Jerk Chicken Drumsticks with Pineapple Mango Slaw
Spicy grilled jerk seasoned chicken drumsticks with a refreshing tropical slaw. A perfect summer meal.
Ingredients
For the Drumsticks:
- 3 lbs chicken drumsticks
- Marinade:
- ½ cup yellow onion
- 6 scallions diced
- ¼ c light brown sugar
- ¼ c soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon Jamaican Jerk Spice blend *
- 2 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Slaw:
- 2- 3 heads baby bok choy trimmed and thinly sliced (3-4 cups)
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- ½ of a peeled cored fresh pineapple, julienned, about a cup and a half
- 1 ½ cup julienned mango
- 1 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- ½ cup julienned carrot
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Pierce the drumsticks all over with a fork then place in a large bowl or large resealable bag. Combine the marinade ingredients in a blender and blend until mostly smooth. Pour the marinade over the chicken flipping the chicken to make sure it is well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator 6 hours up to overnight. The longer the better. 24 hours is best.
- When ready to grill, preheat your grill to 450 Deg F. Prepare the slaw while the grill is preheating. Remove the drumsticks from the refrigerator as well. You want them to get to room temperature before grilling.
- Combine the slaw dressing in a small bow, whisking to mix. Add in more lime and honey if desired. In a large bowl combine bok choy, cabbage, pineapple, mango and cilantro. Keep chilled until ready to serve. When ready to serve whisk the dressing again and drizzle over the slaw. Toss well to combine. Season with a little more salt and pepper.
- When the chicken is ready to grill place the drumsticks on the grill a few inches apart. Pour any excess marinade over the tops. Turn every 5-7 min until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the drumsticks is 185 Deg F. About 20-25 min depending on the thickness of the chicken.
- Once the chicken drumsticks are fully cooked, Transfer to a platter and cover with foil. Let rest for 5-10 min before serving.
- Serve drumsticks with a large serving of the slaw. Additional sides could include roasted plantains, rice, potatoes. Carby starches help dissipate the heat if you opted to use even more spice on the chicken.
Notes
An option for more spice is to place the marinated drumsticks on a baking sheet and sprinkle with another tablespoon or so of the spice ( obviously use more or less depending on how spicy you want it) and more salt and pepper. OR if you are really brave add in habanero peppers to the marinade.
I grill my chicken on a gas grill since that is what we have. If you only have a charcoal grill, which is the more authentic way to cook jerk chicken, prepare your coals according to your grill's specifications and then grill following the same instructions as above. Time to grill will depend on the temperature maintained from the charcoals.