Why bother with basic grilled chicken when you can spice things up with this sizzling jerk chicken recipe from Hugh Mangum’s new cookbook?

Go beyond basic burgers at your next cookout with recipes from Hugh Mangum’s new book Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes from Across the Globe. With the help of Irvington-based food writer Shana Liebman, Mangum—known as the pitmaster behind the East Coast chain Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque—details how to make 280 dishes from more than 80 countries. These three are guaranteed crowd pleasers.

Jamaica’s most celebrated dish features bone-in chicken or pork marinated in a complex blend of spices and hot peppers and slow-cooked over pimento wood. The dish likely originated with African enslaved people who escaped Spanish-owned plantations and had to smoke wild hogs underground to stay out of sight. Jerk refers less to a specific seasoning (the spice mix has many variations) and more to a cooking technique. The distinct flavor comes from the smoked leaves and branches of the pimento tree (known as the “allspice tree”).

Jerk Chicken

Recipe by Hugh MangumCourse: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: JamaicanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

35

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

5

minutes

Jamaica’s most celebrated dish features bone-in chicken or pork marinated in a complex blend of spices and hot peppers and slow-cooked over pimento wood. The dish likely originated with African enslaved people who escaped Spanish-owned plantations and had to smoke wild hogs underground to stay out of sight. Jerk refers less to a specific seasoning (the spice mix has many variations) and more to a cooking technique. The distinct flavor comes from the smoked leaves and branches of the pimento tree (known as the “allspice tree”).

Preparation time: 35 minutes, plus at least 1 day marinating

Ingredients

• 6 Scotch bonnet chiles, stemmed and seeded

• 3 scallions (spring onions), trimmed and coarsely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic

• 4 Tbsp thyme leaves

• 2 Tbsp strong coffee

• 1½ Tbsp allspice berries

• 1½ Tbsp grated fresh ginger

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

• ¾ cup vegetable oil

• 2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

• 1 Tbsp dark Jamaican rum

• 1½ tsp molasses

• 1 (3–4-lb) whole chicken, quartered

• Pimento wood chips and leaves, for smoking

• Lime wedges and hot sauce for serving

Directions

• In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the chicken and pulse until blended. Reserve a quarter of the marinade for serving and refrigerate until needed.
• In a large bowl or zip-top bag, combine the chicken and the remaining marinade. Cover or seal and refrigerate for 1–2 days.
• Soak the pimento wood chips and leaves in separate bowls of water for 20 minutes.
• Preheat a grill to medium-high heat for indirect grilling.
• Spread out the soaked pimento leaves in a single layer, then add the soaked chips in another layer on top. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the leaves. Cover and cook for 1¼ hours, or until the chicken skin is charred and the internal temperature reaches 155°F. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish.
• Serve warm with lime wedges, hot sauce, and the reserved marinade on the side.

Excerpted from Barbecue © 2025 by Hugh Mangum. Photography © 2025 by Nico Schinco. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.

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