Pulled Jerk Chicken Sandwiches Recipe
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Jerk chicken normally gets marinaded forever and a day and then grilled up quickly. Here we throw it in the slow cooker so it marinates while it cooks, killing two culinary birds with one stone. Shred the meat and serve it up on rolls for your next game-day bash or just keep the thighs whole for a winner of a chicken dinner.
What to buy: A traditional jerk recipe would use Scotch bonnet chiles, but they can be really hard to find. The more common habanero pepper is a good substitute.
There are various intensities of molasses available, from light to blackstrap. Dark (sometimes marketed as robust) tastes best in this recipe.
Game plan: You can make the jerk chicken and toast the rolls up to 1 day ahead so all you have to do is warm up and assemble the sandwiches when you’re ready to eat.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can braise this in the oven. Brown the chicken and place in a Dutch oven with tightfitting lid. Add the marinade, cover, and braise in a 325°F oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue braising until the chicken is very tender, about 45 minutes more.
This recipe was featured as part of our Tailgating Recipes photo gallery.
For the rub:
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
For the chicken:
- 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the marinade:
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 10 peppercorns
- 5 medium garlic cloves, smashed
- 3 medium scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups cilantro (about 1 bunch), coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, sliced into 1/4-inch coins
- 1 Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, sliced into rounds
To serve:
- 24 (4-inch) deli French rolls or other crusty bread
- Combine all rub ingredients in a small bowl. Coat the chicken all over with the rub and set aside. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it just begins to smoke, place half of the chicken in the pan skin side down and fry both sides until well browned, about 10 minutes total (the chicken will not be cooked all the way through). Place in a slow cooker and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Place all marinade ingredients in a medium nonreactive bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over the chicken, cover, and cook on low, turning the chicken pieces every few hours, until the meat is falling off the bone, about 5 to 8 hours.
- When the chicken is ready, remove to a cutting board. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer, pour it back into the slow cooker, and set the cooker to warm.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces (discarding the skin, fatty pieces, and bones) and place back in the slow cooker with the sauce until ready to serve.
- Split the deli rolls in half and toast, then place 1/4 cup of the jerk chicken mixture on each sandwich.
@biggrey - Jerk is actually cooked over pimento
Amazing recipe! I followed the advice from a couple of the other reviewers (thanks megcellent and sparky403) and it turned out wonderful!
Just made this - it's so very good. I did make the following changes which I would do again. -in the oven for 2 - 3 hours at a low temp (275 - 300). - Added more liquid - Beer about 1/2 can - Pulled the chicken while reducing the sauce with Red Onions and Sweet Red Pepper. - added the chicken back to combine - I used chicken Quarters. I have never made 5 bucks worth of chicken taste soo good. Great for a party since there are always folks that won't eat pork. I also made the slaw with a few variations - great combo. Thanks Chow
thanks, Megcellent, I'm watching my fats and staying away from breads and grains and your version will work very nicely! Others can make sandwiches while I stick to just the meat and slaw.
I adapted this recipe for the Jewish Sabbath (ie cooking it in the slow cooker from Friday afternoon until Saturday lunch), and it came out pretty well. More details in this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/666533#5471859
Megcellent- We're glad you tried it and liked it! Thanks for the tip about the oven, it'll be great for those who don't own slow cookers. - Christine Gallary CHOW Test Kitchen
Jerk or no jerk, this recipe was fabulous and easy! I even modified to make it healthier/easier and it was still AWESOME. I never bother to make comments but this was really a winner. Here's what I did: - Only used 1 TBS of oil to brown the chicken - Used boneless skinless thighs - Used jalapenos (about 3) instead of the more traditional peppers (I know, I know, not authentic jerk...) - Tossed it in my lidded Le Creuset and braised in the oven at about 275 for 3.5 hrs. By the end, it was running out of liquid, so next time I might up all the liquids by a few TBS. But there was still plenty to make it nice and juicy in the end!
bigrey- the spice, herb, brown sugar/molasses, and scotch bonnet combo makes this a "jerk" chicken recipe. There are a ton of variations that are far from traditional. Also, this recipe is based on a Jamaican tradition, not "Caribbean" or "Island".
It is just like how you can't put BBQ sauce on food and make it BBQ
This recipe includes allspice (check the rub), onion (scallion), and chile (habanerro or scotch bonnet). It thus satisfies bigrey's criteria for "jerk"... good.
This looks like a nice recipe with some good flavor. One thing it isn't however, is "jerk." Call it "carribean" or call it "island", but don't call it "jerk" Jerk, like chili or chicken soup can be made in almost infinite variations and modifications. But there are certain elements essential to the flavor profile of the real deal. These include primarily onion (usually green), chile and allspice. In fact, in Jamaica, jerk meats are frequently cooked over allspice wood to impart the flavor. Without that flavor, the essence of all that is jerk is gone. Beyond those few ingredients, I've both seen and done a lot of interpretation, as well as having sold at least a ton or two of jerked meats of many kinds, including lamb shoulder. For an excellent jerk chicken recipe accessible to the home cook and a snap to put together, check out the one from Food and Wine, published, I believe, in 1993. It was on their "25 best recipes ever," list, as I recall, and it deserves the accolade. Good eating!
Delicious! Although I changed it a bit by leaving out the cilantro and substitute the molasse with less dbrown sugar. Really tasty. The cooking time differed for me. The meat fell from the bone after merely 3,5 hours completely. thx for the recipe so.
Sounds yummy going to try this for sure