Jamaican Jerk Chicken Skewers

This Jamaican inspired meal features a spicy chicken flavor. This can be a great alternative to the usual chicken skewers. The preparation time is 45 minutes.

Ingredients

The ingredients needed for the recipe are 2 pounds of skinless and boneless chicken breasts, 6 cloves of garlic, 4 shallots, 1 habanero chili pepper, lime wedges, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of whole allspice, 2 tablespoons of dark rum, 1 tablespoon of snipped thyme, 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. The amount of ingredients is enough for six servings.

Preparation

With a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts lightly until it is only 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch thick. Slice the chicken breasts into 1-inch strips. Set aside the chicken in a bowl.

Using a spice grinder, mix and grind the allspice, thyme, peppercorns, cinnamon and nutmeg. If you do not have a spice grinder, you may also use a food processor. To make sure that the mixture is finely ground, pass it through a sieve and remove any large piece. Add the garlic, shallots, habanero chile pepper, and brown sugar to the powder. Using the food processor, process the mixture until coarsely ground. Then, add the dark rum in order to turn the powder mixture into paste.

Add the paste to the chicken strips in the bowl, and toss to evenly coat each side of the chicken. Chill the chicken for 1 hour to 1 day.

Cooking

Thread the chicken strips onto wooden skewers. If you are using a charcoal grill, cook the skewers on the uncovered grill grates over medium coals for 10 minutes. If you are using a gas grill, preheat the grill and reduce to medium heat. Cover the grill, and cook for 10 minutes. Serve the chicken skewers with the lime wedges.