. I let 3 pounds marinate overnight. The other 1.5 pounds did not marinate. Definitely marinate if you can, if not, it's OK as much of the flavor comes from the caramelizing as they are cooking. Let them cook 'til they're good and dark. Too little and the flavors won't pop! Be sure to use every bit of salt that the recipe calls for and maybe a bit more. All said, I'm putting these in the weekly rotation for a bit AND buying gloves to use when deseeding the habaneros.
I don't give out a five star rating for everything that comes along. I think that by doing so, it diminishes the effectiveness of the rating system. That said, I must say that I really liked this recipe! I made the marinade as the instructions said. It was soo good. Please don't tweak this, it doesn't need it. I have used this recipe to season boneless skinless chicken thighs, served over rice. It was great!
Somewhat labor intensive, but the flavor was well worth waiting for. Served these at a "Jamaican Me Jerk" party, with Cocomojito's also from AR. Fun trying to do the limbo after a couple of those.... AND as Chef John's says, don't leave a single thing out of this recipe as the finished product is fabulous!
I really loved this recipe. It is very spicy but that is what makes it taste good. I added some shadow beni since I did not have much thyme. It worked really well.
These wings are amazing. I used this recipe to go against one of my Jamaican coworkers in a jerk wing cook off. I already knew I was going to win since I had made the recipe several other times and I did! I follow the recipe as written. I never deseed the peppers because I like the heat. I put everything in my nutra bullet and marinate for at least 24 hours. These wings will change your life!!!
Great recipe. This is the closest recipe I've tried that comes close to the real authentic jerk flavor.
This recipe was amazing!! The flavor was so delicious and there was just enough heat in there that it didn't scare me away and I'm not a spicy food kind of girl. I am recommending this recipe to everyone I know. It has given a new meaning to "wing night" in my house.
Delicious.. I am part West Indian and love Jerk Chicken. This recipe reminds me of my grandmother. I doubled the recipe the second time and added more habaneros the second time to make it spicier. Loved it.
Another home run by Chef John! Took his advice and followed his explicit instructions only thing is that it marinated for 3 days. But my crowd went wild for it. The blend is a wonderful mix of flavor and spicy which if you don't like spicy I don't recommend you try em but that's how jerk chicken characteristically is. It's like you can't stop eating it even though your mouth is on fire and it's burning your lips off. Went pretty well with Jamaican beans and rice from this site for that one I recommend following others suggestions.
We found these too spicy but that might be because I subbed a different kind of pepper. Will try again with fewer peppers.
