This maybe my all-time favorite outdoor grilled chicken recipe! I made this when I had a few friends over for a “painting party” prior to listing my home for sale!
The “BLOW WOW” (aka unbelievable or “holy crap”) factor is the sticky, sweet dark rum glaze that gets brushed on while grilling! Prepare this recipe the day before so that the chicken can really take on the flavors! Plus, it will make serving your guests a Caribbean breeze!
The Day Before
Marinating overnight is best but you can also do this step one hour before grilling
Dry Rub
- 1 Tbs. packed dark brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne
Combine all of the dry ingredients below to make a rub.
Chicken
- 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Or, make it even easier using chicken legs!)
- Olive Oil (to rub on chicken)
- Salt and Pepper
- Dark Rum ( I used Myers’s Rum Original Dark)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ( I bought the pre-minced in the jar to save time)
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
Hammer your chicken breasts to about 1 ½ inch thickness. If you are using chicken breasts, you want these to cook evenly and not be too thick when you pound them out. However, you do not want them too thin or they will dry out, and cook way too fast for the yummy sticky glaze to do its magic!
Take your hammered chicken and pat it dry.
Place the chicken in a glass casserole dish. Rub each side with olive oil, salt & pepper, a small drizzle of dark rum, the dry rub, then the garlic and scallions. Pat the ingredients onto the meat tightly.
Cover with saran wrap & let sit in the fridge for at least an hour, overnight is even better!
The Day Of Grilling
Pineapple-Rum Glaze
(Double the Glaze! Set some aside to dip chicken and also to pour over rice)
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup dark rum
Grilled Pineapple Rings
- 1 can sliced pineapple rings
20 minutes before you’re ready to grill take your chicken out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature while you make the glaze and prepare the pineapple rings.
Make the glaze by combining all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes stirring vigorously until combined.
Lay your pineapple rings on a cookie sheet and salt & pepper each ring. Brush some of the glaze over each ring and grill until each ring has a beautiful golden char.
During this time I also made a box of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice to serve as a side dish. It goes beautifully with this chicken and really tastes great with a little of the Pineapple-Rum Glaze mixed in it!
Grilling The Chicken
Heat your grill to high and oil the grate. Throughout the grilling process you will want to give your glaze a good stir before each brushing.
Arrange your chicken on the grill for about 2-4 minutes or until you have nice grill marks.
Flip the chicken over and brush the cooked top with the glaze.
Cook for another 2-4 minutes and flip again, brushing the cooked top with the glaze.
Alternate flipping every minute or two (depending on the thickness of your chicken breast) while the chicken finishes cooking fully. Be sure to keep brushing with the glaze to create the sticky, gooey, yummy coating!
Notes
Adapted from: Fine Cooking. I made a couple of tweaks to suit me better, both are superb!
