I get food cravings.
The mood will strike and I won’t want to do anything until I eat a jalapeño chip or a clementine or drink a chocolate milkshake. It’s like I’m Stanley from The Office and every day of my life is Pretzel Day. Except instead of pretzels it’s just whatever I’m in the mood for at the moment. What an exciting life I lead!
SOMETIMES the jerk chicken mood strikes and all I can think about is eating that sweet, tangy, ultra spiced, hot-and-smokey chicken. There is nothing in the world quite like jerk chicken, and nothing that can satisfy a jerk chicken craving other than jerk chicken.
Just a heads up – this jerk chicken marinade is a long one. Be prepared to use 90% of the things in your spice cabinet. IT WILL BE WORTH IT. (Also, if you are wanting to make jerk chicken a regular part of your life and don’t want to go through making this marinade every time, you can triple or quadruple this recipe and freeze until you’re ready to use.)
We like to use boneless/skinless chicken breasts/thighs for ease-of-eating. Ideally your grill master will cook your spicy marinated jerk chicken pieces to perfection over a well-tended fire, but just in case they’re indisposed/don’t want to brave a snowstorm/otherwise occupied, the directions below are for oven-roasting on a sheet pan.
Oh and after the chicken is roasted, pineapple chunks and sweet peppers and onions go on the pan to get charred up and caramelized in all the jerky chicken juices.
And then the chicken gets sliced and put on rice with the pineapples and peppers and onions and everything gets slathered in cilantro-garlic sauce. YUM!
These black beans are also super good in these jerk chicken bowls!
Jerk Chicken Bowls
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
- 3 green onions, roughly chopped
- 1 habanero, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
FOR THE BOWLS
- 1 (10 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
- 6-8 mini sweet peppers, sliced into rings
- 1 small red onion, chopped
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 jalapeños, chopped
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For serving: Rice
Directions
FOR THE CHICKEN
Marinate: Place chicken in a dish to marinate. Puree lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, onion, green onion, habanero, garlic, pepper, allspice, salt, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a food processor. Pour over chicken and turn to cover. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, up to 24.
Cook: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with tin foil and drizzle with the olive oil. Place marinated chicken on sheet pan and roast 30-45 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked (this will take closer to 30 minutes for thighs, closer to 45 for breasts). Slice.
FOR THE BOWLS
Add pineapple chunks, sliced peppers, and chopped onion to the sheet pan. Toss to coat in chicken juices and return to oven. Roast for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through.
FOR THE SAUCE
Blend mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, olive oil, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, and salt in a small blender until smooth.
ASSEMBLE: Arrange sliced chicken, pineapple, sweet pepper, and onions in bowls with rice. Drizzle with sauce.
Marinade adapted from Food and Wine.
