Jacqui's Jerk Chicken

To prepare jerk marinade: Place scallions, onion, chile pepper to taste, lime juice, oil, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and thyme in a blender. Process until smooth. Place chicken in a nonreactive baking dish (see Tip). Rub 2/3 cup of the marinade onto both sides of the chicken. Transfer the remaining marinade to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours.

Twenty minutes before you're ready to grill, soak wood chips (if using) in a bowl of water. (No grill? See broiler variation).

Fold a 12-by-20-inch piece of heavy-duty foil in half to create a 12-by-10-inch double-thick piece. Transfer the wet wood chips to the center of the foil, allowing as much water as possible to drip back into the bowl. Create a packet by folding the short ends of the foil over the wood chips and sealing the open sides. Make 6 holes in the top of the foil packet with a skewer or the tip of a knife.

Place the packet of wood chips, pierced-side up, under the grill rack on top of the burners. Close the lid. Heat the grill to medium-high until the chips in the packet smell smoky and smoke begins to billow from under the lid, about 15 minutes. (Don't worry if the packet temporarily catches on fire.) Grill the chicken, turning and basting with the reserved marinade occasionally (discard any unused marinade), until just cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes total, depending on the size.

Broiler variation: Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler to high. Line a broiler pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Place the chicken on the pan and broil for 10 minutes. Turn, brush with some of the reserved marinade, and broil until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part without touching bone registers 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes more.