Staple: Jerk Chicken Breasts

Another regular feature on our dinner table, this Jerk Chicken is flavorful and tastes like a lot more work than it is. Even better, once you have all of the spices on hand, you have the means to make it again and again.

You don't have to have the chicken on a bed of potatoes and scallions, but if you do you will find that the fat from the chicken and the flavorful spices caramalize the potatoes and make them into a delicious side dish. Often I will just steam up a little broccoli and make it a complete meal.

You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you want to, but I encourage you to try the bone-in, skin-on variety. Not only are they almost always cheaper (due to less processing), I find that the skin and bones lock in the moisture and flavor excellently. If you do decide to go with boneless, skinless, toss the potatoes in a little more vegetable oil before roasting, they need the fat to get nice and crisp.

Jerk Chicken Breasts

1 bunch scallions, trimmed
2 Tbsp paprika
1.5 Tbsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
.75 tsp cayenne pepper more or less, depending on preferred spice level)
1 tsp kosher salt
.25 tsp freshly ground pepper
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lime
2 Tbsp molasses
3-4 bone-in, skin on chicken breasts
3-5 Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned and sliced into wedges, tossed in a splash of vegetable oil
lime wedges (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the potato wedges in a large roasting pan and roast them for 15 minutes alone, then remove from the oven and lay the scallions on top of them. This dish is also good with sweet potatoes, but if you use them this pre-roasting is not necessary.

In a small bowl, combine the spices, oil, lime juice, and molasses. Spread the spice mixture over and under the chicken skin*. Place the chicken on top of the scallions and potatoes.

Roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Serve the chicken with the roasted scallions, potatoes, and lime wedges, if desired.

*For even stronger flavor, let the spice-rubbed chicken sit in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours before cooking. If you have time in the morning before work, this would be a great time to throw it together.

This chicken is also good leftover and I have a jerk chicken salad in mind for the summertime. Enjoy!

Mrs. C.