Caribbean Curry Chicken Jerky

I feel like I end up saying this way more often than I should, but ... this homemade chicken jerky recipe may just be the best one I’ve designed, to date!

Caribbean food was something I missed terribly for the 12 years I lived in Minnesota. In the Greater Toronto Area, the options for fantastic Jamaican food, Trinidadian food, etc are almost limitless!

When we did our first scouting mission to get set up for our move, Porter had Trini Doubles for the first time, and was INSTANTLY in love. To this day, I refer to Lena - of Lena’s Roti and Doubles - as “the other woman”, LOL!

Anyway, when coming up with fun new flavours of jerky to make, obviously I was going to need to base one on those delicious flavours!

This jerky has a ton of flavour, without being “hot for the sake of being hot”. It’s more of a warm heat, than a HOT jerky - this one is more about the complexity of the flavours coming together.

When we made our first batch of this jerky, the whole house smelled amazing. That may be the hardest part of making jerky - the mouthwatering smells coming from the dehydrator, while having to WAIT!

We’ll definitely be making this again, and again, and again. It’s WAY too easy to blow through a whole batch of it!

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need, to put on a batch for yourself!

Equipment

There are two specialized pieces of equipment that I use for making jerky, beyond basics like spoons, bowls, and measuring cups:

A Food Dehydrator

While you can apparently make homemade Caribbean Curry Chicken jerky in a regular home oven, I’m not a fan of running one for hours on end.

I’ve had food dehydrators before - the basic kinds with no time or temperature controls, - and I’d always been too nervous to try making jerky in them. I need more control over - and knowledge of - the drying process, when meat is concerned.

I’ve since upgraded to a Cosori 6 Tray Food Dehydrator, and LOVE it.

It was only like $200 Canadian, and it’s paid for itself MANY times over, between all the Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips and jerkies I’ve been making!

Think of it this way - The same size of jerky that I tend to make goes for about $4 in a gas station. (Really, more for something fancier, like a chicken jerky!)

I get about 10-15 strips out of a batch (varying by recipe) - let’s average that out to 12. That’s $48 worth of jerky, for $8 or less. Make 5 batches, that’s your $200 in savings!

Anyway, we’re using a dehydrator a LOT more, now that we have a nice one. Having the control over the temperature really opens up the possibilities.

A Jerky Gun

Also known as a “jerky cannon”, this is basically a food grace caulking gun that you use to pipe out strips of jerky onto your parchment paper.

Mine is the XINQIAO Jerky Gun Food Grade Plastic Beef Jerky Gun Kit . Regular $35 (Canadian) on Amazon, but it had a coupon for something like 25% off, when I purchased it.

Worth every penny, even if I’d paid full price!

I’ve heard of people making jerky by spreading the mixture out, flattening it with a rolling pin, then cutting it with a pizza cutter, but to be honest, that sounds fussy.

The very first time I used my jerk gun, I was HOOKED. I had no idea that the jerky making process could be so quick and easy!

I’ve never been one for single-function, special equipment in the kitchen... but I LOVE it.

Ingredients

With only 2 exceptions, the ingredients in this Caribbean Curry Chicken jerky recipe are super simple - you probably even have them on hand!

As for those last two, they may be specialty, but I use them in pretty much all of my jerky recipes. They’ll definitely get used, if you’re a jerky fan!

Some notes for you:

Lean Ground Chicken

Use the highest quality ground chicken you can when making chicken jerky.

While fresh or frozen will usually work in my jerky recipes, I recommend using fresh in this one, just due to the amount of liquid ingredients we’re adding.

Thawed, previously-frozen ground chicken can end up a bit more “watery”, and dry down to a thinner jerky than fresh ground chicken does, in my experience... and that’s before adding all of the other ingredients!

If you want to make your own ground chicken, trim some boneless skinless chicken breasts - plain chicken - and run them through a food processor or meat grinder until well broken down.

Lean chicken breast meat will have a better shelf life than higher fat dark meat will - fat can go rancid.

Finally, if you want to make turkey jerky, feel free to use the same amount of lean ground turkey. For that matter, you can swap the meat our for whatever kind of ground meat you prefer!

Produce

Much like with actual Trinidadian Curries, a decent amount of the flavour in this curry chicken jerky comes from fresh ingredients.

This includes:

Scotch Bonnet Pepper
Green Onion
Garlic Cloves

The big piece of advice here is that 1 scotch bonnet doesn’t give a TON of heat - this is more of a pleasantly warm jerky, than a HOT one.

