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How about a little sunshine and trop-i-cal for these cold winter days?
Which really just means lots of citrus and Jamaican flavors. Which means โ really delicious stuff!!
For some reason, every winter, while I crave cozy, warm and hearty flavors, I crave light and tropical flavors as well. I am not at the point yet where I am done with the cold and snow, but I still love a little taste of the tropics. Itโs kind of refreshing, you know?
Plus, both citrus and pineapple are in season right now, so I am pretty much going crazy with them. Canโt help it.
Ok, so I donโt know why, but I really have no idea what the heck to say today. Not knowing what to say when I first sit down is actually quite normal for me, but usually I type the first line and then everything just seems to flow. Well I guess not today. Today all I can currently think about is how my painter buds, who I have been spending way too much time with, should probably GO HOME. I mean it is 8:15 pm.
I mean, I am not trying to be mean, but those two talk about the stupidest stuff. Super nice guys and all, but man I kind of need a breakโฆFriday can not get here soon enough!
Anyway, other than my painters. I got nothing on the brain. Except citrus. Which I love to death, now more than ever, but I already told you that.
So letโs get into a little meatier conversation and talk about this Jamaican jerk citrus pineapple roasted chicken.
I have seen a lot of citrus roasted chicken recipes around, but I wanted to put my own kind of spin on it. I love any kind of jerk seasoning, but a spicy Jamaican jerk seasoning has got to be my favorite. I seem to work these flavors into a lot of my sauces. These sauces are not necessarily up on the blog, a lot of times I am just throwing stuff together for dinner, but Iโll often end up going with these flavors. My family likes spicy, so it works.
So I took typical Jamaican jerk flavors and added a little winter citrus, and a little pineapple (because pineapple should be in all Jamaican dishes). Itโs crazy simple and easy, but totally delish. Even the boys loved the chicken (once they picked the fruit off of course).
I served the chicken with some fried rice, but you could do roasted potatoes, polenta or really whatever you mood is telling you to go with. All I needed was the fruit. Definite fruit addict over here.
Jamaican Jerk and Citrus Pineapple Roasted Chicken.
Ingredients
- 1/4 olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, or regular molasses
- 2 tablespoons coconut rum, optional
- 2 habanero chilies, seeded
- 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro, or 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons all-spice
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt + pepper
- 3-4 pounds chicken breast, thighs or legs (I used mostly breasts with a few thighs + legs interspersed)
- half a small pineapple, cored and sliced thin
- 1/2 of a blood orange, sliced thin with the peel on
- 1/2 of a grapefruit, sliced thin with the peel on
- 1/2 of a cara cara orange, sliced thin with the peel on
- 1 lime, sliced thin with the peel on
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To a blender, add the olive oil, pomegranate molasses, coconut rum (if using), habanero chilies, ginger, garlic, green onions, cilantro, thyme, all-spice, cinnamon salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add in more olive oil if the sauce seems a little too thick.
- Now grab the oranges, grapefruit and limes and very thinly slice them. Lay the slices along with the pineapple slices on the prepared baking sheet. Place the chicken pieces over the citrus. Brush each chicken piece with the sauce.
- Roast for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked throughout. I brushed my chicken with the remaining sauce half way through roasting. Serve the chicken with the roasted citrus slices.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
But really, how pretty is that fruit? LOVE IT.
tieghan!!! this was SUPERB! rather than pieces of chicken, i made a spatchcock chicken! made with a side of coconut lime riceโฆthis meal felt like a mic drop moment, lol!
Hey Sonny,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! ?xTieghan
we use so many of your recipes in our catering company. we use the Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Citrus often and people love it. i was going to post a pic but I don’t see an option for that. We love your book and website so much!!!!
Hi! There is not an option on the blog to post a photo, but I would love to see it on Instagram or Facebook! Just tag Half Baked Harvest in the photo! xTieghan
This looks delicious. I love citrus but I also really love pineapple in cooking and I always forget about using it. When I saw the pieces of cooked pineapple in your photos it made me think about using it again. I’m going to make this recipe, I can’t wait. Thanks for sharing.
Awh yay! Hope you love it Edwina!
I know you posted this recipe almost a year ago but I just made this dish a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing and we loved it! Especially the crispy skin with all those yummy flavors. What my hubby suggested was removing the peels and dicing all the fruit so you can serve it with the chicken almost like a relish. Thank you so much for all the delicious recipes! I’ve made so many of yours over and over again too. Not just one-hit (or flop) wonders. And I’m cooking for 3 kids (1 which is quite picky). Keep up the good work and keep ’em coming!
Thank you Michelle! I am thrilled you and your family have been enjoying my recipes!
I’m making this tonight, but with skinless chicken rather than skin-on. I’m using a ruby red grapefruit because I’m from Texas and therefore worship the ruby red–can’t wait to see how it turns out. As a sidenote: something that would be really helpful to me would be, when you post your main dish recipes, perhaps a few suggestions for sides? Thanks!