Jerk-Light Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Apparently this is the summer of new meals for the L family and we have already discovered a couple that will remain on our menu of dinner options.  Earlier this week, I made a recipe that I found online and it turned out to be super tasty!  We will definitely be making this one again.  The only thing about this recipe is that it requires for you to be planning ahead, as you need to marinate the chicken the day before you actually intend on cooking it.

Enjoy!


Jerk-Light Chicken w/ Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

Marinade
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
3 green onions, chopped, including dark green stalks
4 serrano chiles, unseeded, chopped (see Cook’s Note)
1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1⁄2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts and thighs
Salsa
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1⁄2 cup peeled, seeded, finely diced cucumber
2 cups finely diced pineapple
2 tablespoons fresh mint

Preparation
1. Place all marinade ingredients in blender; whirl until smooth. Place chicken in 2 large zipper-style plastic bags and place bags open side up in large bowl. Divide marinade between the bags. Press out air and seal. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours, turning bags several times to redistribute marinade.
2. Prepare salsa: Combine all ingredients in nonreactive container (plastic, glass, or ceramic). Gently toss to combine and refrigerate well sealed up to 1 hour.
3. Take chicken out of refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Adjust 2 oven racks, one to upper third level, the other to lower third. Preheat oven to 400°F.
4. Arrange chicken in 2 large, shallow baking pans; discard marinade. Roast 25 minutes. Switch pan positions, placing the one on top on the bottom rack and vice versa. Roast an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve chicken topped with salsa.

The marinaded chicken was delicious and the combination of the pineapple salsa with the spice was great!  For our sides, we grilled up some extra pineapple and had corn on the cob.  It was a very yellow meal :-)  We were so pleased with this meal that we ate it for the rest of the week.