Oven-Baked Jerk Chicken

Boldly flavored, sweet-and-spicy, this jerk chicken recipe takes the "boring" out of chicken!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 300kcal

2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
10 chicken drumsticks 4 ounces each, skin on

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease the foil well. It's important to line the pan to prevent major cleanup as the honey caramelizes.
In a small bowl, using a fork, combine the coconut oil, honey, allspice, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, cloves, cumin, salt, and pepper to make a paste.
Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Spoon the paste on top, spreading it all over the drumsticks.
Bake until the chicken is fragrant, browned, and cooked through, 35-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Aim for an internal temperature of 165ºF. Baste the chicken midway through baking.
Garnish the chicken with chopped parsley, if desired, and serve.

You can use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. They'll need around 40-45 minutes in the oven, depending on their size. Check with a thermometer to make sure they are done, aiming for an internal temperature of 165°F when not touching the bone.
If the seasoning paste hardens on the cold chicken pieces and is impossible to spread, bake the chicken for 5 minutes to soften the paste and then spread it, as I do in the video below. Continue baking, basting one more time midway, until the chicken is cooked through (the internal temperature should reach 165 ºF), 30-35 more minutes.
Check the chicken after the first 30 minutes in the oven. If it's darkening too much on top, loosely cover it with foil and continue baking until it's cooked through.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To avoid drying out the chicken, reheat them very gently, covered, in the microwave at 50% power, or enjoy them cold, picnic-style.