Rum and Chile Roasted Chicken Thighs With Pineapple

Name: Rum and Chile Roasted Chicken Thighs With Pineapple
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 6 scallions, trimmed and chopped; 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 2 tablespoons safflower or canola oil; 2 tablespoons rum, preferably dark or amber; 1 tablespoon thyme leaves; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile pepper, seeded and chopped; 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 6 chicken thighs, rinsed and patted very dry; 3/4 pound pineapple pieces, diced into 1/4-inch chunks or very roughly chopped; Lemon wedges, for serving

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(427)
Notes: Read community notes

This dish, inspired by jerk chicken, uses amber rum to moisten the rub. The resulting dish is complex, mouth tingling but not searing, and softened by the golden cubes of succulent roasted pineapple. It's not quite recognizable as a jerk, but it is no less pleasing.

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Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings

1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¾teaspoon kosher salt
6scallions, trimmed and chopped
4garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2tablespoons safflower or canola oil
2tablespoons rum, preferably dark or amber
1tablespoon thyme leaves
1tablespoon brown sugar
1Scotch bonnet or habanero chile pepper, seeded and chopped
½teaspoon ground allspice
½teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6chicken thighs, rinsed and patted very dry
¾pound pineapple pieces, diced into ¼-inch chunks or very roughly chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
In a blender or food processor, combine lemon juice and salt, and blend for 5 seconds to dissolve salt. Add scallions, garlic, oil, rum, thyme, brown sugar, chili pepper and spices, and blend until mixture forms a paste.
Step 2
Rub chili paste all over chicken pieces. If you have time, let marinate for up to 45 minutes at room temperature, or up to 24 hours in refrigerator.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put chicken in a large baking pan and scatter pineapple around it in one layer. Roast until chicken is cooked through (juices will run clear when pricked with a fork), about 25 minutes.
Step 4
Broil chicken and pineapple until chicken skin is crisp and dark brown all over and pineapple is singed in places.
Step 5
Serve chicken and pineapple coated with pan drippings, with lemon wedges.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

427 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

SBTabas6 years ago

This recipe worked fantastically with skinless, boneless thighs and the substitution of red pepper flakes instead of a fresh, hot pepper. I also soaked the diced pineapple in a little extra rum beforehand. Definitely another "keeper" recipe from Melissa Clark! thank you!

Deejer6 years ago

Oh, yeah! -- another great recipe for chicken thighs. I wimped out and used a Jalapeno` instead of a Scotch Bonnet because my dear wife is not a fire-eater, but it was still quite tasty.

Amy6 years ago

This chicken was delicious. We made it per the recipe and served it over arugula and mixed greens. The juices from the chicken made a great dressing for the salad.

Lynn6 years ago

This was really good and pretty fast. We used a small habanero pepper, and our children didn't even complain or notice the heat (as adults we would have gone for more on our own). Cooked evenly, moist, and the pineapple was great with it. We just chopped some romaine and served the chicken and pineapple on top; the juices were enough without a vinaigrette.

Chris M.6 years ago

Disappointing. A lot of fuss for not much flavor.

Susan6 years ago

Loved this! I will definitely make it again. I served it with basmati rice.

Steve Abbott6 years ago

Cooked as per directions but substituted a seeded jalapeno pepper for the habanero because I'm a wimp. Grilled the chicken, cooking the pineapple over the grill as well after coating it with the chili paste. It was very good, but if doing again will use the hotter chili as recommended.

Sally6 years ago

This was delicious, but very, very greasy. Next time, I will use skinless thighs. The pineapple is so yummy; we could have eaten twice as much!

Deborah Payne6 years ago

Is the calorie count correct for this recipe? It seems terribly high for a recipe that seemingly doesn't have high calorie ingredients except for the rum and oil.

Lois6 years ago

This was very good. I made it with 4 bone-in breasts rather than thighs, so I upped the cooking time to about 40 minutes. I marinated a full day (about 27 hours actually). I used a habanero and we barely noticed the heat. Our guest asked for the recipe because she thought it was both flavorful and light. I liked the fact that I could do everything but the actual cooking in advance.

