Jerk Roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato Wedges by Daphne Oz

7
Points®
Total Time
1 hr
Prep
25 min
Cook
35 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
My senior year in college, a bunch of friends and I visited Jamaica. On the drive home after a trip we’d taken to hike up the side of a breathtaking waterfall, we discovered a little locals-only restaurant serving up the most insane jerk chicken, a recipe I just had to replicate at home. Jerk seasoning is heady with flavors you typically find in pumpkin pie–allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar–but tempered with cumin, thyme, and garlic. You can take the spiciness up or down a notch, depending on what you love–the hellfire-hot Scotch bonnet pepper is traditional but that is for expert heat-eaters only.

Ingredients

Grapeseed oil

7 tsp, divided

Uncooked sweet potato

4 large, halved lengthwise, each half quartered into 4 wedges

Scallions

8 medium, ends trimmed but left whole

Kosher salt

1 Tbsp, divided

Unpacked light brown sugar

1 Tbsp

Ground allspice

2 tsp

Ground cinnamon

1 tsp

Dried thyme

1 tsp

Ground cumin

½ tsp

Ground ginger

½ tsp

Paprika

½ tsp, sweet variety

Garlic powder

½ tsp

Freshly grated nutmeg

¼ tsp

Cayenne pepper

¼ tsp, optional

Uncooked skinless boneless chicken thigh

8 thigh(s)

Sea salt

2 pinch(es)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with 1 teaspoon oil.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potatoes and scallions. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine, then turn the mixture out onto the baking sheet, leaving room on one side for the chicken.
  3. In the same bowl, combine the brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, thyme, cumin, ginger, paprika, garlic powder, nutmeg, cayenne (if using), and remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine, then add the chicken and toss to coat well.
  4. Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet next to the veggies and cover the pan with parchment paper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes until the thickest part of a chicken thigh reads 160°F on an instant-read thermometer and the sweet potatoes are tender (the chicken will continue to cook out of the oven and reach a safe temperature of 165°F).
  5. Transfer everything to a platter for serving. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve.
  6. Serving size: 1 chicken thigh, 1 scallion, and half a potato