Jamaican Jerk Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa, Crunchy Roasted Corn, “Gallo Pinto” Rice

Jerk-Grilled Chicken

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (scroll down for the seasoning recipe)
boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded slightly to flatten (to help them cook uniformly)
(I used about 1/4 cup of the seasoning for 5 large chicken breasts.)

Spray your grill/grill pan with Pam (or brush with oil). Rub the seasoning all over the chicken breasts and then let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes (15?) while you heat up the grill. Grill over pretty low heat until the inside of the chicken is done, but still juicy, and the outside is nicely browned. Hubby cooked ours last night and he did a PERFECT job. Slice the chicken into about 8 pieces per breast. Depending upon the size of the breasts (and the hunger of your guests), you can get 1 1/2 to 2 servings per breast.

Pineapple Salsa

I can’t link to it, or give you the exact recipe, because it’s from Fine Cooking’s “subscribers only” website, but it’s basically diced pineapple, bell pepper (I used an orange one), radishes and minced cilantro, seasoned with a little salt and pepper and a dash of lime juice.

Gallo Pinto Coconut Rice

I used long-grain brown rice, with mostly coconut milk (and a little chicken stock) for the cooking liquid. When it was almost done, I stirred in some canned (drained and rinsed) black beans. Season with salt and pepper. When we were in Costa Rica a couple of years ago, we were served Gallo Pinto (rice and black beans) at every meal and we loved it. Every place does it a little bit differently, sometimes with tomato and/or onion, sometimes with cilantro, sometimes shaped into little timbales, but always delicious. I think that “gallo pinto” actually means “spotted rooster.” Funny. Btw, “pico de gallo“, another of our favorite foods, actually means “rooster’s beak.”

Crunchy Roasted Corn,
adapted from a recipe from Great Country Farms

6 ears fresh, raw, corn on the cob
3/4 cup mayonnaise
about 1 tsp. BBQ seasoning
2 Tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 to 3 cups dry, plain (unseasoned) bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with Pam (or brush with oil).

Whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and seasoning. One at a time, brush each ear of corn liberally with the mayonnaise mixture and then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat and lay each one on the baking sheet.

Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Last night, I baked ours for 35 minutes, but it really would have been better if they had gone a few minutes more, so I would recommend cooking yours until they are darker than mine is in the photo.

Nota Bene: You can use your choice of seasoning/flavoring, instead of the BBQ seasoning. Some good options:

a little cumin (one of our favorites on corn on the cob)

Baby Bam

Finely chopped chives and a little salt

Finely chopped fresh jalapeno and cilantro

seasoned salt (or No-salt seasoning)

Italian seasoning or, just omit the seasoning altogether and use Italian-seasoned bread crumbs