Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Long phone calls with mothers make for very late blog posts on Sunday nights. Oops! I've even had a stay-at-home lazy day too, just enjoying catching up on some TV and listening to the rain fall outside. Le sigh. Anywho, since we were super busy prepping for our Aziza! potluck yesterday, I was too busy helping out in the kitchen to actually blog about any food. However, I couldn't go another moment without sharing a new recipe with my readers! This slow cooker recipe was fantastic in flavor and fed us for a couple days, as any good slow cooker recipe should. Slow cooked meat is always the best and this was no exception. The blend of spices looks pretty familiar, but the addition of the orange made a major difference in the overall zing of the quality of flavors. The molasses also made a major difference in how the chicken turned out; we had never slow-cooked (or even cooked) chicken with molasses before, which gave it a sweeter flavor, as you would expect. If you're bored with chicken and have a busy day coming up where you need to slow cook, I recommend this recipe (warning-it's spicy)!

Cooking Notes: Will chose to use chicken thighs instead of 5 lbs. worth of chicken pieces, which the original recipe suggests. He adjusted some spices, but not in any particular order, so I will include the original measurements here and you can adjust how you like it :)

Jamaican Jerk Chicken (adapted from Budget Bytes; serves 4-6)
4 chicken thighs
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp veggie oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 inches, fresh ginger (peeled and cut in chunks)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 medium onion
1 medium orange
1 medium serrano pepper

Add the molasses, veggie oil, soy sauce, peeled garlic, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, thyme, and nutmeg to a blender, blending until smooth. Next, arrange the chicken thighs in the slow cooker so they are laying closely to each other and the bottom of the pot. Pour about 2/3 of the spice rub over the chicken and use your hands to spread it all over the thighs. Save the rest for later use.

Cut the onion into wedges and slice the orange and serrano. Add the onion, orange, and serrano to the slow cooker, nestling the pieces in and under the chicken in order to achieve close contact. Place the lid on the slow cooker, turn it on high, and let it cook undisturbed for 4 hours.

After the 4 hours, remove the chicken and place it on a broiler pan or baking sheet covered with foil. Use tongs to transport the chicken since it will be hot and will fall apart easily. Spread the rest of the spice rub carefully over the surface of the chicken. Adjust the top rack in the oven so that the chicken will be only 4-5 inches away from the broiler. Broil on high for about 5 minutes until the skin is crispy and brown. Be very careful not to burn your chicken! Serve with rice and the leftover orange/onion mixture from the slow cooker.

Recipe: Budget Bytes: Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken