jamaican fried chicken

Perfecting fried chicken can be a trial and error process, but there are few key steps which would assist you in perfecting the process without much “error”. Make sure your oil/fat is at around 350 F when you fry, brine the chicken in a seasoned brine for flavor all the way to the bone and once out of the fryer, drain on a wire rack to maintain that wonderful crust you created. Yes, the batter, dry or wet must be seasoned as well.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs chicken drumsticks
3/4 tablespoon salt
3/4 tablespoon brown sugar
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs thyme
6-8 allspice berries (pimento)
1 scallion (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3-4 cups veg oil *
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon smoked pimenton (paprika)
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water (adjust)

Notes! Please use the video below to follow along in the event you have questions not answered in this recipe post. Feel free to add pepper flakes or a bit of sliced scotch bonnet in the brine should you want the chicken more spicy.

Brining is the process whereby chicken (or other meat) is submerged in a salty liquid (“brine”) and left to marinate to add flavour, tenderize AND add moisture so the chicken stays juicier when roasted.

Create the brine with water, scallion, thyme, brown sugar, salt (3/4 tablespoon), bay leaves, all spice berries and garlic. Mix well to dissolve the sugar and salt, then add your drumsticks to the bowl and let it sit in there for no more than 2 hours. After which you’ll remove the chicken pieces and pat dry. Discard the brine after that.

As the oil heats to 350F lets create the quick batter to coat the chicken pieces with. Keep in mind that the chicken must be as dry as possible for the batter to adhere to it.

Whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, pimenton, cayenne, curry powder and water until smooth.

As mentioned in the video I used vegetable oil, but I find that I get better results when I use beef tallow. Feel free to use any oil or fat you like frying your chicken in. The key is to get it up to 350 F.

My frying station was set as seen in the pic above. I like using a wire rack to drain the finished fried chicken as explained in the video.

Dip the chicken pieces in the batter, coat evenly, shake off the excess batter and place gently into the hot oil.

Try to not overcrowd the pan or you’ll find that you’ll drop the temperature of the oil and end up with uneven soggy fried chicken. With these drumsticks they were done in a little over 10 minutes. During the frying process, I flipped them around.

After you remove the chicken pieces out of the hot oil, should you want to sprinkle on some finishing salt over them, do so. However keep in mind that since we used a brine at the start, they should be seasoned perfectly already.

Should you be doing a few lbs of these, you may set your oven to 200 F and keep the finished fried chicken pieces in there as you work your way through them all. As far as ‘safely cooked’ temperature goes, with dark meat you’re looking for an internal temperature of about 175 F and with white meat, 160 F.

Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Fried Chicken Sandwich.

May 27, 2025September 14, 20153 Comments

Though this recipe was influenced by an image/advertising poster we saw at a local McDonalds restaurant, the manner in which we marinate, ‘bread’ and fry the chicken is 100% Caribbean! It’s a recipe our mom would use when making fried chicken for us and not unlike many such recipes you’ll encounter as you make your way up the island chain which makes up the West Indies. For maximum flavor and texture, I’ll highly recommend using boneless chicken thighs, but if chicken breasts are your thing… you’ll also have fun with that.

You’ll Need…

6 chicken thighs (boneless)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon Caribbean green seasoning
1/2 teaspoon peppersauce (hot sauce – as much as you can handle)
1/2 lemon (juice)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
3 cups veg oil frying

Optional: season flour with a pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon smoked hot paprika

To learn how to debone chicken thighs, WATCH THIS VIDEO << CLICK! Season the chicken with the salt, curry powder, Caribbean Green Seasoning, black pepper, lemon juice and peppersauce (hot sauce) and allow it to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Remove the marinated chicken from the fridge about 10 minutes before you’re ready to get started frying, so it comes back to room temperature. Place the all-purpose flour on a plate and whisk the two eggs in a wide bowl. The goal here is to create a sort of breading station. Heat the vegetable oil on on a medium heat as we prepare the chicken pieces for frying. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg, then dust in the flour so it’s fully coated. Dust off any excess flour.

Don’t worry about the remaining marinade on the chicken pieces as we really want that. Now gently add the dusted chicken pieces to the hot vegetable oil. Try to not over-crowd the pan. Fry on each side for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. When deboning your chicken thighs, try to make sure they are all the same thickness, so they cook evenly.

Have a plate or wire basket lined with paper towels handy, so when you remove the pieces of fried chicken from the pan, you can set them to drain off some of the excess oil as they cool. Since we seasoned the chicken with salt you will not have to salt it further.. but, your tolerance for salt will be different than mine, so here is when you can sprinkle on some sea salt if you want as the pieces of chicken are hot out of the oil.

