This Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe features succulent bone-in chicken with boldly spiced island flavors, beautifully finished on the grill.
If you’re looking for a change from traditional barbecue chicken, you’re going to love this boldly spiced Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe. Traditonal Jamaican jerk chicken has the perfect blend of spices (sweet, sour, hot), is grilled in the ‘jerk’ style and is sold at roadside stands throughout Jamaica. Jerk chicken is normally made with Scotch bonnet / Caribbean red peppers, which are a relative of the habanero pepper and are very spicy, with a slightly sweet touch. Another important flavor component in jerk chicken is allspice.
My recipe uses Jamaican jerk seasoning that is not too spicy. If you want to make it spicier, you can add Scotch bonnet hot sauce or finely chopped Scotch bonnet peppers to your chicken marinade. Be sure to use a light touch, because they’re spicy peppers! Alternately you could use a milder chili pepper.
In this recipe, I show you how to make my oven version of Jamaican Jerk Chicken adapted for the Instant Pot. I don’t use chicken breasts in my cooking much – I much prefer the taste of chicken thighs and drumsticks, which are especially well-suited for the Instant Pot. And I don’t marinate the chicken ahead of time – I just add the ingredients to the Instant Pot, cook the chicken, reduce the marinade and finish the chicken on the grill. It’s super easy. When you’re reducing the sauce, watch for splatter. I use a splatter screen.
I find that meat cooked in the Instant Pot is perfectly tender with no babysitting required. And I like the flavor and look of finishing the chicken on the grill. It takes less than 5 minutes of grilling time – just enough to give the chicken a nice sear. If you don’t have access to a grill you can finish it off in the oven on the broil setting.
The recipe calls for two ingredients that you might not have on hand, but which I find in my local grocery store. The first is Pickapeppa Sauce which is a Jamaican condiment containing tamarind. The second ingredient is Jamaican jerk spice seasoning. You could search online for homemade jerk seasoning recipes. I have never made my own, so I can’t recommend a particular one. Feel free to comment on this post if you have one that you like!
On a side note, if you want to just grill chicken with a pre-made sauce, try the authentic Jamaican Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning. I have not used this marinade in the Instant Pot; I’ve only grilled with it. If using in the Instant Pot, you might need to thin it out with water.
I love to serve Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken with fried ripe plantains, black beans and rice, and a peach or mango salsa. So good! To make the fried plantains, peel them, cut them on a bias, and fry them in a non-stick frying pan with a little bit of oil until both sides are a rich golden brown. Be sure to use plantains and not bananas, and they should be ripe. A ripe plantain looks kind of over-ripe in the photo above.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot Manual / Beginner’s Quick Start Guide blog post first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken.
Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken Ingredients
Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, Jamaican jerk seasoning, salt to the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Stir until mixed well.
- Add chicken pieces and stir to coat.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘12’ (12 minutes).
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 12 to 0; it will switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’.
- Do a quick release: move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. *
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- It’s now safe to open the Instant Pot. (Press ‘Keep Warm/Cancel’ to turn off Instant Pot.)
* You can choose to do a natural release also.
- Remove chicken pieces from the inner pot and set aside.
- Press ‘Saute’ and reduce the marinade/sauce until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- If necessary, use a splatter screen to prevent splatters.
- Grill chicken for just enough time to get sear marks, and to give it a grilled look and flavor, about 2 minutes per side.
- You can either baste each side while you grill, or coat the chicken in the sauce before placing on the grill.
Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 pieces
Instant Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken features succulent bone-in chicken with boldly spiced island flavors, beautifully finished on the grill.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp Pickapeppa sauce
- 1 Tbsp Jamaican Jerk seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 chicken drumsticks
Instructions
- Stir together ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, Jamaican jerk seasoning, and salt in the Instant Pot.
- Add chicken pieces and stir to coat.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Cook on ‘Manual’ for 12 minutes.
- Do a quick release of pressure and carefully open the Instant Pot.
- Remove chicken pieces and set aside.
- Press ‘Saute’ and reduce the sauce until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Use a splatter screen if necessary, to prevent splatters.
- Grill chicken for just enough time to get sear marks, and to give it a grilled look and flavor, about 2 minutes per side. You can either baste each side while you grill, or coat the chicken in the sauce before placing on the grill.
- Serve with Peach Salsa or fried plantains, and beans and rice. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
Notes
- Adapted from Cuisine at Home magazine Weeknight Meals
- If not finishing on the grill, increase pressure cooking time to 14 minutes.
- Natural Pressure Release also works fine for this recipe
Courses Main
Cuisine Jamaican
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 piece of chicken
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 209 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 3 g | 5% | |
Saturated Fat 1 g | 5% | |
Cholesterol 52 mg | 17% | |
Sodium 1139 mg | 47% | |
Total Carbohydrates 9 g | 3% | |
Sugars 10 g | ||
Protein 11 g | 22% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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