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The term ‘jerk’ refers to a cooking method used commonly in the island nation of Jamaica whereby meat is rubbed with a complex mixture of herbs and spices, and then smoked to cook.

There are as many different recipes for jerk seasoning as there are households in the Caribbean, but the following recipe is easy to make at home with the ingredients in your own spice rack.

These jerked chicken breasts can be made quickly in the oven and are best served with pineapple chutney and steamed rice.

You can make your chicken jerk seasoning mix hotter or less spicy depending on your taste, simply by reducing or increasing the amount of hot pepper flakes you add to your spice mix

Ingredients

• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg (best when freshly grated using a rasp)
• 1/2 t ground allspice
• 1 t crushed chili pepper flakes
• 1 T ground thyme
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T canola oil
• 4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine all of the spices. Mix with your fingers.

In another small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and canola oil.

Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and pat dry with kitchen towels

Use a brush and lightly coat the chicken breasts with the oil and soy sauce mixture.

Use your fingers and sprinkle the jerk seasoning over the chicken breasts, massaging the spices into the meat.

Place Chicken breasts on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until they are cooked through. Cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken breasts used but it should take approximately 25 minutes.

Serve with rice or mashed sweet potatoes and pineapple chutney.