Spicy Grilled Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

• 6 whole Scotch bonnet peppers
• 6 scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 knob fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons freshly picked thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons zest and 1/4 cup juice from about 4 limes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large whole chicken, back removed, split in half along breastbone
• 1/4 cup whole allspice berries
• 3 dozen dried bay leaves

Directions

1. Start with the Scotch bonnet peppers in a food processor or blender. Add the soy sauce, olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, scallions, ginger, garlic, thyme, ground allspice, nutmeg, dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons black pepper plus 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Run the machine for about 1 minute, until you have a coarse puree. Put the chicken halves in a roomy bowl or baking dish, pour the marinade over them, and turn them until coated all over. Either divide the chicken and marinade into 2 gallon-sized zipper-lock bags, or keep them in a large baking dish and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Put the whole allspice berries and bay leaves into a gallon-sized zipper-lock bag, then fill the bag with water. Refrigerate the chicken and the bay leaves for a minimum of 10 hours, but no longer than 1 day.
2. When you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the bags, let the extra marinade fall away, and move it to a large plate. Light 1/2 chimney of charcoal. Once the coals are burning and coated with gray ash, pour them out and bank them along one side of a kettle grill. For a gas grill, turn the leftmost burners to medium-high heat instead. Put the cooking grate in place, close the grill, and let it heat for 5 minutes. Scrub the grate clean, then oil it. Set the lower vent and the lid vent halfway open.
3. Drain the bay leaves and allspice berries through a fine mesh strainer. On the cooler side of the grill, scatter 2/3rds of the bay leaves into an even bed just large enough to hold the chicken; it is fine if some allspice berries drop through. Set the chicken on top of the bay leaves, skin side up, with the legs angled toward the hotter side. Scatter 1/3 of the remaining bay leaves onto the hot side of the grill, then cover right away with the vent positioned over the chicken. Cook for 15 minutes.
4. Lift the lid and add half of the remaining bay leaves and allspice berries to the hot side, directly over the coals. Cover at once and cook for another 15 minutes. Open the grill again, add 15 new coals to the pile of hot coals, then put the last bay leaves and allspice berries on the hot side, directly over the coals. Close the grill and keep cooking until an instant-read thermometer reads 145 degrees F in the coolest part of the chicken breast, about 20 minutes longer.
5. Take off the lid and let the coals get hot again for 5 minutes; if you are using a gas grill, turn the heat to high. Carefully lift the chicken away from the bay leaves and move it to the hot side of the grill, skin side up. With tongs, drop the bay leaves right onto the coals or burners so they smoke. Cook until the chicken is lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over and keep cooking until the skin turns crisp and charred; the coolest part of the breast should read 150 to 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 4 to 6 minutes longer. Move the chicken to a large platter, let it rest for 5 minutes, and serve.