This in itself is an amazing way to do fried chicken, so feel free to serve this up if you wish. In our case we’re doing a sandwich. So I had some wonderful brioche buns which I lightly toasted, then on went a piece of (still warm) chicken and I topped it with some of my homemade coleslaw<< click for the recipe. The crunch from the fried chicken, followed by the juicy-seasoned meat itself and the slight creamy tangy coleslaw will set this off as the best fried chicken sandwich – without doubt!

You can obviously top it any which way you like.. so if ketchup, more hotsauce and a bit of mustard is your thing – ENJOY! So back to McDonalds… we were at the drive-thru when Tehya saw the poster with their chicken sandwich and challenged me to make a version. You NEVER challenge a Caribbean bred to anything! Here’s one challenge she lost, but WON.. guess who had two sandwiches?

Meat & Poultry

Fried Chicken From The Islands.

May 27, 2025September 18, 201053 Comments

caribbean style fried chicken recipe

If you’ve been following the updates on the Facebook Fan page, you would have seen where I was asking for suggestions for a fried chicken recipe, as I had a severe craving and didn’t feel like KFC or Popeye’s! I wanted chicken that had that strong home-fried taste, texture and smell. I wanted to control the spices I used as well, since the goal was to recreate the same sort of chicken I enjoyed as a boy growing up on the islands. I still recall my mom saying “yuh have to let it cool down”, ignoring that and feeling the pain of steaming hot chicken.

Thanks to everyone who left me their suggestions and family secret recipes. Rather than use one, I combined some aspects of all and the end product was simply amazing. When all you see are bones on a plate after your children had their dinner, you know you’ve struck gold with that particular recipe. So again.. thanks to everyone who contributed.

You’ll Need…

For seasoning the chicken:

5-6 LBS chicken pieces (I used legs and thighs)
1 teaspoon peppersauce (hot sauce – use as much as you can tolerate)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ginger (powder or as I did – fresh grated)
1 teaspoon green seasoning (see notes below if you don’t have green seasoning)
1 lime / lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar to wash the chicken pieces before seasoning.
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the dusting:

1-2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

* oil for frying. I shallow fried, so I used about 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil.

* if you don’t have the green seasoning (<< click there for the recipe) mince fine:
– thyme
– scallions
– shado beni or cilantro
– parsley (flat leaf)
– 2 cloves garlic

* You’ll also need 2 eggs.

Start off by trimming of fat and excess skin, but I left a fair amount of skin on the chicken ( you can remove it while you’re eating). I find that the skin give the meat a sort of protection and prevents it from drying out while frying. Then I pour the lime or lemon juice over it (you can also use vinegar). Rinse with water and strain dry. Then it’s on to seasoning the chicken (btw I used dark cuts of meat and I tried to keep them all the same size). In a large bowl use the ingredients mentioned above to season the chicken. Make sure to stir well, cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for about 2 hours.

trini fry chicken

jamaican fry chicken recipe

In a heavy pan, heat the oil on medium/high heat and while this heats up, lets do a couple things.

1. Crack the two eggs into a small bowl and whisk… then add to the bowl with the seasoned chicken and give it a good stir. Try to get all pieces of the chicken coated with this egg mixture.

2. Pour the flour onto a plate and add the paprika and black pepper and mix well.

jamaican fry chicken

seasoning for fried chicken

seasoning flour for fried chicken

The next step is to dust the pieces of chicken into the flour mixture we just made. Be sure to cover all pieces and shake off any excess flour before placing into the hot oil. My pan was not very large, so I did 3 pieces at a time, as I didn’t want to crowd the pan and have it go soggy from the reduction in the oil’s temperature. Depending on how big the pieces of chicken you have and the cut (dark or white meat), the cooking time will vary between 15 and 20 minutes. In my case it took about 18 minutes and I flipped each piece every 4-5 minutes, since I was shallow frying. If you find that the outside is going brown too fast, it’s an indication that your oil may be too hot. Adjust accordingly.

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Remember that it’s hot oil that you’re working with so be very careful. Have a wire tray or paper-towel lined basket ready to place the cooked pieces of chicken to drain off any excess oil. Continue doing in batches and remember to give it a few minutes to cool down before serving.

trinidad fry chicken recipe

trini fried chicken recipe

Give this a try and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at how tasty, moist (without being “wet”) and crispy at the same time. I’d really appreciate it if you leave me a comment below, even if it’s just to say hello. And for those of you who assisted with this recipe on Facebook, thanks. BTW, if you’ve not already connected with us on Facebook, do so NOW by clicking on the image below.

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