If you want to feel the burn, feel free to add more Scotch Bonnet peppers!

Jamaican Curry Powder

Jamaican Curry Powder has a bit of a different flavour profile than regular curry powder. We buy a big canister of it for like $6 in the tropical section of the grocery store.

If you don’t have access to Jamaican curry, feel free to use regular curry. It’ll taste a bit different, but will still be awesome!

Liquid Smoke

As with MOST of my jerkies, you’ll need some Liquid Smoke - a little goes a lot way!

I only use a small amount in this Caribbean Curry Chicken Jerky recipe, to give it a traditional “jerky” flavour - it’s not at all overpowering, just an accent.

Prague Powder

Prague Powder is one of a few different curing salts out on the market. It’s not something you’ll normally cook with, but it’ll last a long time - a little goes a long way!

I use Prague Powder #1 Cure, same as I use for my Montreal Smoked Meat Recipe, Back Bacon Recipe, Homemade Corned Beef Recipe, and Peameal Bacon Recipe.

This is a bright pink curing salt that’s a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite. It’s commonly used in cured meats - like pepperoni or summer sausages - and is what gives the jerky its characteristic red colour.

Beyond aesthetics, it also contributes to giving dehydrated meat that iconic jerky flavor, AND helps ensure that your homemade meat snack will be good to eat for a long time. It does this by preventing the growth of bacteria, during and after the drying process.

A couple of things to note:

1. Prague Powder is pink, but it is NOT the same thing as Himalayan pink salt!

2. Prague cure is only to be used in small amounts for curing meats, and should never be consumed as-is. The measurements are important - if you want a saltier Caribbean Curry chicken jerky, add some regular salt, rather than increasing the curing salt.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Soy Sauce, Tamari, or Coconut Aminos
Ground Black Pepper
Granulated Sugar
Ground Allspice
Dried Thyme
Garlic Powder
Ginger Paste
Paprika
Salt

... as always, I don’t really have anything to add, when it comes to these last few ingredients!

How to Make Caribbean Curry Chicken Jerky

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Cut 2 or 3 squares of parchment paper slightly smaller than your dehydrator racks, set aside.

In a mini food processor, blitz soy sauce, green onion, garlic, pepper, curry, sugar, salts, liquid smoke, and spices (everything aside from the chicken!) until a smooth-ish paste forms.

Add to a medium mixing bowl, along with the ground chicken.

Using freshly washed or gloved hands - combine ingredients well. REALLY well - it’s better to overhandle it, than to under-mix it.

Use a spoon to load the mixture into a jerky gun, taking care to avoid creating air bubbles.

Line your dehydrator racks with the cut parchment paper, then pipe your jerky strips out onto them, leaving some space in between each.

Once two hours have passed, remove the jerky strips from the parchment, flip them over, and place them directly onto the dehydrator racks.

Return to the dehydrator and continue dehydrating at 165 F for another 1.5 - 3 hours.

To test for doneness, remove a piece of jerky from the dehydrator and let it cool to room temperature. It should feel dry to the touch and be able to bend to 90 degrees without breaking. (A bit of cracking or crackling is ok!)

Allow jerky to cool COMPLETELY to room temperature before packaging.

Storing Homemade Caribbean Curry Chicken Jerky

Chicken jerky will keep at room temperature (in a cool dark place) for a week so, or a few weeks in the fridge.

If sealed into an airtight container WITHOUT OXYGEN, it should be good for a month or so in a cool dark place, a couple months in the fridge, and 6 months or so in the freezer.

Once you open your vacuum sealed bag of jerky, it should be eaten within a couple days - or a week, if put in the fridge after opening.

More Homemade Jerky Recipes

Are you someone who loves to bring jerky on road trips, hiking trails, and when camping? Me too! Here are some of my go-to recipes for homemade jerkies!

Basic Ground Beef Jerky
Blueberry Bison Jerky
Chipotle Chicken Jerky
Ginger Beef Jerky
Ground Venison Jerky
Homemade Salmon Jerky
Honey Garlic Chicken Jerky
Jalapeno Chicken Jerky
Jerk Chicken Jerky
Lingonberry Elk Jerky
Mango Habanero Chicken Jerky
Mushroom Jerky, 2 Ways
Pumpkin Spice Chicken Jerky
Rosemary & Blueberry Beef Jerky
Spicy Garlic Chicken Jerky
Sriracha Chicken Jerky
Tofu Jerky, 2 Ways
Pepperoni Jerky