Jerk Chicken for Company

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disco

Epic Pitmaster
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Oct 31, 2012
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Canadian Rockies
My niece and her husband stayed with us so I wanted to smoke of course. I spatchcocked 2 chickens with the intention of doing one with rub and barbecue sauce and the other as jerk chicken. I have posted my barbecue chicken before and I am only going to refer to the jerk chicken here.

I am trying to convert my grilling recipe to smoking and this is another of those attempts.




The recipe I use for my grilled jerk chicken is a wet rub made with white onions, green onions, jalapenos and spices blended into a paste. I am not posting the recipe as it didn't turn out as well as I liked. Once it is in a paste, I rubbed it on the chicken and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, covered.


I loaded the birds into my Bradley and set the temperature at 270 F, the highest recommended for my AMNPS (A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker).


After 1 1/2 hours, the internal temperature (IT) was 150 F. I then through the birds on my Webber Genesis grill over low flames. I was also crisping the skin on some precooked potatoes from my garden.


The birds browned up nicely and the skin crisped but they weren't up to the 165 IT I wanted so I moved them to the upper rack. More veggies from the garden went on the grill.


When the IT got to 165 it was time to serve. Here is a picture of the cut up jerk chicken.


The verdict: I found this project disappointing. The barbecued chicken turned out great but the jerk chicken just wasn't as good as when I grilled it. When the chicken was cooked on the grill with higher temperatures than the Bradley can crank out and some direct heat, the jerk chicken had a better consistence and the wet rub caramelized slowly into the skin. Even with crisping the skin afterward it wasn't the same. 

Don't get me wrong. Both birds were delicious and everyone enjoyed them. It just a case that the jerk chicken is better grilled than smoked with my gear.

I would suggest you use a rub and some direct heat as FWISmoker did in his post http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...an-jerk-chicken-spatchcocked-with-q-views-mon  if you are going to use your smoker.
 
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Looks like a great spread disco! I'd dig those kabobs! We're are own worst critics..:)

I'm doing up some smoked/seared jerk thighs today. Great weather for Q today!
 
Might not have come out just as you wanted but it looks Awesome to me!!!
Thanks, Dave. My family said the same thing. This is just the first project I've tried that didn't turn out better on the smoker than the grill. I guess the real test is the lack of leftovers.

Disco
 
Nice
icon_exclaim.gif
 Disco. Yes , we are our own worst Critics... however practice makes prefect (which I know you'll be doing) .

They look prefectly delicious to me...
biggrin.gif
 I'd hit that in a heatr beat...

Have fun and . . .
 
Nice
icon_exclaim.gif
 Disco. Yes , we are our own worst Critics... however practice makes prefect (which I know you'll be doing) .

They look prefectly delicious to me...
biggrin.gif
 I'd hit that in a heatr beat...

Have fun and . . .
Thanks, oldschoolbbq. Yes, I will be doing more "practicing". My wife calls it gluttony. Your encouragement is appreciated.

Disco
 
Looks great Disco!  Even when we are disappointed by our results usually our guests don't know and think its the best food ever served. With my injected chicken skin failure I was the only one that even cared! My orchestra teacher used to say practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I'm still trying to perfect the perfect practice part...
 
Looks great Disco!  Even when we are disappointed by our results usually our guests don't know and think its the best food ever served. With my injected chicken skin failure I was the only one that even cared! My orchestra teacher used to say practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. I'm still trying to perfect the perfect practice part...
Thanks, DS but you know how it goes. You get an idea in your head about what it should be like, particularly when you are adapting a familiar recipe. Nobody else knows what you were going for and they love it. You, however are disappointed. To quote She Who Must Be Obeyed, "You are an idiot."

Disco
 
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