CYW4 years ago

I've made this twice now, with six bone-in chicken thighs and fresh pineapple. The longer the chicken can marinate, and the more marinade you can get under the skin, the better. I used one Scotch bonnet pepper with some trepidation -- can easily support two; maybe three. The caramelized bits of pineapple are the best part. Served with roasted green beans and brown rice but to make it dinner guest worthy, pair with a late harvest Riesling, a cilantro-flavoured rice, maybe coconut crème brûlée?

beckettsmama1 year ago

This was gross. One of the worst NYT recipes I have ever cooked and we have cooked tons.

Chris R2 years ago

I substituted seasonal grilled stone-fruit for the pineapple. I grilled the seasonal fruit separately (brushing it at the end of cooking with maple syrup on the cut side). The fruit takes much less time to cook than the chicken. Guests loved the fruit and chicken combo.

Zachary2 years ago

I threw an extra pepper into the blender in order to impress a Thai woman I’m courting. She was so wowed by my capsaicin tolerance that I get to meet her parents. Thanks, Melissa!

Sam2 years ago

Made as is. Roasted longer, broiled less. Very good. Could grill chicken and skip pineapple.

Phein602 years ago

Made as directed, thought the chicken was delicious, and the pineapple a great compliment. I would echo the commenter who noted that the sugars will burn under the broiler, and caution: Get your cooking sheet out of the oven and under a hot water spray before the sugars get a chance to adhere!

Phil2 years ago

I enjoyed this. I will use two habaneros next time as I could barely detect the heat. But the flavor was great and unique.

Cf2 years ago

Used boneless skinless chicken. Next time I will use half the habanero pepper. Chicken was great to put in Ramen.

KensCooking2 years ago

Used a whole chicken, cut into parts. Marinade for 8 hours (more might ? have been better). Love spice so dropped some orange thai chilis instead of habanero, but that's really irrelevant - just making spicy. Needed more time to get a bit burnt on top as it should be. High broiler for a few minutes. Pretty good really. The spicy chicken was a nice balance against the pineapple. Served on top of watercress with rice and blistered green beans alongside.

karen b2 years ago

Good but not sure I will make it again as the flavor was just okay. The clean up is a chore- after broiling, the pan get lots of burnt on sugar from the pineapple juices.

Jimbo2 years ago

This was delicious. Prepared as written but upped the spices and the rum a bit. Just aggressively trim the skin off the thighs or alternatively split the thighs half with skin and half without to reduce the grease but retain the flavor. If you split between skinless and with skin, just freeze what’s left over and use for your next chicken thigh dish.

Andrew2 years ago

Because I had some in the refrigerator to use up, I put about half a bunch of cilantro into the food processor with the other marinade ingredients. Was good!

Bob3 years ago

Added some pineapple to the food processor, Which made it more the consistency of a marinade. Used thin sliced breasts instead of thighs and grilled them quickly on a hot grill. Next time I'l save some of the marinade for drizzling on the plate.

Allyson3 years ago

I used chicken leg quarters and upped the roasting time to 35 minutes (added the pineapple after ten minutes), and it was cooked perfectly, and browned enough to not need the broiler. The pineapple stuck to the pan a bit, but otherwise now complaints. I served it over rice and wilted arugula.

Anita3 years ago

A little bland. I expected it to be fabulous, but it was only good.

Scott3 years ago

We had to substitute quite a few ingredients but it came out great! We didn’t have allspice, so used cinnamon and dry nutmeg, and we didn’t have thighs, so we did it as a roast whole chicken using Samin Nosrat’s cooking times: 20 minutes at 425, 40 minutes at 400. 1/2 the cooking time in the back left corner, half in the other. Came out lovely, and since the habanero was HOT, it was still fine because the kids could have the chicken without skin or sauce. Definitely doing this one again.

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