Pineapple Glazed Jerk Chicken Drumsticks

The Chicken

When cooking this dish up I like to use good ‘ol chicken drumsticks which I get from Village Butchers.

Sure, you can use breast, wings etc, but for me you have to go for either legs or drums just as I enjoyed on the beach of Montego Bay many many years ago.

The Prep – Chicken

This really couldn’t be easier.

First I cut into the chicken drums a little to help the flavours penetrate then I place in a dish along with:

• 2 tablespoon of ‘Norfolk Smoke Pit – Raggamuffin Rub‘
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pineapple juice

Then cover and place in the fridge overnight (or at least 4 hours).

The Prep – Pineapple Glaze

Although a few ingredients are required for this, the actual prep isn’t too bad.

Chuck the following into a saucepan:

• 1 can pineapple chunks (in juice) – I go for 435g
• 230ml tomato ketchup
• 1 tablespoon ‘Norfolk Smoke Pit – Honey & Mustard‘
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used ‘Sea Crack – Hawaiian Black Flakes‘)
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 200g brown sugar

Mix together and simmer over a medium / low heat for around 20 minutes (stirring occasionally), after which you’ll need to blend until you get a nice smooth consistency.

The Prep – Caribbean Dumplings

It’s taken a lot of trial and error to come up with a recipe that works for me and here it is:

• 270g plain flour
• 120g cornmeal
• 80g white sugar
• 40g soft butter
• 200ml milk
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix all dry ingredients together and then add the butter.  Once combined add milk gradually and knead for around 1 minute to form a soft dough.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and set aside for at least 15 minutes.

The Cook

I decided to use the Ozpig today and enjoy a ‘hands-on’ cook.  On top of being enjoyable to cook on the Ozpig pumps out some serious heat which helps considering I’m cooking outside in December.

Once the Ozpig was up and running with ‘Love Logs‘ I started off making the pineapple glaze; using the diffuser to help cook over a lower heat.

Once the glaze was ready and I had a nice bed of coals it was time to cook the chicken which I did directly over the cast iron char grill plate.

Note:  Just before I cooked the chicken I chucked a small handful of allspice berries on the coals for that authentic smoke.  These berries were pre-soaked in water for 30 minutes.

The chicken was cooked until the internal temperature hit 165°F but once it got to 155°F I brushed on that lovely pineapple glaze to finish it off nicely.

Finally (and whilst the chicken was resting) I shaped the prepared dough into dumplings and fried until golden brown in vegetable oil that was around 350°F.

Once cooked I removed and drained on some kitchen roll.

Job done!