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1
Score each chicken piece deeply to the bone with a sharp knife, making three or four cuts per piece at 2 cm intervals. The cuts must reach bone, not merely skin — run a finger into each channel to confirm depth. These channels are the marinade's only route to the interior.
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2
Combine scotch bonnet chillies, freshly ground allspice, green onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, thyme, and soy sauce in a blender or mortar and work to a coarse, cohesive paste. The paste is ready when no large fibrous pieces remain and the colour is a deep, uniform olive-green with flecks of red — the aroma will be simultaneously fruity, resinous, and sharp.
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3
Rub the paste into every surface of the chicken, forcing it into each scored channel with your fingers until the meat within the cuts is visibly coated. Place in a non-reactive container, cover, and refrigerate for 24–48 hours. At 24 hours the paste sits on the surface; at 48 hours it has changed the colour of the meat within the cuts — this colour change to the bone is the only reliable sign that capsaicin and eugenol have penetrated the muscle fibres.
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4
Build a fire of charcoal and add pimento wood chunks directly onto the embers. Allow the fire to reduce to a low, steady heat — the grill grate held at hand height should be warm rather than fierce, and a steady, aromatic white-grey smoke should rise from the pimento wood. Pale, acrid black smoke means the wood is burning, not smouldering; wait until it settles.
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5
This is where the dish lives or dies. Lay the chicken pieces skin-side up over the embers and close the grill lid immediately. Maintain a covered, low-and-slow environment throughout cooking — lift the lid only to turn the pieces once, after approximately 45 minutes, when the underside is deeply charred and the skin has contracted away from the scored cuts. Cook covered for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour. The chicken is done when the thickest part of the thigh reads 74 °C at the bone, the exterior is uniformly charred and lacquered, and the juices run clear when the deepest score is pressed — but the flesh within the cuts must be moist, pulling away in strands rather than crumbling. An uncovered grill or any open-flame shortcut produces a dry exterior before the interior is cooked; the cover is not optional.
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6
Remove the chicken from the grill and rest uncovered on a rack for 5 minutes. The char will set and firm to the touch as the juices redistribute; the surface should feel dry and slightly lacquered when pressed, with no pooling of liquid.